Posted on 02/09/2021 9:36:01 AM PST by mylife
Wasting good bacon is against the law in certain parts of the South—according to some people. So if you are reading this while sniffing or inspecting a package of bacon that's been in the back of your refrigerator for an indefinite amount of time, I'll get right to the point.
Whether you have opened the package or not, uncooked bacon will last for seven days in the fridge, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. That rule applies whether the bacon is thick-cut or thin, hickory or maple-smoked, the fancy stuff or the cheap stuff. You've got seven days.
Store it right. If you have leftover uncooked bacon, don't just put the opened package back in the refrigerator. Keep it from drying out (and making the other contents of your fridge smell like bacon) by storing it in a sealed container or resealable plastic ziplock bag, or wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil.
Freeze it properly. If you can't eat enough BLT Salads and Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Bacon to finish a package of bacon in a week, your best bet is to freeze it. Although foods that are properly stored in a freezer are safe to eat indefinitely, the USDA recommends using frozen bacon within one month. Prevent freezer burn by wrapping the unopened package in a layer of aluminum foil (and label it with the date). If you tend to cook bacon in smaller amounts, flash-freeze individual strips so that they don't harden into a single slab and you can easily defrost as much as you need.
Once you're sure that the bacon is safe to eat, brush up on your bacon cooking basics. And if you're in need of some recipe inspiration, I recommend these Bacon Pancakes.
It lasts until it starts stinking.
This past weekend I bought some market bacon that wasn’t smoked so I cold smoked it for a couple of hours. Much better than any packaged smoked bacon.
When I take out a few pieces to cook for breakfast, I cut off the sealed end and then reseal the bag.
If a vacuum sealed bag can last for weeks at the grocery store, it can last for weeks in my refrigerator.
-PJ
Hanging around in the cold cellar for multiple years, just knock off the flies.
I put hot bacon grease on salads with just a little vinegar, fantastic dressing.
If it isn’t green, it’s probably still good.
Properly cured bacon should last until the next hog. And the commercial stuff should be full of preservatives as well.
I buy 3lbs bulk at a time. 1lb. vacuum sealed and into the freezer, 1lb. vacuum sealed and into the refrigerator. and finally 1lb. into a zip lock for immediate use. Never had it go bad.
We have found the thick cut bulk bacon at Food for Less (kroger) to be very good and only $3.99 a pound in the Butcher shop. It is often sold out.
Bought 4lbs of Apple wood smoked thick cut Farmer John’s at Sam’s last time shopping, decent not great. Apparently Sam’s stopped caring Wright brand bacon which is what I was looking for. Hopefully that is a temporary situation as I hear Wright is first rate.
No. Read the book. It's Green Ham and Eggs, not Green Eggs and Ham.
There's even a Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Eggs_and_Ham
It lasts until it goes bad.
I’ve laid off bacon to reduce my sodium intake. But, my wife and daughter still eat buckets’ full. The other day my wife brought home half a “bacon-donut” — basically a very(!) rich texture donut with (real) bacon bits heavily applied. She said it was too sweet for her, so I eventually ate it. Good heavens, talk about “decadent”. I believe my life expectancy has decreased a couple days...
(Is there a “1/2 sarcasm” tag?)
Properly cured bacon will last indefinitely. Modern bacon is filled with water and minimally cured. Nasty stuff.
That’s a good idea. Saves baggies.
Try keto. Usually fixes the salt problem and bacon is on the diet.
Aldi sells a package of “irregular cuts” of bacon that is of excellent quality and a good price.
You can always freeze it.
—
Yup. Freezes well with no change in texture. Lasts for months that way.
A moral imperative, too. :-)
and a requirement for life proper to a rational being
Just purchased over 100 lb of bacon from a food salvage place. By the case at less than $1 per pound. It is Applewood smoked and still in date. There is about 20 lb per case.
Put it all in the freezer and pull it out 1 at a time, keeping 1 thawed in the fridge. Keep my freezer at zero degrees, found it keeps things bbetter.
I have no problem keeping food 2 to 3 years if properly sealed and frozen.
I get lots of meat this way, close to date, and then freeze it. Purchased 30 hams, 3 cases of Jimmy Dean Sausage, 300 lbs of frozen vegetables the same way.
Have a 15 cubic ft chest freezer in my van for food runs. Then just plug it in with an extension cord while parked in the driveway and transfer it to my home freezers. They are full to the brim.
Had to put 2-50 bags of oats on the van freezer lid to keep it shut.
I expect the STHTF. I’m fully sustainable indefinitely with enough books to keep me busy for decades.
And 150 lbs of popcorn to sit back and watch!!!
I brew beer, so I have a ton of barley malt and lots of adjunct grains, hops and yeasts. Needless to say, I share with a large extended family.
My kind of planner!
Where do you find these salvage cos?
They are everywhere in Central Pennsylvania.
With half a dozen food salvage places, 3 big produce auctions and thousands of horse and buggy Amish growing food, the area is in good shape.
What is the name of this place? I have 3 freezers here.
I agree. The plastic sealed wet bacon, sold in most grocery stores, deteriorates far more quickly than the dry bacon I get from the butcher at our local farm market. Wet bacon also shrinks to nothing because of the water content. You’re paying for salt water.
Finally, someone posting a useful thread.
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