# crisp or chewy bacon?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crisp-or-chewy-bacon/665183
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [August 2, 2013, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crisp-or-chewy-bacon/665183 "2013-08-02T20:33:32Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2013, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crisp-or-chewy-bacon/665183/21 "2013-08-03T01:25:23Z")
> [@DCnDC](#):
>
> 1. Roll up foil and discard; put away clean baking sheet.
Reported for wasting good bacon grease.
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### Author:  [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2013, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crisp-or-chewy-bacon/665183/22 "2013-08-03T01:28:05Z")
It depends.
For eating as a side dish to eggs, around 70% crispy / 30% chewy. On a BLT I want it crispy. As seasoning for fresh snap beans and such, more on the chewy side.
I pan fry it most of the time, but will occasionally nuke it.
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### Author:  [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2013, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crisp-or-chewy-bacon/665183/23 "2013-08-03T01:28:23Z")
> [@TriPolar](#):
>
> Reported for wasting good bacon grease.
Touche! You’re right, sorry. Allow me to amend:
1. Pour bacon grease into receptacle for future use
2. Roll up foil and put away clean baking sheet. 🙂
\*Also note that, like cooking it in a pan, the bacon will end up crispier than it initially comes out of the oven, so don’t bake it to death if you only want “lightly crispy.”
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### Author:  [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2013, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crisp-or-chewy-bacon/665183/24 "2013-08-03T01:30:33Z")
Hot, rare and wiggly, so you can kind of chew it and slurp it, like spaghetti noodles.
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### Author:  [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2013, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crisp-or-chewy-bacon/665183/25 "2013-08-03T01:38:40Z")
Pan-fried crispy
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### Author:  [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2013, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crisp-or-chewy-bacon/665183/26 "2013-08-03T02:31:22Z")
Flipping this over to Cafe, from IMHO.
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### Author:  [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2013, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crisp-or-chewy-bacon/665183/27 "2013-08-03T02:36:55Z")
Either. Bacon is bacon.
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### Author:  [@Barking\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barking_Dog)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2013, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crisp-or-chewy-bacon/665183/28 "2013-08-03T02:44:56Z")
I love it all chewy with a bit fat still on. And I’d rather pan fry so’s I can fry eggs in or make gravy for mah biscuits. The best gravy for my money is always made with bacon drippings with the BCB’s floating around in there.
That being said, I’ll still make it crispy in the oven if I want to crumble it up as an ingredient in something else, like topping a salad for instance. Bacon bits is also the secret ingredient in my famous peanut brittle.
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### Author:  [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2013, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crisp-or-chewy-bacon/665183/29 "2013-08-03T02:57:55Z")
Al dente, of course. You guys are all weird.
🙂
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### Author:  [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2013, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crisp-or-chewy-bacon/665183/30 "2013-08-03T02:58:22Z")
Thick cut and caramelized to almost crispy in spots but still mostly chewy. It’s a very narrow margin that can be lost in one distracted moment. Ever since I discovered bacon ends, though, I haven’t had much bacon strip-style. Now I eat it with a knife and fork.
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### Author:  [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2013, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crisp-or-chewy-bacon/665183/31 "2013-08-03T03:04:57Z")
> [@EmilyG](#):
>
> Crispy all the way, man! I hate limp, chewy bacon. I like it fried in a pan.
Same here. At restaurants I order it a little extra crispy.
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### Author:  [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2013, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crisp-or-chewy-bacon/665183/32 "2013-08-03T03:07:30Z")
Chewy for inclusion in a sandwich, otherwise it just crumbles out, crisp as a side for eggs or just on a plate.
Now I want bacon.
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### Author:  [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2013, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crisp-or-chewy-bacon/665183/33 "2013-08-03T03:14:04Z")
Any! Either and any! Just gimme bacon! Gotta have bacon! Bacon! DROOOOOL!
I gotta find me an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet and wipe 'em out!
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### Author:  [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2013, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crisp-or-chewy-bacon/665183/34 "2013-08-03T03:25:06Z")
Either crewy or chispy.
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### Author:  [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2013, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crisp-or-chewy-bacon/665183/35 "2013-08-03T03:29:25Z")
Extra thick and chewy please!
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### Author:  [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2013, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crisp-or-chewy-bacon/665183/36 "2013-08-03T03:44:04Z")
> [@Quimby](#):
>
> Extra thick and chewy please!
You don’t find “extra thick” to be-- too much? I mean, I certainly don’t like my bacon to be paper-thin like the “shelf-stable” boxed kind, but personally I find extra-thick bacon to be difficult to handle. I can never really cook it the way I want it without turning it into cardboard.
Perhaps I’m just used to “standard” thickness, and if I want more, I’ll just have more.
Whenever I get “extra-thick” bacon on say, a bacon cheeseburger, I find the bacon just overpowers everything, to the detriment of the dish as a whole.
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### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2013, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crisp-or-chewy-bacon/665183/37 "2013-08-03T03:46:40Z")
Doesn’t matter so long as you can hear it scream before it dies.
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### Author:  [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2013, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crisp-or-chewy-bacon/665183/38 "2013-08-03T04:15:46Z")
While it may be blasphemy but the pre cooked bacon at Costco plus the right amount of microwave makes for a delightfully thin crispy bacon. My daughter loves it. Not the same as frying in a heavy cast iron pan over a fire, but tasty nonetheless.
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### Author:  [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2013, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crisp-or-chewy-bacon/665183/39 "2013-08-03T04:22:20Z")
> [@Claire98909](#):
>
> Which do you prefer? I like chewy bacon.
>
> Also, do you prefer your bacon pan fried or baked? I like mine baked because it keeps it nice and chewy (like bacon jerky!) and prevents it from curling up.
Chewy (crisp winds up like powder on biting or chewing).
I bake it for even cooking, a bigger batch at once (thus less cooking hassle), and easier cleanup.
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### Author:  [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2013, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crisp-or-chewy-bacon/665183/40 "2013-08-03T04:24:23Z")
> [@leftfield6](#):
>
> Okay (sneaks into thread somewhat shamefaced) I will admit I have never heard of baking bacon. But tomorrow morning, I’m doing it. I assume just lay the strips out on a baking sheet? How long for lightly crispy at what temp?
I use a wire rack over a baking sheet so excess fat will drain off.
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