It nice to meet you and thank you for your kind words.

Cooked bacon will definitely be fine for a week in the refrigerator. I just keep mine in the freezer for longer storage.

As for microwave time, 2 refrigerated slices could be hot in 30 seconds, depending on the microwave. Start with 30 seconds and move up as you get familiar with the microwave at the beach house, then leave a note on the appliance to let others know how they can reheat their bacon.

You’ll want to cover the bacon with a paper towel, too.

OH! Here’s a thought. If you’re not familiar with the beach house oven, you could always cook up all the bacon before you travel. Also, you’re going to have a lot of bacon drippings to contend with. If you want to save the drippings for future cooking, then baking before hand will help you keep the drippings at home.

I have actually done this for camping trips. A couple of weeks before the trip, I baked up the bacon and tossed it in freezer. It kept well in the food cooler. When we arrived to our cabin, I just kept it in the frig. I didn’t have to clean any baking sheets or throw away the drippings.

Have fun at the beach! Let me know how well it works out.

I have done oven-baked bacon when making it for a crowd since my SIL turned me on to it almost a decade ago, but I don’t usually do it when it’s “just the family.” But I *love* your idea of doing a huge batch at once and keeping it in the freezer for whenver anybody wants.

Question: We go to the beach one week every year with 4 other families — this year it will be 21 of us — 10 adults and 11 kids (we’re outnumbered!!). Doing a huge batch of bacon would be ideal for this crowd but do I need to keep it in the freezer or would it be okay in the fridge for a week? And if so, what would be the appropriate microwave time to bring it back up to temperature?

Thanks — and great site!

~Alicia

Thanks for the tip on using the coffee filter, Zac. Very helpful, indeed.

Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I couldn’t agree more that bacon fat makes for an excellent cooking fat. I especially like to use it for hash browns. To save bacon fat without the fond, I push a coffee filter into the opening of my bacon fat jar and rubber band the filter to the outside of the jar. This method always gives me nice clean bacon fat.

Cheers,
Zac

http://simpledailyrecipes.com/baked-potato-chowder/

Regarding bacon fat disposal, I don’t want to do anything which is bad for either the environment or my home’s plumbing, or illegal where I live. Last summer we got a list of instructions on what to do with various things that might be problematic (sanitation district newsletter.) This is what it had to say about fats from food:

“Product: Oil, Grease, Fats (from food products.)

“Disposal Method: Put in sealable container (such as coffee can); let solidify or mix with absorbent material (such as kitty litter.); seal container; put in trash.

“Notes: Bring large amounts (such as from turkey fryer) to Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility.”

We don’t have a cat or kitty litter, so if I don’t have an appropriate container I pour the fat into a custard cup or mug and save it till I do.

I hear you about eating veggies to partially offset the effects of saturated fats, and we love them. Exercise helps, too.

I’d like to know how you make Baked-Potato Chowder.
And as for the bacon drippings, I believe it’s against the law in most states to dump oil. I’m not a doctor and wouldn’t want to give any advice that would hurt you. I would keep the bacon drippings, use only enough to season my cooking and always eat lots of dark leafy greens and fresh vegetables to keep my blood flowing smoothly. ;D

Every time I search my computer for certain recipes, “Oven-Fried Bacon” pops up on the list of documents, and I keep meaning to pass along another bacon tip to you:

I worked in restaurants “in a previous life” so I know about baking bacon when cooking large amounts, but I don’t do it very often. For health reasons (two adults with high cholesterol) bacon is a very rare treat at our house, so I ration it and only sprinkle a little on top of baked-potato chowder, scrambled eggs with half the yolks removed, etc.

Since it’s a pain to cook the few slices I need for a dish, and I usually just want bacon bits, I cook a whole package of bacon in my heavy 8-quart soup pot when I make chowder. I cut the bacon cross-wise in 1/2 inch pieces, stir with a slotted spoon till the bacon is cooked the way I like it, scoop it out to drain in a bowl lined with several layers of paper towels, then drain off most of the fat before throwing the onions in the soup pot to cook. Because the pot is so deep, I don’t have grease splattered all over the stove when I’m done. Once the bacon cools, I break it up a little more if I feel like it, and put what I won’t use right away in a zipper bag in the freezer.

I have a big Pyrex custard cup of solidified bacon drippings on my counter right now because I cooked a pot of corn and baked-potato chowder last night (and a package of bacon.) I’m conflicted about whether to scoop the fat into the trash, or hoard its yummy goodness!