WowBacon Microwave Bacon Cooker
You know, you're just askin' for failure when you use a microwave for anything other than reheating leftovers or popping popcorn. But I'm weirdly drawn to this crazy bacon-cooking contraption. Hang the strips from the lid of the WowBacon Cooker pitcher and the fat renders down into the bottom while it cooks. Sure, you're not going to get as juicy a bacon experience as you would if you pan-cooked the strips, but think of the ease of collecting the fat for use in other recipes. My guess is that this would be perfect for a recipe that called for crisp-cooked bacon—though who knows how well a microwave would do "crisp." $19.95 plus $7 shipping and handling, from wowbacon.com [via Boing Boing]
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11 Comments:
My gosh, I've been microwaving bacon to a proper crisp for years. It makes it so crisp, without burning, that some of my family will only eat pan-fried because of the different, chewier texture. The gizmo does look interesting, though.
lemons at 10:38AM on 09/13/08
I was thinking the same thing, lemons, and wondering why I would need a contraption like this. What's wrong with the paper towel microwave method? (Well, I know what's wrong with it - I can't cook massive amounts of bacon at one time. It doesn't look like this can either, though.)
jessie at 11:05AM on 09/13/08
I've done the paper-towel method, but it's been so long since I've had a microwave that I've plum forgotten whether it made it crisp or not.
Adam Kuban at 11:13AM on 09/13/08
I would take strong issue with the notion that a microwave oven is useless except for reheating leftovers and popping popcorn. Barbara Kafka, a highly respected and honored chef has written at least two cookbooks I'm aware of on the subject of cooking in the microwave. Take a look at her books or her website for numerous examples. To my mind, you gain the greatest advantage in a microwave when you do vegetables: asparagus, broccoli, corn in the husk, perhaps most notably artichokes.
lawandmusic at 11:45AM on 09/13/08
I actually almost always microwave my bacon, one of the few things I actually do cook in the thing.
With the paper towel method I only get about 4 at a time and the fat soaks the whole paper towel and leaks off the side.
I might actually be interested in this thing.
ebraun at 11:47AM on 09/13/08
Your post is 2/3 correct. A microwave has three uses: leftovers, popcorn, and bacon. There's no need for a gadget, a few paper towels work just fine.
awtane at 11:50AM on 09/13/08
What they said... I grew up on microwaved bacon and really like it much more than pan fried (and less mess, too!).
My mom actually had a special microwave platter thing for bacon that drew all the fat away, with ample use of paper towels as well. Been working great for 20+ years.
The only problem is that if your microwave isn't powerful enough bacon can be an almost impossibility.
Otherwise the damn thing is nearly useless.
Gideon at 1:15PM on 09/13/08
I have been microwaving bacon for years by the paper towel method learned from an old Jacques Pepin show. I can get six slices, each cut in half, on a 12" round platter. If you time the cooking right you can get either crisp or soft.
@lawandmusic: I agree about micorowave vegetables. After an NYT story ran this summer, I dragged out Kafka's Microwave Gourmet. The veggies are better than steamed, less mess and keeps the kitchen cooler in summer. I'm not looking back.
Blue Iris at 1:36PM on 09/13/08
It looks like it would be a convenient way to hoard bacon grease. Doesn't it appear as if all the grease would flow to the bottom, making it easy to pour into a storage container?
Bacon grease is a beautiful thing. I've been making cornbread with it, lately.
Susquehanna at 2:08PM on 09/13/08
Yes, bacon grase is great. But my general rule was a piece of paper between the platter and the bacon for each piece of bacon, plus another on top. That pretty well absorbed the whole thing; I use a raised-ridge pan so if there's more, it doesn't pool around the paper or meat.
And bacon for a crowd? Bake it, baby, on a broiler pan. Line it with foil and you don't even have to worry about scrubbing it. I came late in life to being the matriarch of a big family, and when the clan gathers, that's what I do.
lemons at 4:30PM on 09/13/08
I've actually pulled this plastic tray thingy out of my cupboard again and used it before I read this article. I seldom cook bacon to be honest, but I found some great nitrate free, bacon and the cravings started. I like my bacon cooked nice and slow in a cold pan, however, life being what it is, I started using my bacon tray, (think of a plastic broiler pan for a toaster oven) I can fit about 5 slices at a time, and since there is just the 2 of us, thats more than sufficient(the cats get the remaining slice) I dont cook my bacon all the way with the nuker though, I parcook it and then finish it off in the pan to get just the level of crispiness that we love.
huneybumper at 9:43AM on 09/14/08