Overnight Sous Vide Bacon Recipe (2024)

Why It Works

  • Cooking bacon sous vide overnight leads to extraordinarily tender results.
  • A quick sear on one side only gives you a crisp texture to contrast with the tenderness.

I love the work that they do over atChefSteps, but when I saw their video recommendingsous vide bacon, I have to admit I rolled my eyes a little.This has got to be one of those "everything looks like a nail when you have a hammer" situations,I said to myself. You know, one of those times when sous vide is deployed just for the sake of sous vide, rather than to actually improve things. I mean, can you really improve on plain old fried bacon? What could possibly be the point of cooking bacon at 147°F overnight?

Still, I trust them enough that I decided to give it a spin.

Overnight Sous Vide Bacon Recipe (1)

Holy cow pig, that is somegoodbacon!

I mean, really, really good. The idea of bacon that's crisp and moist at the same time is appealing, but in practice, it ends up crisp in some areas and rubbery in others—which is why I generally prefer my bacon cooked completely crisp. But overnight sous vide bacon usingan immersion circulatoris the first bacon I've ever tasted that delivers on that moist-and-crisp promise. It's crispy on the exterior as you bite into it, but it quite literally melts in your mouth, like the finest confit pork belly, as you chew.

I suppose this makes sense, because that's exactly what it is: smoked, cured confit pork belly.

The ChefSteps method has you cook bacon directly in its package at 147°F (64°C) for at least overnight and up to two days before taking it out and searing it in a skillet on one side only. To satisfy my own curiosity, I cooked bacon at temperatures ranging from 135°F (57°C) to 165°F (74°C) for times ranging from one hour all the way up to two days.

At temperatures above 155°F (68°C), the leaner sections of the bacon start to dry out, and they stay dry no matter how long you cook it. At 135°F, the bacon takes a full two days to completely tenderize. So the ChefSteps recommendation of 147°F was pretty spot-on. I rounded it down to 145°F (63°C)—I didn't notice that the two extra degrees made any difference, and 145 is an easier number to remember than 147.

Overnight Sous Vide Bacon Recipe (2)

As for timing, you do need to let it go at least eight hours to get the tenderizing effect. A full day or more is marginally better, but I suspect most folks who are going to cook like this are dropping their bacon into the water bath the night before, then searing it for breakfast.

Speaking of searing, I tried searing at various temperatures, as well as on one side only and on both sides. Medium-high heat (around 325°F/163°C, if you have a temperature-controlled cooking surface) produced the best results, and searing on one side is definitely the way to go—if you sear on both, you end up over-crisping the bacon, thereby losing any of the advantages that sous vide offered it in the first place. That said, I do flip the bacon and cook it on the second side for just a few seconds to add some color. If you've got a bacon weight or a finishing trowel, like I do, use it; you'll get better contact with the pan and better crisping.

What's great about this method is that you can cook the bacon directly in the package that it comes in, and searing takes only a matter of minutes, which means that after you drop it in the water bath the night before, breakfast the next morning is lightning-fast. Far faster than cooking raw bacon from scratch on a griddle or in the oven.

Even better is that you can par-cook in bulk. You can cook an entire pack of bacon—or as many packs as will fit into your water bath—all at once, then refrigerate directly in the vacuum-sealed bag. (You can also freeze for long-term storage.) When you're ready to eat, just open the pack, peel off the par-cooked bacon, sear it, and serve. It heats up in about the same amount of time that it takes to sear, which means that you get the best bacon you've ever had on your plate with just minutes of work in the morning.

Overnight Sous Vide Bacon Recipe (3)

Seriously. All you have to do after you wake up is this...

Overnight Sous Vide Bacon Recipe (4)

...followed by this...

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...and you get this:

Overnight Sous Vide Bacon Recipe (6)

Oh, by the way, you want to do this with thick-cut bacon. The thicker the better, actually, in order to get a really great ratio of crisp seared surface and melty, tender interior. Want some inspiration? You canread here about our favorite supermarket bacon brands.

This won't be the only way I cook bacon from now on, but it will be my method of choice when I want to impress a brunch guest with something they've never experienced before.

November 2016

Recipe Details

Overnight Sous Vide Bacon Recipe

Cook8 hrs 10 mins

Active7 mins

Total8 hrs 10 mins

Serves4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 pound (450g) thick-cut bacon, still in its package (see notes)

Directions

  1. Preheat a sous vide water bath to 145°F (63°C). Place bacon, still in its original plastic packaging, directly in water bath and cook for at least 8 and up to 48 hours. When ready to serve, remove from water bath and proceed immediately to step 2, or chill in refrigerator or freezer for later use (see notes).

    Overnight Sous Vide Bacon Recipe (7)

  2. To finish, preheat a large skillet or griddle over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Add bacon and cook, pressing gently with a press or the back of a spatula (just enough to keep it mostly flat), until brown and crisp on the first side, about 2 minutes. Turn bacon and briefly cook on second side, just to remove pale color (about 15 seconds).

    Overnight Sous Vide Bacon Recipe (8)

  3. Transfer to a paper towel–lined plate to remove excess fat. Serve immediately.

Special Equipment

Immersion circulator

Notes

You can cook as much bacon as will fit in the water bath used in step 1.

Bacon can be cooked directly in its package. If it's unpackaged, cook in a vacuum-sealed bag or in a zipper-lock bag with the air removed.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Cooked bacon can be refrigerated and stored for up to two weeks, or frozen and stored for months. Defrost before searing in step 2.

Read More

  • Overnight Sous Vide Canadian Bacon or Breakfast Ham
  • Taste Test: The Best Supermarket Bacon
  • The Best Way to Cook Bacon: Stovetop, Oven, Grill, and Sous Vide
  • Sous Vide Pork
  • Bacon
  • Easter
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Overnight Sous Vide Bacon Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How long can you sous vide bacon? ›

Preheat a sous vide water bath to 145°F (63°C). Place bacon, still in its original plastic packaging, directly in water bath and cook for at least 8 and up to 48 hours. When ready to serve, remove from water bath and proceed immediately to step 2, or chill in refrigerator or freezer for later use (see notes).

Is sous vide the best method for the crispiest bacon? ›

The slow, low heat of sous vide cooking renders nearly all of the fat from your bacon strips, leaving behind meaty pieces that can be quickly crisped up in just a minute or two in a pan when you are ready to eat. Although sous vide bacon needs to cook 8 to 12 hours and then chill, that's all hands-off time.

Did I cook my bacon long enough? ›

The easiest way to tell is by the color of the pork. Just like with many other types of meat, uncooked bacon will be light pink with white strips of fat. When it's ready to eat, those rosy hues will have darkened to a reddish-brown color, and the fat will morph into a tan or golden shade.

Can you sous vide bacon in the original package? ›

Can you cook sous vide directly with the store sealed packaging? Depends on the packaging. If the original packaging is just clear vacuum sealed plastic film around the meat you are good to go. If it sits in a vacuum sealed tray on the other hand then no.

Can you sous vide for 12 hours? ›

A steak cooked at a well-done 160°F, for instance, will be soft and shreddable (and dry) after only 8 to 12 hours. For best results, I don't recommend cooking any longer than the maximum recommended time for each cut and temperature range. Should I add butter, oil, or any other liquid or fat to the sous-vide bag? No.

Is it safe to sous vide for 48 hours? ›

After the food is pasteurized, if the food is hotter than 130ºF, the spores cannot germinate and multiply, regardless of time. One can hold / tenderize for 24 to 48 hours safely. This is also a major feature of sous vide. If the cooking temperature is 130 to 150ºF, there is an additional benefit.

How do restaurants keep bacon crispy? ›

They cook it the best way possible, on a sheet pan in the oven. The bonus is while it takes longer to make this way, you can make more at once, the pieces are more or less flat and they come out crispy. Or they throw it in the deep fryer once it's done.

Why does my bacon never get crispy? ›

As with other meats, allow some room between strips, about an inch, when placing bacon in the pan. Crowding creates steam and prevents the bacon from cooking evenly, giving you limp bacon instead of crispy strips. Cook in batches if needed.

Can you eat slightly undercooked bacon? ›

This rare affliction was covered by dozens of outlets, big and small, prompting many people to wonder whether they should ever eat undercooked bacon. Unfortunately for floppy lardon lovers, most health officials agree that it's not safe.

Can bacon be too raw? ›

No, it's not safe to eat raw bacon. Even though bacon has been preserved through the curing process, it has not been cooked. Like other foods you should never eat raw, consuming raw or undercooked meat puts you at risk of foodborne illness from viruses, bacteria or parasites.

What is the minimum temperature for bacon? ›

Even if your bacon matches the perfect Munsell color code remember that it needs to be at the proper temperature, 145 degrees for pork with a resting time of 3 minutes (yes a long time to wait for bacon, but well worth it), to be considered safe for consumption.

What happens when you sous vide bacon? ›

Thick cut bacon is sealed in a bag and cooks slowly in its own juices in a sous vide water bath. This makes the bacon ultra juicy and tender. Then, it gets seared in a hot skillet to give it a crispy exterior and is perfect served with these air fryer hash browns for breakfast.

Can you sous vide in Ziploc? ›

No need to splurge on a vacuum sealer -- cheaper Ziploc bags and water work just fine.

Can you sous vide hamburgers? ›

Simply grilling or cooking the burger on a griddle will get you excellent results. But for larger burgers, of the six- to eight-ounce range, sous vide cooking is a wonderful method of ensuring that your burgers come out with an unparalleled level of juiciness every single time.

Is it safe to sous vide for 24 hours? ›

Stay Out of the Danger Zone

The biggest concern, especially with sous vide, is food shouldn't be out of the refrigerator at temperatures below 127°F (52.8°C) for more than 3 or 4 hours.

Is it safe to sous vide meat for 24 hours? ›

Essentially, it is perfectly fine to sous vide a steak for it's required minimum temp of 130 for 90 minutes, but once the timer reaches 4 hours, it should be considered unsafe to eat and you cannot safely refrigerate it for later.

Can you sous vide for 24 hours? ›

Seal in a vacuum bag and cook in your sous vide bath at 131 degrees Fahrenheit for 24-36 hours.

What is the maximum holding time for cooked bacon? ›

Home Storage of Bacon Products
PRODUCTPANTRYFREEZER 0 °F or below
Leftover cooked bacon, cooked by consumerN/A1 month
Baby food with fresh baconObserve “use-by” date.1 month
Cooked bacon, purchased shelf stableUnopened in the pantry (stored below 85 °F) until the “use-by” date on the package3 months
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Oct 29, 2013

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