Why Bake Your Bacon
Why should you cook bacon in the oven instead of frying it the old-fashioned way? There are so many good reasons for cooking bacon in the oven, we have to count the ways:
- You can cook a whole pound of bacon at one time in just minutes.
- Baked bacon cooks flat and doesn’t curl up.
- No need to turn the bacon.
- No grease burns on your skin.
- No grease stains on your clothes.
- No grease splatters all over your stove.
- Free up space on your stovetop for other foods.
- While the bacon’s in the oven cooking itself, you can turn your attention to other things. Like mixing mimosas.
- Clean-up is as easy as it gets.
- Baking bacon makes it possible to make candied bacon.
- Bacon is it’s own best reason to cook bacon.
Ingredients
1 pound thick-cut bacon
Equipment
Large rimmed baking sheet
Aluminum foil
Baking rack (Optional: Cooking the bacon on a rack makes the bacon crisper, and lets the grease drip off the bacon as it cooks. If you go the rack route, you should still line your baking pan with foil to make clean-up easy.)
Directions
1. Preheat your oven to 400° F. You won’t be broiling the bacon, so put your oven rack in the middle of your oven to distribute the heat evenly.
1. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Make sure the foil extends up the sides of the pan so it captures all the bacon grease and clean-up is easier.
2. Arrange bacon strips directly on the foil. It’s okay if the bacon overlaps slightly because it will shrink slightly as it bakes. OR place the bacon on a rack. Place the baking pan in the oven.
3. Cook bacon for 10 to 20 minutes, depending on how chewy or crispy you like your bacon.
4. Transfer cooked bacon to a paper towel-lined platter. The extra grease will be absorbed by the paper towels, and the bacon will crisp up a bit as it cools. You can then transfer it to a clean plate to serve.
Notes From Home Cooks
- No baking rack? No problem. Line the baking sheet, then crumple up some more foil and lay the bacon on that to hold it up out of the grease.
- Your baking time may differ. No two ovens bake at exactly the same temperature. You’ll probably need to do this a couple of times to find the right time/temperature that works for you.
- Prevent oven splatters. Lay a layer of foil over the bacon; this will keep grease from spitting all over the oven. Remove the foil for the last few minutes of cooking for “final crisping.”
- Clean up is a snap. As if we need another reason for making bacon in the oven. Just let the bacon grease cool in the pan (save it if you want), then roll up the aluminum foil and toss it.
Save Your Bacon
Here’s the method as a recipe so you can save to your recipe box. Or pin the graphic below. Enjoy your new life, now with perfect bacon.
