My husband loves bacon. And, to be honest, so do I. But I don’t often cook it at home. First of all, it’s not healthy and since I have a hard time resisting tasty but unhealthy foods, I just don’t buy them. Second of all, cooking bacon is annoying.
Growing up, I thought everyone made bacon in the microwave. That’s how my mom does it, and she even gave me a special microwave bacon plate to do it in my home. Apparently (and according to my bacon connoisseur husband), the proper method for cooking bacon is on the stove. But that takes forever! It also makes a mess on my stove, and more often than not, I burn at least half of it. Annoying.
So when I started reading about baking bacon in the oven, I knew I’d have to give it a try. I finally did just that and used the steps listed on Homemade with Love.
Baking Bacon
1. Line a cookie sheet with foil.
2. Place thick-sliced bacon in one layer on the sheet. Do not overlap slices.
3. Turn oven to 400 degrees (don’t preheat). Put the bacon in the oven.
4. Check it after 15 minutes, but it might take closer to 20 minutes.
5. Place on paper towels and blot.
6. Enjoy perfectly cooked, crispy bacon!
Here’s one more little bacon-cooking tip. If you insist on frying your bacon and you don’t need full-length strips (if you’re going to use the bacon in a dish such as garlic chicken pasta, for example), chop it up before you fry it up. It takes a lot less time, although I can’t promise the grease won’t splatter like normal.
How do you cook your bacon? What’s your favorite way to eat bacon?
This post will be linked to Mouthwatering Monday, Tasty Tuesday, Tuesdays at the Table, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, 33 Shades of Green and Foodie Friday. It will also be linked to Works for Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family.
Great idea…even better–cook it on a broiling pan. (you know, the kind like came with your oven–slotted sheet on top of a deeper pan that will catch the drippings) Then if you save your bacon drippings for other cooking, just let them cool and simply scrape into a freezer container! :) No more bacon swimming in its own grease!
Started cooking bacon this way several years ago and it’s the best way! Another easy way to keep the bacon from sitting in the greasy is to put a baking cooling rack on top of your cookie sheet then place the bacon on the cooling rack to cook. The greasy drips right down :-)
I have been baking bacon for years now. I actually use a Pampered Chef bar pan stone and parchment paper with mine, but the temp and time is about the same. Just nothing like the tasted of baked bacon. It takes on a smokey kind of flavor and the best part… no standing at the stove or cleaning up grease on your stovetop!
oooh! I’m going to try the baking method! I’m not allowed to make the bacon in our household, because I always burn it. Or it’s too floppy because I pull it too soon for fear of burning. Bacon is my culinary nemesis. I like Sonia’s tip of placing the bacon on a cooling rack with your baking pan underneath to catch the drips!
I must say the microwave is my method of choice too – to avoid the splattery mess.
Microwave! I used to be a skeptic. I mean, I’ve been around since BEFORE the microwave. I didn’t trust it. But. Lo and behold! There is no better way to cook bacon. Seriously.
We always cooked bacon on the stove but I converted to the oven method a few years ago. Way easier to do, no risk of grease splatter or burns, and less clean up. Win, win, win. I only cook it on the stove when I’m making carbonara but that’s because it’s chopped up into pieces and I need the bacon grease to cook the onion. Such a healthy recipe:)
I always use my electric frypan. My entire (extremely picky) family gobbles it up, and the mess is minimal.
I’ve been baking my bacon for years — the only way to go! Unless, of course, like you said, I’m frying chopped pieces to toss on a salad or to add to my macaroni salad. Blessings, ~Lisa :)
Wow, that bacon looks fabulous! I have always microwaved mine, but I just tried baking mine for the first time a few weeks ago and I was really happy with how it turned out. (I wanted it to be very flat and pretty because I was dipping it in chocolate to make a birthday gift for someone I love!)
I hate turning on the oven in the summer when it’s 90 degrees, but I think I’ll be baking my bacon instead of microwaving it when the weather gets cooler.
Thanks for these tips! I’m scared though to cook bacon in the oven because my sister did that and her oven caught on fire! Ahhhhhhhh :-)
Love, Traci @ Ordinary Inspirations
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I seriously only learned this tips within the past year or two. Best kitchen tips ever if you ask me. Wish I had known! I also just saw a link for this, and I think it’s just as brilliant (lattice bacon for burgers and sandwiches): http://kitchensimplicity.com/lattice-bacon/.
I have a friend who cooks bacon in the oven as well. I’ve always thought that was super smart.
I would love for you to hop over and share this top on my mommy solution meme!
http://www.crystalandcomp.com/2011/08/the-mommy-club-share-your-resources-and-solutions-6/
I love making bacon like this. If I make it on the stove top I burn it in like 5 seconds haha
I’ve always baked bacon on a rack so the grease drips down. But I made it this way this morning. OH MY WORD. It is so tender and flavorful and MMMMM. I might make bacon every morning.
P.S. You really need a recipe index!!
It couldn’t get easier than baking bacon! But every morning? That would definitely be over achieving. ;)