Crispy Reduced Fat Bacon {Grandpa's Paper Towel Method}

Happy New Year!

Yes, we make bacon using paper towels.

Yes, I grew up in a school house. More on that in a minute...

I thought it'd be fun for all of you who are about to embark on a "healthy/fit" New Year's Resolution to read this post on how to make the crispiest, bacon ever, without all the fat.

Or, if you are like me and have ZERO healthy resolutions on your list, this post is still meaningful.

...'Cause this is the ONLY way my family makes bacon.

Plus, you get to learn a little more about me growing up. Which I'm sure is an absolutely captivating subject to you. (Just smile and nod...)

Growing up in Carey, Idaho (pop. 604 as of the 2010 census) was a child's dream come true.

There were fields to explore, foothills to climb, and there was a small lake near our little schoolhouse-house.

No, really...

We lived in an old school house that the town was going to get rid of to make way for other things.

In the late '80's, my parents paid something like $500 to have it moved by a couple of semi-trucks to our homesite. 500 BUCKS to homeownership!!! I must have been around 4 years old at the time.

What?

You don't believe me?

You think living in an old school house sounds made-up, or more like an episode of Little House on the Prairie?

Well.

Check THIS action out:

I know, I know.

Try reeeeeaaaaally hard to contain your enthusiasm for my pre-teen scrapbooking abilities.

But, to my point... when I tell you that I lived in the sticks, or the boonies, or in the middle-of-nowhere, I'm being literal. Our nearest neighbors on either side were at least a quarter mile away.

We were lucky enough to have my Grandpa as one of our "neighbors."

I'm the bald-headed one in the photo below.

When we were younger, my brothers and I would often ride our bikes to Grandpa's house and have a second breakfast. This generally consisted of cereal with canned evaporated milk (!!!!!!) and bacon.

Not gonna lie.

The cereal was weird.

We were kids. What did we know?

But, the bacon...

Oh boy... the bacon was heavenly!

I'm convinced that my Grandpa was a genius when it came to bacon. He made it differently than anyone else I'd ever met. No frying, no baking, no grease splatters everywhere... just a plate, some paper towels, and a microwave.

The result was the tastiest, crispiest, bacon I've ever had!

A lot of you may be shaking your heads and thinking, "Well, duh! EVERYONE knows you can microwave bacon!"

Not so, friends. Not. So.

When I married my husband, he hadn't a clue.

When I made it for my in-laws, they hadn't a clue.

When I brought it to a church brunch, they hadn't a clue.

Now they know, and my Grandpa is the one to thank for giving them "paper towel" bacon.

To this day, I make bacon the way he did. My husband doesn't want it any other way now. It's quick, easy to clean up, and the result is perfectly crisp bacon.

So, while this may be a ridiculous post for some of you... for others it might just be an eye-opener... and it's definitely been fun for me to reminisce about happy days spent at my Grandpa's house.

Here's how we do it:

PERFECTLY CRISP BACON IN 3 EASY STEPS

STEP 1.) Place a paper towel or two on a dinner plate. Place the desired number of bacon strips on the towel. (I do up to 6 depending on the size of the bacon.) Place another paper towel or two over the top of the bacon. (The paper towels soak up the grease and prevent splatters in the microwave.

STEP 2.) Microwave the bacon for 4-6 minutes (depends again on number of strips, thickness of strips, your microwave wattage, and desired crispness.)

*I usually do 5 strips of the non-thick bacon for a little over 4 1/2 minutes in my 1000 watt microwave... and that makes them crisp to the point of being crunchy... which is how my hubby likes them.  For your first time, try 4 minutes, and then add 30 second intervals till they are done to your liking. Also, keep in ming that these things crisp up quite bit once allowed to cool.

STEP 3.) Watch them fly off the plate, and congratulate yourself on making a favorite treat healthier, with minimal mess, in record time, and in a cost-efficient way! (And, yes, I did a general comparison of  baking/frying/microwave/paper towel usage/water to wash up etc.)

Also... Check out all the grease you just avoided clogging your arteries with:

I wish the photos were better. It was very early in the morning when I took them with my non-professional camera, cloudy outside, and the lighting in my kitchen has never been great.

If the pictures were better, you'd see that there is a PUDDLE of grease underneath the paper towels as well.

Now... maybe you're more of a "chewy bacon" person. Or, maybe you like to use the bacon grease for other dishes. If that's the case, this method may not be for you. To each their own.

BUT, you should try my grandpa's bacon at least once!

Happy New Year, friends!!! Enjoy!