People love bacon! In fact, I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t love bacon! It’s found in a third of all breakfasts in the UK – so if for some reason you’ve actually got some leftover bacon or perhaps just want to have an emergency stash then perhaps you need to ask yourself how best to store it?
Can You Freeze Bacon?
Yes, you can freeze bacon for up to 2 months. To freeze bacon, you should wrap it in greaseproof paper before bagging it up to freeze. (Full Instructions Below – Strips, UK Bacon, Bacon Grease, Tips, Etc)
Do Does Bacon freeze well? Yes
Can you refreeze Bacon? No
How to Freeze US Bacon
Tip
Don’t grab a packet and toss it straight into the freezer. You’ll end up with a bacon brick that isn’t helpful in any way.
Follow these simple instructions to have perfectly frozen bacon rashers you can grab when you need them.
1) Prepare Greaseproof Paper: Take a piece of greaseproof paper and lay it out on the worktop. You’ll want roughly 20cm of greaseproof paper for each rasher of bacon you want to freeze. Place the first rasher on the paper.
2) Wrap: Now wrap the bacon by folding the greaseproof paper over the top of the first rasher of bacon so that it is now completely covered in paper.
3) Repeat: Now place your next rasher on top of the covered rasher and repeat the process. Keep going until you’ve got all your bacon rashers covered.
4) Continue to the End of the Paper: You want to continue wrapping the bacon rashers until you have run out of paper and are left with a long sausage-shaped packet. Fold the edges over the seal the bacon in. You could hold this together with tape.
5) Bag Up and Freeze: Place the greaseproof paper packet into a freezer bag and store. Remember to write the contents on the bag (as you can’t them now they’re wrapped) alongside the date.
You can now grab a rasher or two as and when you need it.
How to Freeze UK Bacon
UK bacon, also known as “back bacon” or “rashers,” is cut from the loin of the pig and includes both the lean meat and a layer of fat along the side. Which leads to the question, “Can you freeze bacon UK?”
Yes! Follow the exact same instruction as above!
How to Freeze Bacon Grease
Some might turn their nose to the thought of cooking potatoes or vegetables in bacon fat – but don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. Admittedly, it’s not particularly healthy, but it adds a rich and salty flavour to the blandest vegetables as a treat.
Bacon fat will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for a good 4 to 6 months. But freezing it can double that shelf life. Follow the guide below to perfectly freeze your bacon grease:
Freezing bacon grease lends itself to the ice cube tray method as it allows you to create perfect portions of ready-to-use bacon fat. Strain the bacon fat (you don’t want any bits) into a jug.
- Pour into Ice Cubes: Pour the bacon fat into an ice cube tray so that each cube of the tray is around two-thirds filled.
- Flash Freeze: Place in the freezer for several hours until the cubes have hardened.
- Final Freeze: Once solid, remove the tray and pop the bacon grease cubes out. You can now place them into a freezer bag for easy storage.
3 Tips for Freezing Bacon
Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing bacon to have the best results:
Check the Dates
Before freezing bacon, check the date on the packaging to ensure it is well within the use-by date. Bacon will not improve in the freezer, so you must freeze good-quality, fresh bacon.
Use Greaseproof Paper
Greaseproof paper will make it super easy to grab a rasher as and when needed without each piece sticking together.
Don’t Forget the Grease
Although unhealthy, bacon fat is delicious for cooking potatoes or vegetables. Don’t let the fat go to waste and instead freeze it into ice cubes that can be used in cooking.
How Long Can You Freeze Bacon?
Unfortunately, even when frozen, the bacon won’t keep indefinitely in the freezer. We recommend using it up within 2 months to have it at its best.
The good news is that bacon grease will freeze for ages. You can keep your bacon grease cubes in the freezer for around a year.
As always, you must label everything you freeze so you know when it needs to be used.
How Do You Defrost Bacon?
With bacon rashers, you have two options when it comes to defrosting.
The first option is an easy but slow method. Take out the rashers you want to eat, put them on a plate and leave them in the fridge overnight to defrost. Once defrosted overnight, you can cook it how you normally would.
The second option is the quicker method. Line a microwave-safe dish with kitchen paper, place your bacon in the dish and then cover with another piece of kitchen paper. Use the defrost function on your microwave and get it thawed.
Generally speaking, you want to use the microwave for 5 minutes for every 450g of weight. With only a few bacon rashers, this will only take a matter of minutes.
Can You Refreeze Bacon?
We always advise being cautious when refreezing anything, which applies especially to meat products. We strongly recommend not refreezing meat as it can easily and quickly harbour harmful bacteria.
Does Bacon Freeze Well?
It certainly does. Like a lot of meat, you’ll struggle to tell the difference between whether an item has been frozen or fresh. Just make sure you follow our method above to freeze your bacon in the best way.
Related FAQs
If you’ve still got questions about freezing bacon or bacon in general, then these may help:
Raw bacon can be kept in the fridge for around 1 week or up until the use-by date. Cooked bacon can be kept for around 3 days before it loses its texture.
You certainly can. However, you will want to freeze it as soon after opening as you possibly can.
It is perfectly safe to freeze cooked bacon. However, it can be quite challenging to reheat as it will lose its crispy texture. Where possible, try to freeze bacon uncooked.
Freezing bacon lardons (or even pancetta) is perfectly doable. First, line a baking tray and spread your lardons out on it. Cover the tray and place it in the freezer. Once frozen solid, remove the lardons from the tray and tip them into a bag. Now return the bag to the freezer. You can then grab as many or as few lardons as you need.
