Ralph,
we don’t have an exhaust to the outside either. But I have found a way to cook bacon with almost no smell at all.
I bake it in the oven at 400 F, preheated, on baking sheets, 6 slices to a pan. I spray the pans first with Pam (you’d think bacon wouldn’t stick, but it does), lay the slices evenly, it takes two pans for a pound of bacon. Put the pans in the preheated oven for 10 mins., then rotate pans, top to bottom and turn each pan around too, to facilitate even browning. Set timer for another 5 mins and check, usually the bottom pan gets done first. If not done, give it about 3-5 mins more.
Bacon done this way comes out perfectly every time, no splattered grease to clean up, no turning and tending and burns from splattering grease, almost no smell, if any at all and the bacon strips stay perfectly flat and straight. I make BLT’s about once a month and this makes it a pleasure, and the sandwiches are nicer too because the bacon isn’t curled.
Give it a try, I promise you’ll never cook bacon on the stove again.
Also, to help alleviate other cooking odors I keep a small, shallow dish of white vinegar on the counter and we also have a medium sized air filter that I run when I cook anything that will create odors. I use a splatter shield on top of the frying pan, this not only keeps the area cleaner, it also seems to keep the odors down too.
I sure wish that the builder had vented the hood to the exterior, but with these work arounds it isn’t too bad, odor wise.
Eddie
