As a busy home cook, I love having pre-cooked bacon on hand for quick meals and snacks. But with so many pre-cooked bacon options available today, I’ve often wondered – how exactly is that crispy, ready-to-eat bacon made?
After doing some research into commercial bacon production methods, I was fascinated to uncover the step-by-step process used to transform raw pork belly into convenient, pre-cooked bacon.
In this article I’ll share a simplified overview of how large-scale bacon manufacturers produce perfectly cooked shelf-stable bacon on a massive scale. Understanding the pre-cooking process gave me insight into recreating tasty pre-cooked bacon easily at home.
Step 1: Selecting the Pork
The first step in pre-cooked bacon production happens long before the pork hits the manufacturing floor. Bacon processors source fresh, high-quality pork bellies from trusted local pig farms.
Most pigs are slaughtered between 6-8 months old, when their bellies contain the ideal balance of meat and fat for bacon. Procuring pork from a consistent genetic line of pigs ensures consistency in the final bacon product.
Pork bellies for pre-cooked bacon should have a proportional layer of fat evenly distributed over the lean meat. Too thin, and the bacon risks becoming overly dry and brittle when cooked. Too thick, and it can result in shrinkage and greasiness.
Step 2: Curing the Pork Belly
Before cooking, pork bellies are cured to enrich their flavor and preserve the meat. Industrial bacon plants use “pump curing” which rapidly infuses the meat with curing brine.
First, multiple pork bellies are stacked into a vacuum chamber machine. The air is removed to create a vacuum, then the curing brine is injected into the vacuum chamber under pressure.
The brine quickly penetrates deep into the meat for fast, even curing. Common ingredients in bacon cures include water, salt, sugar, sodium nitrite, and spices.
The pork soaks in the brine solution for hours or days depending on variables like meat thickness. Longer curing times result in more robustly flavored bacon. Once fully cured, the pork heads to the next pre-cooking phase.
Step 3: Slicing and Seasoning
A sharp industrial bacon slicer thinly cuts the cured pork belly lengthwise into uniform strips. Common thicknesses are regular cut (about 1/16 inch thick) or thick cut (around 1/8 inch).
Seasonings and flavors may get manually sprinkled or sprayed onto the sliced bacon strips at this stage. Popular coatings include black pepper, brown sugar, maple, honey, and spices.
Keeping the bacon strips whole makes it easier to handle in high-volume cooking later on. The seasoned strips proceed to the cooking preparation area next.
Step 4: Forming the Bacon Layout
To prep for bulk cooking, workers carefully lay the individual bacon strips side by side onto special perforated racks. Stacking the strips allows maximum air flow during cooking.
The racks get loaded either by hand or using a specialized mechanical bacon loader that aligns and overlays each strip precisely to prevent overlap or gaps.
This orderly bacon layout helps the strips cook evenly from all sides during the baking process. The loaded racks then transfer to the cooking area.
Step 5: Cooking the Bacon
Commercial conveyor ovens provide continuous high-volume bacon cooking. The oven’s temperature reaches up to 400°F, hot enough to crisp the fatty bacon properly.
As the racks move through the oven on a conveyor belt, the bacon cooks for a set duration based on the conveyor speed. This could take 10 minutes or longer depending on oven size.
Internal product temperatures are closely monitored to control doneness. Well-done, crispy bacon should reach an internal temperature of around 150°F.
At peak capacity, large-scale bacon ovens can cook thousands of pounds per hour. Precise temperature and timing are adjusted between product runs and bacon varieties.
Step 6: Cooling and Packaging
After baking, the racks holding the hot cooked bacon strips exit the oven to cool at room temperature. This helps stop the cooking process.
Once cooled to around 70°F, automated or manual processes transfer strips into retail packaging like sliced-to-order deli packs, wholesale boxes, or prepackaged retail bags.
Finally, the packages pass through a metal detector as a final safety check before cold storage. The finished pre-cooked bacon is chilled until distribution to stores or foodservice.
Creating Pre-Cooked Bacon at Home
While large-scale production relies on conveyor ovens, we can easily replicate crisp, convenient pre-cooked bacon at home with some simple equipment. Here’s a quick guide to DIY pre-cooked bacon:
Ingredients: Pork belly, curing brine, seasonings (optional)
Supplies: Baking sheet, cooling rack, parchment paper
Curing (optional): Soak pork in brine overnight
Prep: Pat pork dry, slice, add seasonings
Cooking: Bake slices on a rack at 400°F for 10-20 minutes
Cooling: Allow to cool fully on a parchment-lined pan
Storage: Keep in a sealed container in the fridge
With just a bit of planning, you can enjoy perfect pre-cooked bacon anytime without the mess and hassle of daily frying. I hope learning the commercial process gave you some cooking inspiration too!
Pre-Cooked Bacon FAQs
Here are quick answers to some common questions about manufactured pre-cooked bacon products:
Is pre-cooked bacon fully cooked?
Yes, any bacon labeled pre-cooked has been fully cooked and can be eaten immediately without additional preparation.
Is pre-cooked bacon safe to eat?
Commercially prepared pre-cooked bacon is safe if it’s been refrigerated at 40°F or below continuously. Discard if you see signs of spoilage.
How long does pre-cooked bacon last?
Sealed, refrigerated pre-cooked bacon lasts around 1-2 weeks past the sell-by date before quality declines. Freeze for longer storage.
Can you refry pre-cooked bacon?
It’s safe to gently reheat pre-cooked bacon to add crispness. Avoid prolonged frying at high temperatures which can increase nitrite levels.
Does pre-cooked bacon need to be drained?
Pre-cooked bacon is often drier than raw bacon since most excess grease is drained after baking. However, blotting before eating can remove any leftover oil or juices.
Next time you grab a pack of pre-cooked bacon from the supermarket cooler, you’ll have a newly-found appreciation for the manufacturing processes used to transform fresh pork bellies into crispy, ready-to-eat bacon.