This Bacon Storage Trick Lets You Cook Exactly The Amount You Need Every Time

Bacon may be an almost-perfect food, but it does have one big drawback. No, we're not talking about its dubious nutritional properties, but the fact that bacon doesn't last all that long once the package is opened. According to the USDA, it only stays good for about a week, and after that, it can get rancid or moldy. It's all well and good if you plan to use up the entire package all at once, but if you just want a few strips at a time, how can you keep them fresh for over a week? 

You can always toss the whole package in the freezer, but if you want to ensure you can cook the exact amount you need, you'll need to take one extra step. Robert Cornett, who works as an executive chef at the Rancho de Los Caballeros dude ranch in Arizona, suggests you freeze individual strips.

"Portioning before freezing is key," Cornett explained. "Separate slices with parchment, roll or stack them, and freeze raw. This preserves quality and allows precise portion control — critical in both home and professional settings." (Budget-friendly tip: You can also use wax paper, which tends to be a bit cheaper than parchment.) He went on to say of this technique, "It's practical and effective. It prevents slices from sticking together and makes it easy to cook exactly what you need while protecting the bacon from freezer damage."

If you've frozen an entire package of bacon, you will need to thaw it to separate the strips, although you needn't let it reach room temperature. This doesn't help it cook any faster, so you can skip this overrated step. If, on the other hand, you've used Robert Cornett's tip for freezing the strips separately, there's no need to waste your time thawing them at all, since it's perfectly okay to cook them while they're still frozen. Just remove as many strips as you need, leaving the rest in the freezer.

Frozen bacon can be cooked the same way you'd cook fresh strips — in a frying pan, the microwave, or the oven (the last-named being a relatively mess-free method). It may take a bit longer to cook, though, since it'll first defrost in the heat before it starts browning.

There is one additional way you can freeze bacon, and that is to cook it first. Cornett doesn't recommend doing so, however. As he said of the practice, "Cooked bacon is convenient, but reheating often sacrifices texture. Freezing raw bacon gives you better control and superior results when cooked fresh, which is our priority."