How to Properly Store Bacon for a Long Time?

Mmmmmm, bacon! One of our all-time favorite foods! Also, the smell of cooking bacon is almost impossible to resist! So, it would be unimaginably sad to find out that you cannot store bacon for a long time. Therefore, the question we all want an answer to is quite simple: Can you store bacon for long-term food storage?

Well, the answer is: yes, you can! Now, let’s find out how exactly will we safely do that! Read the article to learn the food storage options for bacon lovers.

Best 6 Ways to Prepare Bacon for Long-Term Food Storage

Yes, you can store bacon for long-term food storage. You might have to learn to love it in a new way, but it is something you can do! So, let’s find out together all the methods that help you preserve the lovely pork taste. Continue savoring this treat anytime. The good news is, it’s accessible anytime. If you want to avoid constant cooking when you feel like eating bacon, then, store it. It’s easy to access when we have it readily prepared. Thus, make sure to do it yourself.

1. How to Store Pre-Cooked Bacon Strips?

The fully-cooked bacon packages from Hormel or Oscar Mayer have little fat and moisture, and tons of chemicals and preservatives (but hey – almost all commercially cured bacon does, too). So, it will keep its properties for months and months unopened. On the other hand, you can always open and cook it all or use the rest within a few days from the fridge.

While the USDA recommends only storing until the “use by date”, we know that those dates don’t mean the food has expired, it’s just when the optimum quality may have been achieved. It may have “expired”, but it didn’t suddenly become bad. However, I do not want to encourage anybody to risk their health by doing so.

2. Bacon Crumbles for Storing

Bacon bits in a jar or resealable bag can be reopened numerous times (throw a silica pack in to help with moisture control after opening) and used to add some flavor to bland dishes. Just be sure you’re using real bacon, and not the soy bacon substitute.

Additional Reading: USDA Food Safety Guidelines for Bacon

3. Canned Bacon for Long-Time Food Storing

I’m not saying I’d eat canned bacon (because I hate bacon…remember?), but it’s been around for years, and desperate times call for desperate measures, don’t they? Yes, you heard me right; you can get canned bacon in a variety of styles from crispy fried to regular smoked bacon. Isn’t that insane? If you do not have a smoker, then you can make your own.

What is canned bacon? Well, it is a type of prepared meat that has been popular in different countries and regions of the world. In general, canned bacon is an instance of the use of traditional canning, or preservation by restriction of oxygen, that has been a favorite for storing all sorts of foods, especially in the regions where temperate climates require appropriate seasonal food preservation. So, this type of food involves cooking bacon and then sealing it for longer storage.

4. Home Pressured Canned Bacon at Home

In addition, you can always choose to pressure-can bacon for yourself. Bexar Prepper walks you through the entire process in her simple-to-follow tutorial video. You can also find printed instructions in Backwoods Home Magazine. While this process isn’t approved by the people who tend to approve of canning techniques – you can always just search for an approved method of canning meat chunks online.

Also, once opened, keep it tightly wrapped in foil or a zip-top bag and use it as soon as you can.

5. How to Store Home Cured Bacon at Home?

You can make bacon at home, and have it last months at room temperature without worry if you follow the proper process. This curing method might be more than you want to tackle for Sunday’s breakfast. However, if you want to learn proper meat preservation techniques, this one will save your bacon every time!

6. How To Store Bacon for Long-term at Home in The Freezer?

The last method of preparing bacon for long-term storage is freezing it. Cooked bacon that has been frozen will be at its best if consumed within 2-3 months. After this time, it will still be edible, but the texture and flavors may have started to deteriorate. So, a freezer is a great option if you have got some bacon that needs to be used up – simply cook it up and pop it in the freezer!

I know I know….you have so many questions. What if:

• if the power goes out? (fire up the grill and cook up a mess of bacon)
• the power stays on, but you have no job and you need to survive out of what you have stored up.
• you do have a generator to keep things going if the power does go out?
• I just forgot to pay my electricity bill this month.
• a hoard of zombies comes and steals my bacon (that’s for another post).

Further Recommendations when Storing Bacon for Long-term Food Storage at Home

Yes, I don’t recommend relying solely on your refrigeration/freezer methods to preserve food for the long term. However, I don’t discourage you from making it a part of your plan either. Just know how to recover if there is a power failure.

Freezing bacon is a great way to preserve commercially produced items for the long term if properly stored in airtight packaging, and it will last a long time. Six months is the accepted length of time, but if wrapped properly, and stored in a vacuum-sealed package (not necessarily the packaging from the store), it can last up to a year (though we’ve never been able to keep it stocked for that long with our rotation system).

How Do You Properly Store Bacon For Long-Term Food Storage At Home?

Finally, it’s your turn to share all your thoughts on these methods of storing bacon for a long time. You just learned how to store cooked bacon to keep it crispy and delicious! How amazing is this! Tell me all about your ideas and experience with these tips and ask any further questions in the comment section below.