Bacon Frozen to Plate in Minutes

I made bacon - well, I took bacon out of the freezer, broke it in half (or so), defrosted it in about four minutes and cooked two pieces using the edge of the counter, the kitchen sink and a few recycled pieces of aluminum foil and made my KRUPS toaster work with another piece of strategically-placed aluminum foil while I got my egg sunny side up with a pie tin..

Kitchen Sink

Used/recycled aluminum foil sheet(s)

Frozen 1-pound package of bacon

Hot water

Toaster

Smaller sheet of foil

We had used the last of the bacon in the fridge. But we had a few packs in the freezer. I've been in the habit of cutting the bacon in half and serving two 'half-strips' in light of my doctor's frequent admonitions relative to adopting a healthy (or at least a healthier) diet.

But this package was frozen solid. Unless I took it to the shop bandsaw, it wasn't going to be easier to cut it in half. And, if I defrosted the entire package . . . well, knowing me as I do, the temptation - seeing the package of ready to fry day after day would be too great.

Because I built or kitchen counter out of plywood and 'formica,' it had nice square edges.

Placing the flat package of bacon such that its mid-point fell right on that sharp corner and applying pressure to both 'ends,' I was able to crack it about half in and (to my surprise) push the one half right out of the package! Well, not completely, but it did force its way through the one end breaking the seal.

So, I slid the one half out and put it in a small plastic bag and put the remainder of the bacon and the package in another baggie and returned that to the freezer.

Now, this part's hard to visualize because I didn't think to share this effort at time. It came to me at a later stage that this might prove worthy of the effort requisite to submitting an Instructable in the Anything Goes contest. Still not sure about that.

So, what you are missing is an eight by ten in glorious color of the frozen half of the bacon enclosed in a plastic 'baggie' luxuriating in our SS Sink in about two inches or less of relatively warm water before being covered with three sheets of recycled aluminum to reflect and retain whatever heat they might into teh sink and bacon beneath,

If it took four minutes to completely defrost that half pound of bacon, I'd be surprised. Then again, I wasn't hovering over it with a stop watch and I do get distracted easily.

Now, I carefully peeled two pieces from the rest, put the rest into the meat drawer in the fridge and put my selections into the fry pan to, well, fry.

When I was a child, my folks owned a magic Sunbeam two-slice toaster that must have been designed and purchased in the 1940's. Years later, working my way through college, I met teh widow of teh man that designed the thing and won some sort of award or recognition (a tale I've never bothered to confirm and a name I can't recall).

It had to have been Made In America (everything was back then) and it was shiny and substantial and automatic, in that one only needed to place a slice (or two) in the appropriate slot and the Sunbeam did the rest. Invariably producing uniformly toasted slices of bread - on both sides!

There is no such device manufactured and sold at a price point many, must less most of us could pony up without a significant raise and my KRUPS is no exception to that rule despite its above-average price point, blue LED indicators, two dials and eight buttons. The toast never comes out evenly 'done.' Often the bottom is darker than the top, or one side lighter than the other.

So, I thought "HEAT is what toasts the bread and it's all getting out of that big hole up top!"

Aluminum foil to the rescue!

It helps a bit, but the only thing that would really help would be more nichrome wire heating elements. That old Sunbeam must have have 14 gauge nichrome elements. In the Winter months, we'd often have toast on cold nights rather than turn the heater on.

Speaking of Winter, it's down to seven degrees (outside) and the butter, left out 24/7, is still too hard for a tender slice of Italian toast. So, shaving thin bits into a holding pattern on the butter dish while waiting for the KRUPS exposes more surface area and makes for an easier spread once the bread is toast. I lay a few on each slice and then lay each slice atop the still warm KRUPS then spread the first slice first and then then next

Break an egg into a bowl. This helps take the chill off it as well as offering an opportunity to remove any bits of shell and add a bit of salt and pepper. I also add a bit of white vinegar that (I'm told) helps hold teh white together. You can leave it or cover it with foil (or, in this case, a recycled aluminum pie 'tin'). If you cover it, you can speed the process a bit by adding a teaspoon of water to steam the top of the egg.