Any "like to cook" foodies here?

[classicdrogn]

I've recently discovered that ground pork with a light sprinkle of salt added on each side before you put it on the heat and with a bit of cheese added at the end can end up tasting very much like bacon with far less fat, for use in omelettes or with veggies and rice or pasta. Here's how I do:

Pick your quantity of meat to suit the intended serving size - I use a third of a pound for a 3-egg omelette, or a half for when I'm making two servings of the veggies and rice meal. I odn't have a calculator handy but 2.2lb = ~1kg to convert it for commie measurements so however that works out. Crumble it into a non-stick pan (the non-stick is important, cleaning cheese out of an iron pan is horrible. I use one of those "Red Copper" branded pans that supposedly are much harder to damage than the classic Teflon coated ones, but still only use a plastic spatula in it) but let the bits stay touching and stick together as they cook at first, as it makes them easier to flip for even cooking, adding just a light sprinkle of salt, as I said, first on the top of the meat before you put that side down in the pan, then to the other side either right away or just before flipping it. Fry it at a medium-high heat, enough to sizzle, for about three minutes on each side, then turn it again for a second round to get a crispy browned surface.

Use the blade of the spatula to break the bits up again after turning them for the last time (shoot for pieces no bigger than half an inch/one cm) and add a single layer of thin cheese slices on top, then cover the pan for a minute or two to get the cheese soft before breaking it up as well, which will naturally mix the meat bits around again. Give it a couple more minutes for the cheese to get nicely golden brown as well, during which time you should turn the heat down to about half, so it no longer sizzles. Whatever cheese is up to you, though the point is to add the smoke flavor so plan on that basis.

At this point, either dish it up with the sides or crack the eggs over the top and mix it quickly, then give it another minute and a half to two minutes before flipping again to cook the eggs on both sides, perhaps adding some pepper or a bit of powdered garlic to taste. If you're doing the meat and veg, don't mix them up and try to keep the meat in a single layer on the plate, so it stays crispy on the outside for that bacony experience. I suppose you could even have it for breakfast with waffles or pancakes in the traditional bacon role, though I have not yet.

Now, most ground pork is about 85% lean at best, so it's still not anything close to "fat free" even before adding the cheese, but that's still better than about the reverse proportions for bacon and it doesn't leave you with a pan full of grease to clean up, and ground pork is much easier to deal with a partial package (or just get a smaller quantity if your market grinds their own and you're there to ask when they're doing it) than the typical vacuum-bagged bacon strips as well. It's also easy to use more or less salt to suit your taste and diet, for that matter.