bacon

[petes_dragon]

Hi,

Every time I buy pre-packed bacon it seems to be really salty - is there any way to stop this?

I've tried rinsing it in cold water before I cook it but it doesn't seem to make much difference.

Thanks in advance

A xXx

[Catso]

Buy your bacon from a butcher, who'll cut it for you from a whole side of bacon. Not as salty, not got that white gunk in it and tastes a lot better.

[jiggy-gb]

I have the same problem with pre-packed bacon, so i open the pack and put it under the cold tap, leave it running for a while then leave clean water in the pack when i put it in the fridge (those rigid packs, not the cling wrap stuff). The soaking rather than rinsing takes quite a lot of the salt out.

[heathfield]

It's because instead of smoke-curing the bacon the old-fashioned way so that it'll keep for ages*, the producers use a short-cut ,and instead have to inject it with brine to try to maintain its keeping qualities, (and, by strange co-incidence, this results in an increase in weight!). Try as Catso says, and explain your preferences to the butcher - he might be able to help. Otherwise the 'sweetcure' type bacon in supermarkets tends to have a less salty taste.
*(In the true story of 'The Fetterman Massacre' a reporter with the US Cavalry wrote home complaining that the sides of bacon were 18 months old, and that the previous winter mice had eaten tunnels through them. It was still palatable. Can't get that quality these days!).

[stefos]

Don't 'overcook' the bacon. The more you cook it the saltier it gets!