Right hand in a trench coat

I hope you like things because I like things.
sarahsprague: dennymayo: sarahsprague: dennymayo: YOU GUYS So when I bake my bacon, I line a cookie sheet. I lay out the bacon on the foil lined sheet, put it in the cold oven and heat to 400º. Usually by the time my gas oven reaches 400º, my bacon is just about done. This, this is interesting. I would imagine the skillet takes a lot of time to heat up and would not heat up, so you would want to put it in an already hot oven? Yes? Not sure. BUT! Flavor from skillet bacon is good. Basically I have a lot of questions and need a couple of pounds of bacon for experiments. OK, so: I’m no bacon expert, nor am I a cooking expert. I did this mainly based on Bacon Method, but with a cast iron griddle that we got for Christmas instead of a cookie sheet. It worked out OK, but: I have a gas oven, and I think the thermostat is off and temperatures are low in the oven i.e. longer cooking time. The first time I tried bacon method 20 minutes wasn’t quite enough with a cookie sheet. I used thick-cut bacon in the cast iron skillet, which needed more than 20 minutes. I used a cast iron pan, which probably heated up more slowly than other pans (specific heat, what up) I did this again today, but went with 25 minutes. Still wasn’t enough time, but the bacon was damn close. Maybe 30 minutes would help. Maybe pre-heating the skillet would help. I will try these things and you guys should try things too because we all love bacon. Let’s make bacon, you guys. Yes, in my experience almost all gas ovens are about 10º- 25º cooler than what you set them at. (Which is why knowing the quirks of your owb oven or having a separate thermometer on the baking rack is important.)  I realized I left out a phrase. So really you want to cook bacon on something that is going to heat up nearly as fast as the bacon, hence the baking sheet method. (Which as as I said, I put in a cold oven, and takes about 15-20 minutes.) Preheating a skillet sounds like a good plan, but with some problems. A preheated skillet might transfer too much heat to the bottom side of your bacon while the top side is not cooking as fast. OR! Stay with me here. FREEZING YOUR BACON FIRST. Hm. Now that I’ve typed that out, maybe not. Still worth exploring.  How do we get a MacArthur Grant to look into this? Looks like I’m going to need to put together some sort of calorimetry setup to determine the specific heat of bacon. Then we could match that to an appropriate cooking vessel. Thermal conductivity of the vessel may matter, but since an oven heats relatively slowly I don’t think it will matter too much.I have a feeling acmesalesrep will be joining this pseudo-science soon.

sarahsprague:

dennymayo:

sarahsprague:

dennymayo:

YOU GUYS

So when I bake my bacon, I line a cookie sheet. I lay out the bacon on the foil lined sheet, put it in the cold oven and heat to 400º. Usually by the time my gas oven reaches 400º, my bacon is just about done.

This, this is interesting. I would imagine the skillet takes a lot of time to heat up and would not heat up, so you would want to put it in an already hot oven? Yes? Not sure. BUT! Flavor from skillet bacon is good.

Basically I have a lot of questions and need a couple of pounds of bacon for experiments.

OK, so: I’m no bacon expert, nor am I a cooking expert. I did this mainly based on Bacon Method, but with a cast iron griddle that we got for Christmas instead of a cookie sheet. It worked out OK, but:

  • I have a gas oven, and I think the thermostat is off and temperatures are low in the oven i.e. longer cooking time.
  • The first time I tried bacon method 20 minutes wasn’t quite enough with a cookie sheet.
  • I used thick-cut bacon in the cast iron skillet, which needed more than 20 minutes.
  • I used a cast iron pan, which probably heated up more slowly than other pans (specific heat, what up)
  • I did this again today, but went with 25 minutes. Still wasn’t enough time, but the bacon was damn close. Maybe 30 minutes would help. Maybe pre-heating the skillet would help. I will try these things and you guys should try things too because we all love bacon.
  • Let’s make bacon, you guys.

Yes, in my experience almost all gas ovens are about 10º- 25º cooler than what you set them at. (Which is why knowing the quirks of your owb oven or having a separate thermometer on the baking rack is important.) 

I realized I left out a phrase. So really you want to cook bacon on something that is going to heat up nearly as fast as the bacon, hence the baking sheet method. (Which as as I said, I put in a cold oven, and takes about 15-20 minutes.) Preheating a skillet sounds like a good plan, but with some problems. A preheated skillet might transfer too much heat to the bottom side of your bacon while the top side is not cooking as fast.

OR! Stay with me here. FREEZING YOUR BACON FIRST. Hm. Now that I’ve typed that out, maybe not. Still worth exploring. 

How do we get a MacArthur Grant to look into this?

Looks like I’m going to need to put together some sort of calorimetry setup to determine the specific heat of bacon. Then we could match that to an appropriate cooking vessel.

Thermal conductivity of the vessel may matter, but since an oven heats relatively slowly I don’t think it will matter too much.

I have a feeling acmesalesrep will be joining this pseudo-science soon.

sarahsprague: dennymayo: YOU GUYS So when I bake my bacon, I line a cookie sheet. I lay out the bacon on the foil lined sheet, put it in the cold oven and heat to 400º. Usually by the time my gas oven reaches 400º, my bacon is just about done. This, this is interesting. I would imagine the skillet takes a lot of time to heat up and would not heat up, so you would want to put it in an already hot oven? Yes? Not sure. BUT! Flavor from skillet bacon is good. Basically I have a lot of questions and need a couple of pounds of bacon for experiments. OK, so: I’m no bacon expert, nor am I a cooking expert. I did this mainly based on Bacon Method, but with a cast iron griddle that we got for Christmas instead of a cookie sheet. It worked out OK, but: I have a gas oven, and I think the thermostat is off and temperatures are low in the oven i.e. longer cooking time. The first time I tried bacon method 20 minutes wasn’t quite enough with a cookie sheet. I used thick-cut bacon in the cast iron skillet, which needed more than 20 minutes. I used a cast iron pan, which probably heated up more slowly than other pans (specific heat, what up) I did this again today, but went with 25 minutes. Still wasn’t enough time, but the bacon was damn close. Maybe 30 minutes would help. Maybe pre-heating the skillet would help. I will try these things and you guys should try things too because we all love bacon. Let’s make bacon, you guys.

sarahsprague:

dennymayo:

YOU GUYS

So when I bake my bacon, I line a cookie sheet. I lay out the bacon on the foil lined sheet, put it in the cold oven and heat to 400º. Usually by the time my gas oven reaches 400º, my bacon is just about done.

This, this is interesting. I would imagine the skillet takes a lot of time to heat up and would not heat up, so you would want to put it in an already hot oven? Yes? Not sure. BUT! Flavor from skillet bacon is good.

Basically I have a lot of questions and need a couple of pounds of bacon for experiments.

OK, so: I’m no bacon expert, nor am I a cooking expert. I did this mainly based on Bacon Method, but with a cast iron griddle that we got for Christmas instead of a cookie sheet. It worked out OK, but:

  • I have a gas oven, and I think the thermostat is off and temperatures are low in the oven i.e. longer cooking time.
  • The first time I tried bacon method 20 minutes wasn’t quite enough with a cookie sheet.
  • I used thick-cut bacon in the cast iron skillet, which needed more than 20 minutes.
  • I used a cast iron pan, which probably heated up more slowly than other pans (specific heat, what up)
  • I did this again today, but went with 25 minutes. Still wasn’t enough time, but the bacon was damn close. Maybe 30 minutes would help. Maybe pre-heating the skillet would help. I will try these things and you guys should try things too because we all love bacon.
  • Let’s make bacon, you guys.
YOU GUYS

YOU GUYS

Soul Men: The Making of The Blues Brothers

tiffanyb:

fancycwabs:

The pitch was simple: “John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Blues Brothers, how about it?” But the film The Blues Brothers became a nightmare for Universal Pictures, wildly off schedule and over budget, its fate hanging on the amount of cocaine Belushi consumed. From the 1973 meeting of two young comic geniuses in a Toronto bar through the careening, madcap production of John Landis’s 1980 movie, Ned Zeman chronicles the triumph of an obsession.

On the first page, you learn that composer Howard Shore came up with the name “Blues Brothers,” so if you’re writing insane questions for trivia night somewhere, you must read the article.

When I watch this movie with friends, the rule is that singing along is encouraged, but reciting the lines along with the characters is definitely not. 

This is a most important article for reading.

Did some work in the basement getting stuff on the walls today which is neat

Did some work in the basement getting stuff on the walls today which is neat

Just cut so much cheese, you guys

Just cut so much cheese, you guys

washingtonpoststyle:

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson breaks it down to Michael Jackson at his department’s holiday party.

Next year might we suggest E = mcHammer?

Via Neil deGrasse Tyson