How to Freeze Individual Slices of Bacon Cooking Lessons from The Kitchn

Here's how to freeze bacon so that you can grab just a few slices when you need them.

One of the very first cooking tricks I ever learned was just how much a slice or two of bacon can boost the flavor of an otherwise simple soup or braise. I was hooked from that first subtly smoky, bacon-enhanced bite. You can bet I had bacon stocked in my freezer ever after. Here's how to freeze bacon so that you can grab just a few slices when you need them.

When I'm buying bacon for cooking rather than Saturday morning munching, I spring for the really good stuff: double-smoked, thick-cut, and a good ratio of fat to meat. Check the meat counter at your grocery store not only is this bacon sometimes less expensive than the packaged varieties, but you can get a better look at its meat-to-fat ratio and overall appearance.

If you freeze the whole package, then you're stuck with thawing (and then using) the whole package. Freezing the slices individually between layers of wax paper takes a few minutes of work at the outset, but allows you to use just a slice or two when you need them.

Take the number of slices out of the freezer when you start to prep your recipe, and they'll thaw in a few minutes at room-temperature. If your recipe calls for chopping the bacon first, I recommend doing so while the bacon is still frozen. I find that it's actually easier to cut bacon cleanly while it's still solid and cold.

How to Freeze Individual Slices of Bacon

What You Need

Ingredients
Any amount of good bacon

Equipment
Wax paper
Gallon-sized freezer bag or other freezer container

Instructions

1. Lay the first slice of bacon on wax paper.Lay a long piece of wax paper on your counter. Place the first slice of bacon along one edge of the wax paper.
2. Fold the wax paper over the bacon.
3. Lay a second piece of bacon over the first. The two slices will be separated by a layer of wax paper.
4. Fold the wax paper over the bacon.Fold the wax paper back over the second slice of bacon.
5. Continue piling slices of bacon and folding the wax paper over each slice.As you pile the slices and fold the wax paper over top, you'll start to form an accordion with bacon in each fold
6. Store in a freezer bag and freeze.Wrap any excess wax paper around the bacon and store it in a freezer bag or other freezer container. Freeze until solid and remove slices as you need them.

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(Images: Emma Christensen)

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Everything Is Better With Bacon: 10 Fall Recipes for Bacon Lovers Kitchn Recipe Roundups

Baked Chicken with Bacon

We've said it before, and we'll say it again: bacon really does make everything taste better. Just a little bit of that salty, savory flavor is enough to heighten an otherwise ordinary dish into new stratospheres of enjoyment. And bacon is remarkably versatile, too, adding dimension to everything from winter stews to apple turnovers! Here are 10 recipes we're currently craving:

TOP ROW
1 Baked Chicken with Bacon
2 Baked Beans with Pineapple and Bacon
3 Kale, Bacon & Egg Whole Wheat Breakfast Sandwich
4 Baked Potato Soup With Bacon, Green Onion & Cheddar
5 Bean, Bacon and Butternut Squash Soup with Swiss Chard

BOTTOM ROW
6 Roasted Potatoes with Brussels Sprouts & Bacon
7 Pizza with Crispy Kale, Butternut Squash, Bacon & Smoked Mozzarella
8 Bacon-Cheddar Twice-Baked Potatoes
9 Bacon, Kale, and Turkey Stew
10 Crispy Turnovers with Apple, Bacon, and Caramelized Onions

Related: How To Make Perfect Bacon in the Oven

(Images: as linked)

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Is Pumpkin the New Bacon? Food News

It should come as no surprise to anyone who, well, eats that bacon has ruled the food scene in recent years. For a while, it seemed bacon was in and on everything, from cupcakes to cornbread. But there's a new food in town, and its name is Pumpkin.

As New York Magazine recently pointed out, pumpkin is everywherein lattes, mass-market bagels, and high-end cocktails. Research firm Datassential even noted in their annual MenuTrends report that more than 60 pumpkin-related dishes appeared on the menus of America's top 250 chain restaurants in the last year, while pumpkin drink offerings increased a whopping 400 percent during the past five years! This seems to indicate that pumpkin popularity is not merely a seasonal phenomenon, but a sea change.

How is it that the lowly pumpkin managed to achieve such swift, startling popularity? Well, it's a bit of a marketing ploy, especially since pumpkin is often flavored with sugar and spices first:

As a marketing tool... pumpkin is perfectly pitched for today's eaters...A pumpkin dish, in the era of the locavore, has connotations of virtue--when you think of pumpkin, you think of something farm-grown and wholesome. That helps make it a permissible indulgence, even when what you're eating is mainly just sugar and spice. Never mind the recipe realities--savor those associations!

So, at least for restaurants, it's not pure pumpkin that has people in a tizzy. In fact, as New York Magazine notes, "pumpkin dishes don't even need any actual pumpkin in them in order to cash in on the warming, autumnal vibe." It's a feeling, an association.

Time will tell if pumpkin (or the idea of pumpkin, really) has the staying power of bacon. Not convinced? You could just combine them (!!) and call it a day.

Read More: Pumpkin Is the New Bacon New York Magazine

Related: What Will Be the Next Bacon? Our Top 5 Trend Predictions

(Image: New York Magazine)

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Recipe: Baked Potato Soup With Bacon, Green Onion & Cheddar Recipes from The Kitchn

In the past we've looked at a few more refined versions of potato soup. There has been a creamy curried potato soup, a sweet potato soup with miso and ginger, and a roasted garlic and potato soup. But I'm not as polished as the rest of our Kitchn writers. See, this Midwestern girl wants her meat and potatoes and she doesn't always want them to be fancied up well, unless you consider bacon fancy.

There are so many different ways to make potato soup it's rather ridiculous. A quick Google search will show you many of the infinite variations. But when it comes to a traditional dish that makes your stomach growl from the other room just thinking about it, accept no substitute for this thick, creamy, and extra-comforting dish.

Now before we start, there are a few disclaimers. This dish isn't low-fat, and it isn't light in calories. Under no circumstances does it even pretend to be the healthiest soup on the block. This dish is a stick-to-your-ribs type meal that can be served at the end of a long day. It falls into the comfort food category and is best eaten in fuzzy slippers and pajamas. Not because that's the attire the meal requires, but because the only thing more comforting than this meal is fuzzy slippers. If you're going to go all out, that's how to do it!

If you already have a few baked potatoes and some cooked bacon in the fridge, this dish comes together in less than five minutes. Make these things ahead so this soup is ready to be thrown together at a moment's notice. There's no long drawn out cooking time for broth; you can literally come home from work and have this meal on the table before your children get a chance to tear the house apart! Fabulous!

Tester's Notes:

As Sarah Rae says, this is exactly the kind of rich and hearty meal you crave at the end of a long day. I tend to see a recipe like this and automatically start thinking about subbing in a lower-fat milk, using yogurt instead of sour cream, and other calorie-cutting techniques. If you have similar instincts, I urge you to curb them for this recipe. It's worth it to go all in and just enjoy the ride. This ridiculously good soup is the very definition of comfort food, and we all need that every now and then.

The only change I actually make is to cut the recipe in half, or even in quarters. As it is, the recipe will feed a whole crowd of very hungry people, which is good for a Super Bowl party or potluck dinner. When it's just my small family, a smaller batch is just the thing for a cozy night in. -Emma

Baked Potato Soup With Bacon, Green Onion & Cheddar

Makes 10-12 servings (depending on how hungry you are!)

If you don't have them already prepared, bake the potatoes and fry the bacon before starting this recipe.

8 tablespoons (1 cup) unsalted butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
8 cups whole milk
5 large potatoes, baked and cubed (peeled, if desired)
2 pounds bacon, cooked and crumbled (about 2 cups)
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups sour cream
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Melt the butter in the bottom of a large pot over medium-high heat. Add flour and whisk to combine until thickened. Whisking continuously, slowly pour in the milk and whisk until mixture is smooth. Be sure to get the corners of the pan.

Add all of the remaining ingredients and lower the heat to medium. Stir occasionally until the cheese is melted and the soup is warmed through. Be sure to scrape bottom of the pot as you stir so the soup doesn't burn.

Serve when warm and enjoy!

Additional notes:
On using sliced bacon: You can of course start by using sliced bacon and can even hold onto the rendered fat, substituting it for part of the butter called for in the soup recipe. Just reduce your butter accordingly and add it right in.

On pre-baking your potatoes: Since this recipe uses potatoes that are already baked, you might want to toss a few in the oven the night before to bake them off ahead of time. Baked, they'll keep in the fridge for a week (easily), so dinner can be ready to go any night of the week!

Related: Recipe: Ajiaco (Chicken and Potato) Soup

(Image: Emma Christensen)

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