Want Quick, Easy Bacon? Let George (Foreman) Do It!

I Don't Know Why I Didn't Think Of This Before

I have written quite a lot about bacon over the years. It's one of my favorite topics, to say nothing of its being one of my favorite foods. I've written about bacon in general and I've written about specific bacons. I've written about how to buy bacon, how to store bacon, and how to cook bacon. And it's that last topic that I want to address here.

I have previously noted that my favorite way to prepare the porcine ambrosia that is bacon is the simple, old-fashioned way: fry it up in a pan or on a flattop griddle. And for the most part, that remains true. That's the way my mama taught me almost sixty years ago, and it's still the best of the traditional methods. But what about some of the less traditional methods, hmmm?

Microwave ovens and their attendant gadgetry did not exist back when I first slapped a slice of bacon on a slab of steel. Do I have a microwave now? Yes. Do I have a microwave bacon cooker? Yes. Do I insert the latter into the former on a regular basis? No way. The only time I microwave bacon is if I'm in a desperate hurry or if I don't really care that it comes out with a case of chewy, dried-out rigor mortis. When I'm making bacon bits for a salad or a baked potato, I'll nuke up a couple of slices. Otherwise, almost never.

Another new-fangled cooking device is the air fryer, which is actually nothing more than a countertop convection oven. I wrote fairly recently about using this method to cook bacon, and I'm in favor of it. The major drawback is that you can only cook three or four slices at a time. Not too practical if you're cooking for a lot of people.

Now, when it comes to mass bacon cookery, nothing beats the tried and true restaurant method of putting it on a rack on a sheet pan and sticking it in the oven at 400° for fifteen to twenty minutes. You get nice, flat, crispy bacon with no turning or watching or babysitting. Maybe it's just my palate, but I can detect a slight flavor difference when it's made that way. Nothing that's a deal breaker, though. It's way better than the microwave method. Besides, my wife likes it that way and it's certainly easy. So I'm good with baking your bacon, too.

But here's my epiphany, and it's something that's been staring me in the face for years and I don't know why I didn't think of it before: let George do it.

Boxing legend George Foreman first stuck his name on an electric contact grill back in 1994. His “Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine” was an instant success and has gone through many iterations and upgrades since that first model. Which I still have, by the way. It's been supplanted for everyday use by one of the newer, bigger, more colorful jobs, but the original little white one I bought twenty-five or so years ago still works when I plug it in, a testament to its durability.

George (the grill, not the boxer) does all kinds of things in my kitchen, including making great grilled cheese sandwiches. I had recently put him to work doing just that and he was still sitting on the counter drying out and waiting to be put away last night when I got a hankering for some bacon. And I don't know why it took twenty-five years to occur to me, but it did. I was kind of tired, kind of in a hurry, and I didn't feel like hauling out the air fryer or waiting for the oven or cleaning up the griddle. And I wasn't desperate enough for the microwave. So I thought,“Hmmmm,” as I stood looking at George's shiny red surface. I did a quick Google search to see if anybody else had had the same thought. Caspita! Was I late to the party! Numerous George Foreman grill bacon recipes and videos immediately popped up in my search.

Armed with the knowledge that it could be done and how to do it, I preheated my machine, slipped three slices of bacon on the lower plate, closed the lid and walked away to do other prep. I went back two minutes later, lifted the lid, flipped the bacon, closed it up again and walked away for another two minutes. When I returned, I retrieved three of the prettiest slices of perfectly cooked bacon I had ever seen. They were as flat and as evenly cooked as if I had used the oven method, but it took about a third of the time. I like my bacon a little toward the crispy side but it was still nice and tender, not at all like the undesirable microwaved results.

Truth be told, bacon cooked this way still does not have the same.....character, I guess.....as good ol' pan or griddle-fried bacon. But there's something else it doesn't have: excessive fat. After all, that's the point of a “Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine.” The fat was all rendered out into the nifty little catch tray, making for a much simpler cleanup. So, while grilling bacon on a contact grill does not necessarily make it a “health food,” it does offer a nominally healthier alternative to frying. And it's certainly faster, easier, and cleaner.

Now, if this is something you've been doing for years and it wasn't really a big revelation to you, just roll your eyes, say “Duh!” and go read something else. Mi dispiace. I'm a little slow sometimes. But if I've opened even one eye to a delicious, easy, and sorta healthy way to cook that marvelous, magical meat that is bacon, then I've accomplished my mission.

Oh, man! I don't have any of my absolute favorite Benton's bacon in the house right now. I see a road trip to Madisonville, Tennessee coming on. And with a power inverter in my car, maybe I could plug George in while I'm driving and........nah. But don't be surprised if my hotel room smells like (sigh) bacon.