This No-Intervention Method Is the Only Way I Will Ever Cook Bacon.
As soon as I could cook safely on the stovetop without supervision—say, 12 years old?—I started frying bacon. I did my best to stretch the wobbly strips so they didn’t overlap or curl too much, and I braced myself for the pounding, sharp, flapping splatters of oil. I loved the results (chewy, crispy bacon is a tempting reward), but I hated the process and the cleanup. It wasn’t worth it. But instead of giving up on bacon, I changed my approach. Now I bake my bacon in the oven, and it’s the only way I’ll ever do it.
Why is it best to bake bacon in the oven?
Baking in the oven is better than frying in a pan because you don’t have to supervise it, the stovetop is available for other cooking, you’re not subject to painful splatters, and cleanup can be easy with a simple trick (more on that in a minute). What’s more, it’s a lifesaver if you’re hosting a big brunch party and need to cook three pounds of bacon. You’re not limited to how many slices you can fit in a pan. Instead, you can bake as much bacon as you can fit on a large baking sheet. And if your oven has two racks, guess what? You can bake two baking sheets of bacon.
What is the best oven temperature for bacon?
I typically cook my bacon in the oven at 350°F for about 20 minutes. The time will vary slightly depending on whether you’re using thin or thick cut bacon, but this is my favorite temperature. It’s hot enough to crisp up the bacon and brown it in a reasonable amount of time to cook the rest of your breakfast, but not so hot that you burn your precious pork before you know it. I’ve always had success at this temperature, and I find that it provides the perfect cooking window to catch the bacon at just the right doneness level for you.
Sometimes, if I’m in a hurry, I’ll turn the temperature up to 400°F. However, I always know that I’ll burn it when I do this. This temperature is fine and will cut five to eight minutes off the overall baking time, but if I’m in a hurry, my mind is probably 10 places other than the bacon. I’ve seared meat at this temperature before. If you need to cook bacon quickly, try 400°F, but set a timer.
How to Bake the Best Batch of Bacon
The steps are simple and this hands-off method allows you to use your stove for important tasks like making pancakes and eggs.
1. Line a baking sheet
As much as I hate disposable aluminum foil, it is the key to cleanup. Take a medium to small baking sheet and line it with one piece of aluminum foil. Use the edge of the pan to form the foil so that you have four walls. Even if your pan is larger, you can still use the edges to form the walls, the foil just won’t fit the sides of the pan, and that’s okay. The goal is to catch the rendered fat.
2. Spread the bacon and bake.
In the foil arena you made, lay out the bacon strips. It doesn’t matter which way they go, they can touch each other, but just make sure they are flat and not overlapping. If they overlap, you will have steam pockets and uneven cooking. For crispy bacon, this is a sin. However, if you like chewy, soft bacon, this may be right for you.
Place the bacon sheet in a preheated oven at 170°C and leave for 18-20 minutes or until the bacon reaches your desired texture.
3. Easy cleaning
Baked bacon cooks more evenly and stays flatter than pan-fried bacon. When it comes to cleaning, baked wins again. Remove the bacon strips from the foil—they should come off easily—and place them on paper towels to blot excess grease, or let them cool on a wire rack.
Now you have a foil-lined baking sheet full of runny bacon drippings. Yes, you could just pick it up and throw it in the trash, but you risk some of the grease drippings ending up on the floor or in the trash. Instead, I throw the entire sheet in the fridge or freezer for about five minutes to let the grease set. Now you can pick up the foil, crumple it up, and throw it away without making a mess.
Alternatively, save the bacon grease you’ve scooped out. The rendered fat you collect is a particularly tasty ingredient, and you can use it later in other dishes. Simply strain the liquid fat through a fine sieve and pour it into a jar. Here are the best tips for collecting, storing, and using bacon grease , like how to use it to grease your waffle iron or flavor your popcorn . Extra bacon grease can be a great tool for flavoring other parts of your breakfast, or for adding a little smoky flavor to bean dishes, proteins, liver, veggies, and pasta.