Can You Freeze Bacon?

Can you freeze bacon? Bacon is a meat prepared from a pig. It’s extremely popular – many people find its taste delicious. So, is there a way to extend bacon’s shelf life? Can you buy a few pounds of bacon on a sale a then put most of it in the freezer? Or you have already cooked your bacon, but you’d like to store it for an extended period of time. Can you freeze it? Even though commercially sold bacon is already cured, you can freeze it. Both fresh and cooked, many people do it very often and they’re satisfied with the results they get. Let’s talk about freezing bacon in a little more detail.

Freezing bacon

As I’ve mentioned earlier, you can freeze bacon, both cooked and uncooked. In fact, cooking bacon extends its freezer life. If you want to freeze cooked bacon, you need to cook it to the level below how you cook it usually. That’s pretty obvious, but some people tend to forget about that.

Slices of fried bacon
Image used under Creative Commons from cookbookman17

Can You Freeze Uncooked Bacon?

If your package of bacon is still unopened, you can put it right into the freezer. Overwrap the original packaging if you plan to store it in the freezer for an extended period of time (more than 2 months). You can do that using aluminium foil or plastic wrap. You can also put the original packaging into a plastic container instead. Overwrapping prevents freezer burn.

If you’ve already opened your package of bacon, you should wrap the bacon tightly in freezer wrap, or put it into a freezer bag. Since bacon is already opened, it’s a good idea to cut it into smaller portions, even into slices. This will allow you to thaw small portions as needed. To do that, you need to wrap each part individually. Please bear in mind that thick slices seem to work best for freezing. When wrapping bacon, please remember to remove all excessive air from the package.

Most sources state that you can store raw bacon in the freezer for about 1 to 2 months. That’s the period for best quality. Bacon should be fine for at least few months more.

Can You Freeze Cooked Bacon?

After you’ve cooked the bacon, you should drain it and let it cool off. Now you need to wrap your bacon tightly, like in case of raw bacon. It’s recommended to cut cooked bacon into smaller pieces, that will allow you to thaw it out as you go. Most sources say that you’re supposed to store cooked bacon in the freezer for up to 3 months. Please note that some people store it for even half a year and the bacon is still fine after thawing. You can put frozen cooked bacon from the freezer right into the pan. You can also warm it in the microwave beforehand.

Tips concerning freezing bacon

You might experience some increase in saltiness in some brands of bacon, after freezing it and thawing. It’s quite normal and it’s caused by the freezing process – it draws some of the moisture out.

Summary

Bacon is a very popular meat and you can freeze bacon, both cooked and raw one.