Duck Bacon

I adore bacon. It's one of my favorite foods and I love it so much that I sometimes have it for lunch or dinner - why limit it to just breakfast? Since I make it quite often, I've learned several ways of making it.

Apart from pan-frying, I often make microwave bacon, and I also like to bake bacon in the oven.

You'll only need ONE ingredient to make this recipe - a package of duck bacon. I never saw this type of bacon in the grocery store when I was living in California.

But here in the DC area, I spotted this package at the local store and just had to buy it. You can also purchase it online at dartagnan.com.

There are two main methods for preparing this bacon:

1. Pan-fry it like you would pork bacon. Arrange the slices in a large skillet. Heat the skillet over medium heat. Cook the bacon until heated through, 2-3 minutes per side. Place briefly on paper towels, then serve.
2. Bake it in the oven. That's what I usually do. You preheat your oven to 400°F. Arrange the bacon slices on a baking sheet (line it with parchment paper or aluminum foil for easy cleanup), then bake for 15 minutes. Place briefly on paper towels, then serve.

Unlike pork bacon, which should be thoroughly cooked, duck bacon can be served cooked to medium if you're so inclined. So simply cook it to your liking.

Although admittedly the USDA does say to cook it to 165°F which is well done. So as always when it comes to food preparation, you should make your own informed decision.

Personally, just like I do with beef bacon, I like to cook it for about 15 minutes in the oven, because I don't want it to be too chewy. But if you enjoy chewy bacon, you can try baking it for just 10 minutes or so and see how you like it.

I find that this bacon is excellent just as it is, so I simply bake it in the oven without adding anything to it.

If you'd like to try an interesting variation, brush the slices with a very thin layer of maple syrup (real or sugar-free) and season them with freshly ground black pepper prior to baking them.

The obvious way to serve this bacon is for breakfast with eggs. When I'm lucky enough to have duck eggs on hand, I make an all-duck breakfast! It's such a treat and a nice variation of the usual breakfast fare.

By the way, if you cook eggs to go with the bacon, you should definitely use the rendered fat to cook them! It's so delicious.

Here's how I do it: I bake the bacon in the oven for just 10 minutes, then set the oven to "keep warm." I carefully drain the fat from the baking sheet into a skillet, then return the bacon to the warm oven and cook the eggs in the rendered fat.

You can also use this bacon to wrap various meats, like I do in this recipe for bacon-wrapped chicken breast. In fact, you can use it in most recipes that call for pork bacon.

Cooked leftovers can be kept in the fridge, in an airtight container, for 3-4 days. You can briefly reheat them in the microwave.

Start with just a few seconds per slice. You can also eat them cold straight out of the fridge. They're surprisingly good when eaten cold.