Bacon sure has changed

[spinbaby]

Fifty years ago, we would scrutinize packages of bacon to find that one with a tiny sliver of lean in it. This morning I added a bit of coconut oil to the pan because the bacon was so lean it wouldn’t cook properly. I’m going to have to start scrutinizing bacon packages to find the one with the most fat.

[Major Nikon]

1. Add a couple of tablespoons of water to the pan

The water will boil and help render the fat in the bacon more quickly and help to cook more evenly.

[spinbaby]

2. There wasn't really enough fat to render

Serves me right for buying fancy uncured bacon. Back to store-brand bacon, which at least renders enough fat to cook your eggs in.

[SharonClark]

5. Agree. Fancy uncured bacon can be too meaty

for bacon and eggs. It has other uses.

[Major Nikon]

7. There's really no such thing as uncured bacon

Pork belly becomes bacon when it is cured and will easily last a month in the refrigerator without spoilage.

There are other pork cuts which are also cured like bacon and are called "bacon", most commonly in other countries although in the US readily available variants can come from the pork loin or pork shoulder. I suspect whatever you bought was some other cut besides pork belly.

[sir pball]

9. "Uncured" is a marketing term for no added nitrates*

*besides those naturally occurring in celery.

Which, in powder form, has about half the total nitrate content of the Evil Nasty Unnatural Prague Powder - approximately 3% in celery powder vs. 6% in Prague Powder. Given that you need 1tsp Prague to nitrate-cure 5 pounds of meat, it's utterly trivial to just add 2tsp celery powder and call it "'uncured' except for nitrates in celery".

Bacon, or Canadian Bacon, or lomo, or prosciutto, or jambon de Bayonne, or sausage, is nitrate cured whether it says so or not. Otherwise it's just salt pork.

[Major Nikon]

10. Some of it is literally uncured

Meaning it will only last days in the refrigerator vs weeks for bacon.

[sir pball]

12. That's pork, not bacon.

USDA/FDA standards require meat labeled as "bacon" to be cured; "uncured*" on the label is an unregulated term with no actual bearing on the product being sold as "bacon". It doesn't have to be belly, but if it isn't it needs to have the cut on the label, e.g. Canadian bacon, shoulder bacon, etc.

Raw pork belly is absolutely delicious, though.

[Major Nikon]

13. This is from the USDA

Can bacon be made without the use of nitrite?
Bacon can be manufactured without the use of nitrite, but must be labeled "Uncured Bacon, No Nitrates or Nitrites added" and bear the statement "Not Preserved, Keep Refrigerated Below 40 °F At All Times" — unless the final product has been dried according to USDA regulations, or if the product contains an amount of salt sufficient to achieve an internal brine concentration of 10% or more, the label does not have to carry the handle statement of "Not Preserved, Keep Refrigerated below ___" etc. Recent research studies have shown for products labeled as uncured, certain ingredients added during formulation can naturally produce small amounts of nitrates in bacon and, therefore, have to be labeled with the explanatory statement "no nitrates or nitrites added except for those naturally occurring in ingredients such as celery juice powder, parsley, cherry powder, beet powder, spinach, sea salt etc."

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/food-safety-education/get-answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/meat-preparation/bacon-and-food-safety/CT_Index

My daughter brought some some "bacon" that was so-labeled as the first one specified and had an expiration date that was just a few days. Evidently there's also "uncured" bacon that is allowed to be labeled as such if cured with vegetable based nitrates.

[FarPoint]

11. excellent tip!

[sboatcar]

3. I highly recommend doing bacon in the oven

on a cookie sheet. I start with a cold oven, put in the bacon, set it to 400, and usually about 5 minutes after its done preheating the bacon is done, stays nice and flat, and less mess to clean up (and if you're going for healthier put the bacon on a rack on the cookie sheet so the fat drips off)

[Eyeball_Kid]

8. Believe it or not... Try the microwave.

Place about 4-5 slices of bacon on a plate, sandwiched between sheets of paper towel. Set the microwave to around four minutes, maybe a few seconds longer. That's it.

[SharonClark]

4. It may depend on the brand.

Most the “major brand” bacon available at my local grocery has little lean meat. Sometimes artisan butchers’ bacon is more meaty.

I love bacon! My favorite major brand is Oscar Meyer Black Label.

[The Roux Comes First]

6. We Must Live in Different Neighborhoods - Or At Least Shop Different Stores

I still love me some bacon, but we routinely look for a package where you can actually see more than a hint of lean!