Bacon Flowchart
Let’s say you’ve decided to have bacon, say, through the use of the incredibly accurate algorithm to the right. Grilling bacon is always a great idea. Here is why:
- Your oven doesn’t get greasy
- Your stovetop doesn’t get greasy
- Your microwave doesn’t get greasy
- There are usually flames there are barely controllable
- It smells awesome but doesn’t linger
Never grilled bacon before? Intimidated by being awesome? No worries. Here’s how to get started.
The Equipment
While a propane grill is acceptable in this scenario, a charcoal grill is preferable. The flavor added in this case is really incredible. On the other hand it’s bacon so you know… it’ll probably be awesome anyway.
- Grill, preferably charcoal
- Tongs
- Plate w/ Paper Towel
- Spray Bottle (for fires. They’ll happen. Also beer works.)
- Bacon. Any bacon. Thicker = better
The Execution
Heat up the grill, and toss the bacon in the freezer for a few minutes. You’ll want it to be very cold when it hits the hot grates. When everything is prepared, follow these steps to success.
- Identify the hot and cool spots on the grill. You’ll want to flash the bacon on a hot spot to start the process, render and cook on a cool spot, and return to the hot spot for the finale.
- Sacrifice a strip of bacon and grease up the grate. This won’t prevent all sticking, but it will help.
- Lay the strips of bacon at a 45 degree angle to the grates. This will help prevent them from falling into the grill. A note on safety here: be ready for flareups and handle them with your spray bottle. Or sacrificial beer.
- Cook the bacon strips over the hot spot until they start to shrivel up, and then flip with your tongs and move to a cool spot to crisp up. Cooking time will vary greatly, so just hang out and keep an eye on them. Build suspense by enjoying the wonderful scent of cured pig and fire.
- For the finish, darken the bacon over the hot spot one more time. It should be dark rust colored, the fat should be rendered, and it should be crispy but pliable.
- Remove the bacon from the grill and put it on the plate you’ve prepared. Enjoy!
This method will produce solid results consistently. To spice things up, try adding brown sugar or maple syrup to the bacon at different stages in the cooking process. This is definitely worth experimentation; as these flavors and textures play very nicely together.
Not enough bacon for you? Try the bacon explosion.
I’ve tried grilling bacon resulting in a 3 alarm fire. I think putting the bacon in the freezer first is a great idea and might be part of the puzzle I was missing. I grill a killer Chicken Cobb Sandwich, and now I’m sure I can finally replace stove top bacon for grilled bacon producing even a better flavor, thanks for the tip. SM
@smokinmanbbq would love to see the recipe for that chicken cobb sandwich!
I definitely can’t say enough about grill safety here, it’s a serious thing. Typically the rule of thumb is to keep the grill 10ft from the house, but when grilling bacon it might be more like 20ft
If you have the patience, you can cook bacon using indirect heat in a Weber type charcoal grill (gas will work too with one side turned off). Get your coals nice and hot on one side of the grill and place your bacon strips flat on the grill on the “cold” side (the side without the coals). You may want to use an foil drip pan to catch the drippings.
The bacon will look really “fatty” at first, like its not cooking but after about 45 minutes the fat will render and the bacon should start to darken and crisp up. The benefits of this are: the fat renders out really slowly so the bacon doesn’t shrink as much and you don’t get flare ups. You can drop them on the hot side for grill marks right before you serve if you’re so inclined. Also, NOW I’M HUNGRY. GREAT.
indirect fire or forget it. the best to eat bacon.