Cooking bacon has never been so easy! Crisp and moist, this sous vide bacon is slowly cooked and produces meaty restaurant quality taste every single time!
This recipe first appeared on Sip Bite Go.
Cooking "sous vide" sounds complicated and hard...but I promise it's not. It's just a cooking method that actually will make your life in the kitchen so much easier! And I'm going to give you all the steps and techniques you need to make the perfect sous vide bacon.
We're talking tender results and crispy bacon that melts in your mouth!! Cooking bacon sous vide style helps ensure it is cooked flat, which ensures more even cooking, less shrinkage, and it helps retain more moisture. In all honestly, there's almost no easier way to prep bacon for breakfast. I like to cook a pound at a time, and then take out a few pieces every day for breakfast. It truly is meal planning at its finest!
And let me tell you, this sous vide bacon recipe pairs so well with my Prosciutto and Goat Cheese Eggs and this French Toast! You can even substitute out the sausage in this Sausage Egg Casserole and use this bacon recipe instead. And I love adding it to this Juicy Lucy Burger, on top of these Smoked Baked Beans with Bacon, and in this Stuffed Chicken Breast!
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Why This Recipe Works
- Since it takes 8 hours to sous vide, you can set everything up before you go to bed so it can cook overnight!
- A quick sear provides that crisp texture that everyone loves!
- It's a great way to cook bacon in bulk.
- It can be made ahead and then frozen.
🤷🏼♀️ What Is Sous Vide Cooking?
Sous Vide is the process of sealing food in an airtight container/bag and then cooking the food in temperature-controlled water over a certain period of time. That's it. It's not complicated. It may sound complicated, but it's really easy to do.
All you need is a sous vide water container to store the water and a sous vide immersion circulator which helps regulate the temperature. Once the water reaches a certain temperature, place the sealed bacon in the container and let the sous vide precision cooker do it's job.
🛒 Ingredients and Equipment You'll Need
- Pork Bacon - use thick bacon.
- Sous Vide Immersion Circulator: used to precisely control the temperature of water for sous vide cooking. You'll sometimes see it called a Sous Vide Precision Cooker.
- Water Container: used to hold the water where the food will be cooked.
- Vacuum Sealer and Bags: removes air from around the food, which helps with even heat transfer for consistent cooking and it also prevents the food from drying out while cooking it in water.
- Skillet: used to quickly sear each slice after the sous vide process.
- Tongs: makes flipping super easy in the skillet.
See the recipe card below for a full list of recipe ingredients and instructions!
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📋 Variations
- Applewood, maple, or peppered bacon works really well in this recipe.
- You can use turkey instead of pork bacon. Vegetarian and vegan bacon also work well.
- To add a hint of smokey flavor, add a generous pinch of smoked salt to the bag before sealing.
🥓 Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions
- Step 1: The first thing you're going to do is preheat the sous vide machine to 142º. Then, you'll transfer bacon from the store bought packaging to a sous vide bag. Vacuum seal the bag.
- Step 2: Next, you're going to sous vide the vacuum sealed meat at 142ºF for 8 hours.
- Step 3: Once done in the sous vide bath, transfer it to a paper towel-lined cutting board. Pat dry and set aside.
- Step 4: The final searing heats the bacon beautifully! Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat and then add the sous vide bacon. Sear each side for about 30-60 seconds, until it gets crispy. Transfer each piece to a paper towel-lined plate and serve.
🧑🏼🍳 Chef's Note: It is officially cooked after the sous vide process.
Hands down, this is the best bacon I've ever made at home. The extended time and precise temperature of the sous vide cooking method makes the best-tasting bacon! And you're going to be impressed with every bite!
🙋🏼♀️ Recipe FAQs
If you don't have a vacuum sealer, you can use high-quality and freezer-safe sealable bags. Just ensure they are able to withstand the cooking temperature (up to 158°F). Make sure you seal the bag while it's in the water, just above the waterline. The water pressure should push the air out so you can seal the bag.
8 hours.
Yes! Cooking it in water using the sous vide method ensures the it is cooked flat. This helps the fibers in the meat get a lot more moisture than pan frying, which will make it incredibly tender and juicy! And, since it cooks in its own fat, it keeps all the moisture and flavor locked in.
💭 Expert Tips
- You don't want to sous vide the bacon in its original package because it contains that piece of plastic or cardboard and you really don't want to cook that!
- Use thick cut bacon for best results. It will turns out more crispy when it's seared in the skillet and it will be way more "meaty" and not all shriveled up.
- When moving the bacon to a vacuum sealed bag, separate the pieces in the bag so they don't seal together.
- You can cook an entire pack of bacon—or as many packs as will fit into your water bath—all at once!
- Keep in mind that the bacon will not be crispy right out of the sous vide bath. If you want it to be crispy and tender, sear it in a skillet or in a cast iron skillet.
- Store any leftovers in the refrigerator and when you're ready to eat, just open the pack, grab a couple of slices, sear them in a skillet, and then serve.
- You can also freeze the bacon. When ready to serve, unthaw and then heat in a skillet.
More Pork Recipes You'll Love!
If you tried this sous vide bacon recipe or any other recipes on my website, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below. I love hearing from you! And, please leave a 🌟 rating while you're there!
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Sous Vide Bacon
Equipment
- Sous Vide Immersion Circulator
- Water Container
- Vacuum Sealer and Bags
- Kitchen Tongs
- Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 lb pork bacon
Instructions
- Preheat the sous vide machine to 142ºF. Then, transfer the meat from the packaging to a sous vide bag.
- Next, you'll sous vide the bacon at 142ºF for 8 hours.
- Once it is done in the sous vide bath, transfer it to a paper towel lined cutting board. Pat dry and set aside.
- Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat and add the sous vide bacon.
- Sear each side for about 30-60 seconds, until it gets crispy.
- Once done, transfer to a paper towel lined cutting board and serve.
Notes
- You can add a generous pinch of smoked salt for enhanced flavor. If so, do this when you add the bacon to the sous vide bag.
- Use thick cut bacon for best results. It will turns out more crispy when it's seared in the skillet.
- When moving the bacon to a vacuum sealed bag, separate the pieces in the bag so they don't overlap and seal together.
- You can cook an entire pack of bacon—or as many packs as will fit into your water bath—all at once!
- Store any leftovers in the refrigerator and when you're ready to eat, just open the pack, grab a couple of slices, sear them in a skillet and then serve.
- You can also freeze the bacon. When ready to serve, unthaw and then sear in a skillet.
- It will not be crispy right out of the sous vide bath. If you want it to be crispy and tender, sear it in a skillet or in a cast iron skillet.
- You don't want to sous vide the bacon in its original package because it contains that piece of plastic or cardboard and you really don't want to cook that!
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Kari | Chef and Steward
I would never have thought of cooking bacon sous vide for 8 hours! I have just always put them in sheet pans in the oven when cooking in bulk, which allows me to get bacon fat in bulk as well. Based on your description of the taste, I will have to give your method a go!
Amanda Mason
Let me know how it turns out for you!! I think you will love it!!
Scynthea
I was gifted a Sous Vide for Christmas and I have cooked anything that I can in it every since. I made the bacon and am really pleased with how it fried, the meat was not dry because I had to cook it so long to make it crispy. Restaurant quality taste and presentation. Thank you
Amanda Mason
Hi Scynthea! I'm so glad to hear this!! So glad you loved the recipe and that it gave you that restaurant quality!!!