7 Bacon Press Benefits That Will Transform Your Cooking Routine
Invest in a bacon press for perfectly cooked meat, flat bacon, reduced cooking time, flavorful dishes, and versatile use on various foods.
Bacon presses are the best devices many of us have never heard of. The versatile cast-iron devices aren’t only for gourmands or bacon-eaters. Even casual vegetarians can benefit from these useful presses. Bacon presses help cook the meat evenly and in half the time. Professional and casual chefs alike praise the impact of bacon presses on flavor, texture, and the overall preparation experience.
Read on to learn the seven reasons to grab your wallet and buy a bacon press. These culinary rockstars are certain to change your entire cooking routine for the better.
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1. Bacon Presses Keep Your Bacon Flat
A bacon press keeps bacon slices flat. Bacon naturally curls as it cooks. While this may not seem like a problem, bacon should lay flat to cook evenly. When bacon cooks unevenly, you risk parts of the meat drying out while other sections are undercooked or raw. The bacon press keeps the slices flat, ensuring they heat evenly.
2. A Bacon Press Works on Several Kinds of Meat
Despite the name, the bacon press isn’t limited to everyone’s favorite cured meat. The same rules apply to pork chops, steaks, and sausages. These cuts need to be heated evenly or risk uneven cooking, random burnt spots, and drying out.
The bacon press works on pretty much every conceivable meat. Whether you’re cooking burgers, roast beef, or pork chops, the bacon press helps deliver a consistent, perfect cooking finish.
3. Bacon Presses Make Perfectly Prepared Paninis and Quesadillas
Bacon presses provide a fun way to make delicious paninis and quesadillas. Make sure your cheese melts evenly by applying the steady and even weight of a bacon press. In fact, the bacon press facilitates the preparation of any flat food.
4. Get the Best Taste With a Bacon Press
Bacon presses make your food taste better! Well and evenly cooked dishes taste the best. Nothing is more disappointing than one delicious, perfectly crisped bite of bacon chased by a raw, gummy nip, followed by a dried-out, leathery chunk. A bacon press ensures your meat is cooked evenly and your cheese is uniformly melted.
5. Cut the Fat With a Bacon Press
Bacon presses help drain excess fat from meat cuts. The weight pushes down, allowing the fat to literally melt away as your dish cooks. The handle allows you to push down on the press as the meat heats. This gives you agency in how much fat you choose to keep and dispose of.
6. Cut Your Cooking Time with a Bacon Press
Pros
- Solid and heavy, ensuring even cooking
- The sturdy wooden handle stays cool
- Versatile and fits most pans
Cons
- Requires seasoning before use
- Not dishwasher safe
- Could be heavy for some users
If you heat the bacon press before cooking meat on a grill or griddle, you can use it as another heat source. Place your pork chop or burger on the grill, then top it with your hot bacon press.
This allows you to evenly cook both sides of the meat simultaneously. You won’t need to worry about flipping your steak or your burger since the bacon press is cooking the top while the grill heats the bottom. In addition to ensuring a more evenly cooked dish, this cuts your cooking time in half.
7. Bacon Presses Save Money and Space
The bacon press fulfills the role of several different cooking devices. You can ditch the panini press and quesadilla maker, the bacon press makes both. This saves you money and space. Bacon presses are versatile, and their usage is limited to your imagination.
Frequently Asked Questions
Now that you know the many reasons to invest in a bacon press, let’s find the answers to some frequently asked questions.
What is the point of a bacon press?
Bacon presses apply even weight to bacon, steaks, burgers, and other cuts of meat and foods. The device ensures a dish cooks evenly by applying uniform weight and laying the food flat.
Do you flip bacon when using a bacon press?
Yes. Although a bacon press helps bacon cook faster, you’ll still need to flip the slices about halfway through the cooking time. Once you’ve flipped the bacon, return the press to the meat until it’s crispy and cooked through.
Do you preheat a bacon press?
Whether or not you preheat a bacon press depends on your intentions. If you simply want the bacon press to lay meat flat, encourage cooking times and uniform heating, or drain fat, there’s no need to preheat the press.
However, preheating the press allows you to cook both sides of a dish simultaneously. If your purpose is to cut cooking time, then yes, you should preheat the device.
Are grill presses worth it?
Absolutely. Bacon presses serve multiple purposes. The clever device allows you to cook more evenly and faster. Not only does a bacon press make crispy bacon, but it also allows you to cook steak, burgers, and chops evenly.
Bacon presses also make delicious quesadillas and paninis. One bacon press eliminates the need for at least two other devices.
