How Long You Can Safely Keep Bacon In The Fridge
August 31, 2022
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Although we certainly don’t eat bacon every day, we always have at least one pack of bacon in the freezer so I have it ready to be thawed and used for breakfasts, BLTs, in spaghetti carbonara, and so much more. There tends to be quite a bit of bacon in a single pack and so we don’t always use the entire amount. When I have leftover bacon, I put it in a Ziploc bag and toss it in the fridge. But do you know how long you can actually keep bacon in the fridge for?
Taste of Home explains that according to the USDA, the amount of time you can safely keep bacon in the fridge depends on whether it’s raw, cooked, or being stored in the fridge or freezer.
Raw Bacon in the Fridge
Most bacon suppliers will list a best-before date on the package. Raw bacon in an unopened package is safe to eat up until this date. If the package does not have a best-before date on it, a general rule of thumb is that you should cook and eat the bacon within two weeks of the day you bought it at the grocery store.
Cooked Bacon in the Fridge
Once you’ve cooked bacon, aim to eat any leftovers within four days. Cooked bacon should always be stored in an air-tight container or thoroughly sealed bag.
Raw and Cooked Bacon in the Freezer
You can keep both raw and cooked bacon in the freezer for up to four months. Be sure to store your bacon in either an air-tight container or freezer-safe Ziploc bag for the best results. Rolling your bacon strips into little roll-ups helps bacon stay frozen without getting stuck together.
Best Ways to Cook Bacon
A childhood memory that always brings a wave of nostalgia is my Dad standing in the kitchen frying up some bacon in a pan for breakfast on Saturday mornings. Although you can certainly cook bacon in a pan on the stove, this is probably one of the messiest ways to cook it. I prefer to line a baking sheet with tinfoil and lay the individual strips of bacon on top. I just pop the whole baking sheet in the oven for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees F and it comes out perfectly crispy.
Another amazing way to cook bacon that I’ve recently discovered is in the air fryer. This is my preferred method because it generates essentially no mess! Cooking bacon in the air fryer is great if you have a small amount of bacon that you want to cook in a short amount of time. For bigger batches of bacon, I would recommend using the oven method.
If you’re a bacon lover, hopefully these tips for safely keeping and cooking bacon will help you enjoy this savory, crispy meat even more than before!