Deep fried bacon

In article <[email hidden]>,

JimLane said:

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

JimLane said:

We have mesquite here too.

jim

Ok, I'm in the Austin/San Antonio corridor.

Where are you?

San Diego.

jim

Really!

I did not know that Mesquite grew that far West. :-)

Is it imported?
Are you sure it is Mesquite?
It's a variety of Acacia and there ARE a lot of those!

Cheers!
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

hob said:

"Bob (this one)" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

JimLane said:

hob wrote:

> Most of the old cooks around here used to keep a jar of bacon
> grease near the stove, and they would occasionally strain the
> hot grease thru a cloth. Apprently it was proper practice back
> then to fry a piece of potato in the grease after use - word
> was it took out "odors". Don't know if it worked or not.

Yes it does take away the odor and some tastes, salt, and so on.
The main reason they saved the grease was to fry their eggs.

Cooking a potato in hot fat crusts the surface and does nothing to
remove anything from the fat.

Good lord - you don't cook the potato in oil hot enough to crust it -
do you assume all the old cooks were that stupid so as to crust a
potato when removing odors?

Is this some sort of rhetorical question?

As you say below, you only know of the whole thing second-hand. And what
makes you believe that potatoes will remove odors? Guesswork?

Potatoes will crust if the oil is more than 212°F. At that point, water
is driven from the surface and starch will gelatinize.

Quoted message said:

Do you have any extrapolations or any first hand data based on
cooking a potato in oil not hot enough to "crust it", or is your post
just more "Pastorio Pontifications"?

I can offer an explanation or I can offer an argument. You may choose
which path to travel here.

Do tell me what mechanism is at work when cooking a potato "does take
away the odor and some tastes, salt, and so on." How, exactly does that
work? And at what temperature would "all the old cooks" cook "a potato
when removing odors?"

Quoted message said:

I known second-hand of the method used in school kitchens, and from
older cooks - according to the users, with ongoing success - but I
can admit have not personally used it ot tested it. Have you tested
it?

Yes. I have. And I've read a lot of food science in my three decades of
professional food service. Taken classes and seminars on unfolding
understandings and research results. And spent lots of time with reps
from the oil manufacturing companies to find out how to minimize usage
and keep quality high.

You?

Quoted message said:

If it did, restaurants would do that and they don't.

Why would they do that? Most oil kept at temp for days breaks down
in heat and needs to be replaced, a more compelling reason to change
oil than than food odors in the oil.

Obviously, you have *no* experience with oils in commercial cooking.
Equally obviously, you decided to get into this thread to fight. Oils
kept at temperature and properly cleaned and filtered are good for
weeks. The manufacturers say so. Go argue with them. Flavor tests say
so. Argue with them.

Quoted message said:

Salt doesn't dissolve in oil, it settles to the bottom and

Quoted message said:

sits there ruining the fat. Nothing removes tastes from fats.

Nothing that you know of, which is far, far different than "nothing".

I wrote exactly what I meant. You might want to check a reliable source
of information on the subject before posting guesses.

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Filtering removes salt from fat.

If you are correct in your claim about its behavior in that "it
settles to the bottom" , then draining the bottom couple inches of
oil out also removes salt.

You mean you have no idea if it's so. But this is very different that
asserting that doing *anything* with a potato removes salt from oil. The
implication is that the salt dissolves in the oil and is somehow removed
by cooking a potato in it. Both assertions are nonsense.

Salt will cause changes in frying oil that will make it break down very
quickly. It's why hoity-toity French chefs and fast food guys alike
don't salt anything until after it's fried, and away from the fryer.

But, unless you have a bottom-drain fryer, "draining the bottom couple
inches of oil out" isn't possible without major hassles. Better to
simply not put salt into the fryer at all. And filter it after each use.

Scorched particles settle to the bottom of fryers and form a rather
dense sediment. Just draining won't move them. They typically need to be
stirred or agitated to break loose and that act redistributes them. In
that case, all the oil needs to be drained and filtered. And the oil pan
needs to be cleaned of stubborn sediments and polymerized oil buildup.

Quoted message said:

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The whole point of cooking the potato was to heat the fat to cook
any potential spoilage factors and essentially dehydrate them.

pure speculatation

Give it a rest. You just don't know what you're talking about.

Quoted message said:

- and - why would one cook a slice of potato in fat and toss it to
"essentailly dehydrate them [potatoes]" ? Do you think those with
more real experience cooking than you are all stupid enough to fry
potatoes in oil merely to dry them out? Or heat the fat to 350
degrees to remove water?

One at a time:
1) My sentence above as written was clumsy. The crux is that cooking the
potato is not the point. Heating the oil is. It serves to minimize any
spoilage factors and dehydrates anything in the oil that might create
off tastes and breakdown. But certainly not free water.
2) Your snotty question about "more real experience" assumes that I
don't have much experience. My first restaurant job was 52 years ago.
I've owned and operated all sorts of restaurants from BBQ joints to
starred operations to country clubs and resorts since the 70's. I'm a
consultant to foodservice companies. I've written 1500 or so articles
about food, cooking , etc.
3) Anyone who heats fat to remove free water is plain stupid. Once it
gets over 212°, there's every chance it'll flash to steam explosively.
People end up in hospital burn wards from that.

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The potato serves the same purpose as that old recipe for where the
ham shank gets cut off but the real reason is the size of the
roasting pan.

What does a ham shank have to do with odors?

Obviously, you don't know that legendary story about why a certain cook
cut the shanks off her hams. Ask around.

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Sounds good, but on second reading it is pure confuscation.

There's no such word as "confuscation."

Quoted message said:

Besides, cracking the shank or cutting the bone is the way to get
marrow out during cooking (that bone doesn't always come cut, FYI).

<LOL> We used to cut them with our meat bandsaws in my restaurants. Ever
worked with one of them?

Quoted message said:

And who told you the "real reason" was the size of the roasting pan?
FYE, my old roasting pans can fit a whole ham with bone and room to
spare.

FYE, save yourself the embarrassment of taking this any further.

Quoted message said:

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The potato isn't the real reason; it just seems like it should be.

If you haven't tried it or tested it, how would you ever know? And
why do you say such foolish things?

Why do you assume that your assumptions are true? Particularly since
virtually everything you've said in this post is belligerent guesswork.

Pastorio

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Of course, then you need some grits, butter, salt and pepper, a
dash of hot sauce . . .

Now this part is true.

Pastorio

hob said:

"JimLane" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

sf said:

On Thu, 08 Sep 2005 18:07:07 -0500, Andy wrote:

>Today I deep fried some thick-sliced bacon in canola in the presto fry-
>baby. It worked great! I cooked three slices for about four minutes until
>most of the bacon fat dissolved.
>The finished bacon wasn't greasy and was done to the perfect tenderness,
>even though the slices did curl up on themselves.
>It became part of a yummy bacon cheeseburger.
>
>Andy

OK - I understand the concept, but how did you keep it flat?

Excepting for sandwiches, why is flat important?

presentation - the difference between food and cuisine.

<LOL>

Pastorio

JimLane said:

Bob (this one) wrote: it all his fault, its all his fault.

Watch out bobbieboy, the sky is falling.

Jim, do you actually have anything to say or will this empty prattle be
the norm for you in the future?

Quoted message said:

Ever since you got your sails trimmed you have been on a hard case with
me. That is a fact.

Your idea of "fact" is very interesting. I assume you think that you
managed to triumph over me in some fashion on some occasion. I'll look
for a clue about what that could possibly mean. If this is your usual
style, there will be only cryptic and uninformative references so you
can continue to believe your feverish imaginings.

Quoted message said:

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>>>> Excepting for sandwiches, why is flat important?
>>>
>>> Even for sandwiches. Chopped bacon is easier to bite and chew.

You can't chop curled bacon? Why is flat bacon important, you haven't
really given an answer to the question.

<LOL> Jim, this really, literally makes me question your sanity. Do you
not realize that *you* asked the question above? "Excepting for
sandwiches, why is flat important?" You're the one that asserted that
sandwiches needed flat bacon. No one else. Only you. I said that chopped
was fine for sandwiches, remember?

Quoted message said:

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>> And pray tell, why you can't take those crispy spirals or curls
>> and break them up? Too much thought or effort for some I guess.
>
> Not everybody likes them crisp. Some like them to have a bit of
> resiliency and some <gasp> like it chewy. Believe it or not,
> there's more than just one measure of doneness for bacon. I know.
> News to you...
>
> <LOL> Poor JimLane today. Wants to fight with me. I guess the
> drubbings over the years have taken their toll on his attention
> span and cranial index. Little guy just running around today biting
> at my ankles.

At this point, I've asked questions, bobbieboy, not started a fight.
You, on the other hand are setting up for one.

<LOL> But somehow you always seem to reply to my notes with that
whimpery, style of yours. Following me around so you can take shots.
Poor, obsessive Jim.

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Quoted message said:

> So it looks like you've changed your idea to include sandwiches,
> too, for bacon fragments. So in order to divert attention from your
> gaffe, you pick a fight. Seems like a very little league "Wag the
> Dog"...

Bogus charge, bobbieboy and you know it. The questions stands: why is
flat bacon important. You haven't really given an answer, instead divert
attention,

See above about who thinks flat bacon is important. I specifically said
it wasn't when I said, "Even for sandwiches. Chopped bacon is easier to
bite and chew."

You keep asking this same question as though you can't recall that you
asked it to begin with.

So, Jim,. Why did you say that sandwiches need flat bacon?

Quoted message said:

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> What other league could it be from JimLane...?
>
> Pastorio

I see the point of the content went right over your head,
cheffietroll. would you like for me to spell it out in four lettered
words you MIGHT be able to understand?

<LOL> This should be rich. JimLane offering others - any others -
language lessons. Or any kind of lessons.

Well you didn't get it, so here it is again: why is flat bacon important?

See above.

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And it should be "four-letter words" with "four-letter" as an
adjective. Like feather-brained JimLane.

Quoted message said:

The point of deep frying them IS to get them crisp.

Sorry, Boner. The point of deep frying them is to cook them. The degree
of cooking is arbitrary and up to the individual. In my sundry
restaurants, resorts, country clubs we deep-fried bacon daily. It's a
normal restaurant technique, among several others, for cooking bacon.
In the ski resort, we did probably 75 pounds a day in the fryers.

Okay, I'll concede that. There are also the limp bacon eaters, but that
has nothing to do with what I asked.

Of course it does. First you said that sandwich bacon needed to be flat.
Then you said deep-fried bacon could be crumbled. Tenderness is
absolutely germane to the subject you keep complicating. You can't
crumble tender bacon.

Quoted message said:

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Simple idea, got it? Then someone said they did not like the bacon
curled. Well if you don't want it curled you would not deep fry it.
Did you get that?

Why is flat bacon important? We're talking about bacon and its uses.
What dish absolutely cannot be done with curled or chopped bacon?
Customer is a diversion on your part. We've not been discussing them and
this is diversionary, and not a very good one at that. Why is flat bacon
important?

See your question way above.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Sorry, again, Sparky. Restaurants routinely deep fry bacon to the chewy
stage and cool it for sandwiches. Pile the cooked bacon into metal hotel
pans (usually 1/3 or 1/6 size and rest on the cooler part of the grill).
Cooks pick up the softly fried bacon and press it on the grill for a few
minutes to heat through for sandwiches.

So, what does this have to do with anything? It has nothing to do with
my key question. God information, but a non sequitur to the question.

Um Jim, you asked about why bacon should be flat for sandwiches,
remember. I'm sorry to have to keep reminding you.

The only reason we did it in my restaurants was because whole strips are
easier to handle than chopped, and portion control was absolute. Four
strips of bacon on a blt was the portion size.

Quoted message said:

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I asked what the problem was with this curled bacon other than for
sandwiches? again, cheffietroll, it is about deep fried bacon,
remember? Haven't lost that thought yet, have you?

It is a singular hilarity to have JimLane lecture over his head.
Preaching his childish snideness and be so wrong. It's genuinely funny
to watch these acrobatics to then see him land on his scant IQ.

This is bobbie code for I haven't got an answer so will just attack the
questioner.

The fact that you concede that you raised the topic in saying "I asked
what the problem was with this curled bacon other than for sandwiches?"
means that it's *your* issue. No one else's. No one else has said that
flat bacon is necessary for anything. Only you.

That's the answer. Again.

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But do carry on, Zippy. Never let the fact that you have no idea what
you're talking about stop you. Why start now?

Quoted message said:

Okay, not we can move on.

I said those curls could be broken up to spread them out on a
sandwich, so flat is not really an issue.

And the original post went whoooooshing over your head. It said:

"The finished bacon wasn't greasy and was done to the perfect
tenderness, even though the slices did curl up on themselves."

Glad you finally picked that up.

Bwahahaha... I bet this is why you so snidely suggested crumbling it.
Oh, wait. You can't crumble tender bacon...

Quoted message said:

It seems to have escaped your notice
until now also whooshing right past you, otherwise, I am sure you would
have fed me that point before.

<LOL> So it got past me or I would have beaten you to death with it
before? I think this is one of the funniest things you've ever posted.
And maybe the absolutely, hilariously dumbest in a veritable forest of dumb.

But, alas, Jim, it absolutely demolishes your observation that bacon
could be crumbled. And it was implicit in my saying that bacon should be
chopped - because only brittle, very well done, bacon could be crumbled.

Quoted message said:

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Actually, JimLane, you said this:
"Excepting for sandwiches, why is flat importannt?

So until I brought it up, you thought that bacon for sandwiches had to
be flat. And it wasn't until I said that chopped bacon could be used for
sandwiches that you trotted out your further assumption that deep
frying bacon *must* give you crisp results. It doesn't, of course. But
you said:

We've established this is bs, bobbie. An ASSumption on your part.

No assumption. Quotation of your words shows it loud and clear.
Um, there hasn't been anything established like you're trying to assert,
Jim.

Quoted message said:

I've
been eating sandwiches with curled, chopped and flat bacon far longer
than you can imagine.

I can recall the year I cooked some real curly bacon, bobbie, and that
was back in 1955. Why was it curly? Boy scout camp out, bacon and a
stick over a fire near Lutsa beach outside Athens Greece. ASSSSSSSume
your way away, bobbie. How smart are you feeling now?

Real smart. I'd been cooking in a restaurant called The Towne Spa for
three years when you went on your Boy Scout trip - since 1952 in South
River, New Jersey. I cooked the bacon for all its uses; sometimes in the
deep fryer, sometimes on the grill, and sometimes in an oven.

Quoted message said:

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"And pray tell, why you can't take those crispy spirals or curls
and break them up? Too much thought or effort for some I guess."

Not everyone likes bacon crisp - the OP, for example. Too complicated
a thought for you? That's why I said to chop it. It's tender.

My question stands: other than sandwiches, why is flat bacon. . .

See above.

Quoted message said:

Can you eat curled bacon with eggs? Can it be used on a sandwich? Can it
be chopped and used in most other places.

Now, chef bob, is there a recipe that absolutely, positively has to have
flat bacon, where curled or chopped bacon cannot be used? Why is flat
bacon important. I can aesthetics coming my way.

Let me see. One of the great cooks of our time asked, "Excepting for
sandwiches, why is flat important?" Oh, wait. It wasn't a cook at all.
It was you?

You seem to think flat bacon is important. My reply is, "Even for
sandwiches. Chopped bacon is easier to bite and chew."

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If only you could begin to grasp the lameness of your frantic flopping
around like this. If only you could see how funny it is for you to
post some stupid [censored] - your usual fare - get called on it, and try to
divert attention from your absurdities by assaults like this sad effort.

Now about that 22 versus 223 thing. . . hmmm, stupid [censored] from you,
right? You are in a glass house, bobbie.

Uh, Jim, what 22 versus 223 thing? Did you go a-googling and make a
mistake? I mean I have both kinds of guns, but I don't recall discussing
them with you. Perhaps you can offer information instead of your usual
incoherent, cryptic nonsense. Remind me how you drubbed me. Maybe give
me a Google reference so I can go see myself humbled.

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Good, now take your meds and call your doctor in the morning. Perhaps
he'll change the dosage or give you something that works better.

Poor JimLane. Try as you might, you just don't have it. You know
little about food, nothing about language and less about logic. And
yet you insist on following me around and trying to score points.

Far more about them than you are assuming. Do not confuse Usenet posting
with reality.

So you're just faking it here? <LOL> You preach and bluster about a lot
of foodie subjects, usually off-the-mark and want me to believe you
don't. You write like a slug and want me to believe you don't. You
follow logical trains like they were made by Lionel and you want me to
think you don't. Usenet posting is a facet of reality. Sloppy thinking,
wording and posting is still sloppy, and offers some defining
characteristics.

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Or you can call your mommy and have her kiss you on the head and make
it feel all better!

My mommy's dead, JimLane. Get your head out of your ass and try to act
like a grownup, even if it's just acting.

Being as you are the self-acclaimed expert on everything here vis-a-vis
me, why don't you demonstrate the technique for me, if you head is not
stuck.

This is your best? IKYABWAI is the acme of your wit?

Quoted message said:

Had I known, I would not have mentioned your mother.

I'll concede this one. You wouldn't have.

Pastorio