Learn How to Bake Bacon for perfectly cooked, straight slices every time.
Let’s face it, making bacon really shouldn’t be rocket science. But bacon is a tricky thing.
If you cook it in a skillet large enough for the slices to fit, you’re going to end up with the centers cooked and the ends still soft.
Maybe you can get the bacon to cook, but then is curls up on itself, again, causing uneven cooking.
Dicing up bacon to sauté in a skillet is an easy way to get it to cook evenly, which is what I do for many recipes. However, sometimes you just need good slices of bacon.
So what do you do?
Ditch the skillet and get out your baking pan.
Now at first, I must admit I was hesitant to give this a try. You see, I always save my bacon drippings for other recipes. But the first time I made bacon strips this way, I was won over!
Want to learn how to make perfect Turkey bacon? Read this: How to Make Crispy Turkey Bacon
Here’s what you need:
- your favorite bacon
- a rimmed baking sheet
- a baking rack that will fit inside the baking sheet
- an oven
How to Bake Perfect Bacon
- To begin, preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
- Place the baking rack on the rimmed baking sheet.
3. Arrange the bacon on top of the rack.
4. Bake the bacon.
How long you need to bake it will depend upon how thick your bacon is, as well as how you like your bacon cooked.
Thinner slices may be ready after 12 minutes. Thick cut bacon may take closer to 20 minutes.
I simply set my timer for 12 minutes and then keep an eye on it. When it reaches the color we like, it comes out of the oven.
You end up with PERFECT slices of bacon. It doesn’t curl up. It is evenly cooked. Every. Time.
And as frosting on the cake, you can still save those bacon drippings. Just pour them from the baking sheet into your container.
Done!
I will never fry whole slices of bacon again.
Note: I no longer eat pork, however I am leaving recipes like this one up for those who enjoy it. Many pork recipes can be easily converted to turkey or chicken recipes, with little or even no other changes. Recipes with bacon or sausage can use alternatives like beef or turkey bacon. Many of those recipes are being updated with the changes. Article: Why I Quit Eating Pork
I’ve been doing this – mainly because I have boys and you have to cook up a pound at a time :) I just line the baking sheet and cook them on it – but I do like the idea of letting the grease drip down so I’ll have to try that.
I have found that the higher the temperature you cook the bacon, the quicker it will go form almost done to way too done, so be sure to keep an eye on it once it gets to the almost point.