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A Bacon Press is a heavy, flat weight used to stop bacon from curling when frying.

You put it on the bacon strips and leave it there while the food is cooking. It causes the cooked bacon to come out as perfectly flat, straight strips. It also reduces splatter from the bacon, and causes the bacon to cook somewhat faster.

A few are made of glass, so you can see how the bacon is progressing through them. These glass ones tend to be about 8 to 10 inches (20 to 25 cm) square by about 1/4 inch (1/2 cm) thick. Most, though, are made of metal, either aluminum or most usually, cast iron. These metal ones will be about 8 inches (20 cm) long by 4 inches (10 cm) wide. The cast iron ones will weigh about 2 1/2 pounds (around 1 kg) in total. You can also get round metal ones, about 9 inches (23 cm) wide, meant to basically cover the whole bottom of a 10 inch (25 cm) frying pan.

Whether glass of metal, they will have a wooden or a coil handle on top that won't heat up.

Some say that there's a catch in using a Bacon Press with cheaper bacon that has had its water cure injected, as most is nowadays: as the water escapes from the bacon it gets trapped under the Bacon Press, boiling and steaming the bacon instead of frying it.

Bacon Presses can also be used:

• to flatten grilled sandwiches, hamburger patties, and quesadillas;
• to flatten boneless meats when grilling or frying them;
• to use as a weight to press out whey when making cheese or thick yoghurt.

See Also:

Bacon, Curing

Other entries for: Presses

Bacon Press, Cookie Pistol, Garlic Press, Jerky Gun, Raisin Seeder, Spätzle Press, Sushi Press, Tassie Press, Tea Press, Tongue Press, Tortilla Press

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Alambic Stills, Apple Corer, Avocado Slicers, Baking Mats, Baking Stones, Batterie de Cuisine, Biscuit Brake, Blowtorches, Branding Iron, Bread Bins, Bread Machines, Bulb Baster, Butter Bell, Butter Muslin, Caja China, Can Openers, Canning Funnels, Cans, Chopsticks, Contact Paper, Cookware, Cooling Racks, Corkscrews, CorningWare, Cuppitiello, Dishwashers, Doughnut Cutters, Egg Cups, Esky, Fat Separators, Firkins, Flour Dredgers, Flour Duster, Food Pushers, Funnels, Girdle, Graters, Griddles, Heat Diffuser, Ice Pick, Icing Syringe, Kitchen String, Kitchen Tongs, Kneading Gloves, Knives, Measuring Cups, Melon Baller, Mesquite, Milk Cellar, Non-Electrical Rotisseries, Olive Pitter, Oshibori, Oxo Good Grips, Paraffin, Pastry Brush, Pastry Frame, Pea Sheller, Petites Marmites, Pie Plates, Pie Racks, Pizzelle Iron, Proof Box, Ramekins, Rolling Cookie Cutters, Rolling Pins, Salad Spinner, Salamanders, Scales, Spatulas, Steamers, Sugar Cutters, Sushi-oke, Tassie Cups, Tea Trappings, Thermometers, Tortilla Warmers, Treen, Tupperware, Uchiwa, Waffle Iron, Whisks