Mess-Free Bacon Cutting Starts With This Simple Freezer Hack

Cutting raw bacon slices into small bits can be an annoying task, thanks to its floppy, wiggly consistency. The fat and the meat stretch, and can cause the bacon to slide underneath the knife. Before you know it, you've got a lot of uneven, shredded pieces of bacon instead of nice, clean cuts. Even worse, the bacon bits may stick to your knife, making cleaning even more annoying. Whether you're trying to dice it for a salad, cut it into lardons for pasta, or just trim the ends, bacon can feel like it has a mind of its own. But what few people know is that it's not your knife skills that are the problem. It's the bacon's temperature.

When bacon is at room temperature, it's not in good condition for slicing. What you need to fix this is your freezer. Just a short chill in there, and suddenly the meat firms up just enough to hold its shape, while remaining easy to cut. It shouldn't freeze solid, though, because cooking frozen bacon is not ideal.

A lot of people assume bacon has to be either completely raw or completely cooked to handle, but the awkward stage in between is the best spot. Instead of wrestling with slippery strips, you'll get the cleanest little bacon bits with barely any hassle. The knife glides through like you're cutting cold butter, not greasy rubber bands.

Whether you're cooking bacon in the oven or frying it, a short chill before cutting your bacon does wonders. And if your bacon was already frozen, simply leave it on the counter for a few minutes until it's still cold but slightly flexible. Once the bacon has chilled, grab your sharpest knife and get cutting. You can cut it however you like: big strips, little cubes, or even perfect squares to fry into bacon bits. The fat will not smear or stick to the knife, and the meat holds still instead of curling up or bunching. This little freezer trick gives you cleaner cuts and way fewer slippery moments.

You can even take it a step further. Slice all of your bacon cold and place the prepped pieces in a bag in the refrigerator. This way, you can grab as much as you want later on, already prepped and stress-free. However, don't leave your bacon in the fridge for too long, as this is a common mistake that ruins your bacon. A week is fine, but any longer, and you're better off storing it in the freezer. Altogether, this is one of those hacks that feels so easy it hardly seems worthwhile, until you give it a shot and start to wonder why it took you this long to achieve perfect bacon cuts.