Caring for Cast Iron

Troubleshooting

Cast Iron

Tools

Gifts

by Julia Kemper Johnson

After a few cooks with your new cast iron skillet, you will have started to get a feel for your pan: how long it takes to heat up, how it feels moving from stovetop to oven, and how the smooth cooking surface reacts as you move food around the pan. Your first lessons are complete: it’s time to break out the bacon.

There are a few schools of thought when it comes to cooking bacon. Leaving aside the folks who prefer using the oven, you have two choices: start with a cold pan, or pre-heat at low-medium, and add extra fat before you start cooking.

The best way to avoid a messy skillet is to use good bacon. Lower-quality products include lots of sugar, and that sugar can easily burn and leave residue on your cooking surface.

Cold Pan Method

1.

Arrange bacon slices in a single layer in a non preheated Field Skillet. Make sure the slices do not overlap.

2.

Place skillet over medium heat and cook until the bacon starts to brown on one side. Use tongs to flip the bacon.

3.

Continue to cook the bacon, flipping occasionally to prevent burning, until cooked to your liking (8 to 12 minutes from cold pan to finish).

4.

Once cooked, remove the bacon from the skillet and drain on a paper-towel-lined plate.

Hot Pan Method

Extra cooking oil will help keep your bacon from sticking to the pan. Keep an eye on it, and be ready to flip before your slices get too crispy. (And if it's too hot, remove your pan from the heat and turn down your burner just a touch.)

1.

Pre-heat your Field skillet over low-medium heat for up to five minutes — be careful, you don’t want the pan getting too hot. Add about ½ tablespoon of bacon fat, butter, or lard to the pan.

2.

Add bacon to pan and cook until the bacon starts to brown on one side. Use tongs to flip the bacon.

3.

Continue to cook the bacon, flipping occasionally to prevent burning, until cooked to your liking.

4.

Once cooked, remove the bacon from the skillet and drain on a paper-towel-lined plate.

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