Why does grilled bacon taste different to fried bacon?

FelineGuitars

Serious question.

My girlfriend always insists on grilling bacon as she says it tastes better 
I have to agree that she is right although I still sometimes fry it as I can be lazy, but it never tastes the same (or asgood in my opinion) as when it's grilled

What is the science behind the difference in taste?

lloyd

The fat stays in the bacon more when frying I guess, if you grill it on foil then the water doesn't evaporate as much as if you fry either, I assume the direction from where the heat is coming from affects that. Bacon should be fried IMO.

Sarge

no idea, but I've started doing mine in the oven,  makes a fabulous crispy bacon crunch too

SRich

I'm no expert, but surely the difference in frying - where the bacon will absorb saturated fats and grilling - where it will lose some of it's animal fat - is the key.

Grilling should therefore be healthier, but I'm sure there's many aficionados of the crispy bacon method?

JezWynd

There's so much water in a lot of bacon these days that frying turns into broiling which may let the flavour drain away.

FelineGuitars

I've read that you should
1 let it come up to room temp first before cooking - much as you would for a steak
2 start it off in a cold pan and bring it up to sizzle rather than placing it in a searingly hot pan

As for water content - you do have to shop around to find good bacon without much added water

chrispy108

Broiling is just american for grilling...

You mean poaching, which can happen, but can be stopped by buying more expensive bacon, or getting some kitchen roll in the pan to soak the water up.

Strat_a_tat_tat

The Maillard reaction may influence the flavour of fried bacon more than grilled bacon.

lloyd

Good tips above, bacon from a decent butchers is the key though.

WezV

Depends on the cut of bacon.

Streaky needs to be done low and slow to render out the fat and crisp it up properly.   I prefer oven to pan, rarely grill.

Back bacon should just be ignored.  

axisus

????? Fried bacon is way better than grilled! 

FelineGuitars

richardhomer

axisus said:

????? Fried bacon is way better than grilled! 

No, it isn't.

With fried it's just too fatty - and tastes of fat. 

Grilling it it definitely the preferred option for me.

stickyfiddle

Fried is significantly better if your bacon is any good. You can't get crispy bacon on a grill without burning it. 

Baked is lovely but too much hassle for a Saturday morning.

WezV

stickyfiddle said:

Baked is lovely but too much hassle for a Saturday morning.

Nah, I have to guard it from the cats if frying.   Chucking it in the oven  is much simpler

Gagaryn

JezWynd said: There's so much water in a lot of bacon these days that frying turns into broiling which may let the flavour drain away. Make sure you buy dry cured - that means it's cured the proper way - by massaging salt into the bacon. Cheaper bacon is wet cured - meaning a concentrated brine solution is injected into the meat which means it cures quicker so is therefore cheaper. But it is horrible and should be ignored!

bluechargeboy

Mmmm, fried bacon. Fried in butter, not "vegetable" oil.

slacker

I use the George Formby. So is it grilling or frying?

Grunfeld

I think grilled bacon is vegetarian isn't it?

slacker

I worked with someone who was a vegetarian but ate bacon, chicken and fish. We worked out that if the animal you were eating was a vegetarian, so were you.

hotpot

Gagaryn said:

JezWynd said: There's so much water in a lot of bacon these days that frying turns into broiling which may let the flavour drain away. Make sure you buy dry cured - that means it's cured the proper way - by massaging salt into the bacon. Cheaper bacon is wet cured - meaning a concentrated brine solution is injected into the meat which means it cures quicker so is therefore cheaper. But it is horrible and should be ignored!

^This^  I buy my bacon from the local market that's cut from the body of the pig  with an old fashioned hand operated bacon slicer. no water in it like the pre-packed mass produced stuff. Proper Good.