Baking bacon. Anyone do this?

Ns1

No Lifer
Jun 17, 2001
55,420
1,600
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hm...consistently crunchy bacon. Must try...

1. Preheat the oven to a fairly hot temperature: about 400-425 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Get out a cookie sheet with a raised rim (you don’t want the excess bacon fat to drip into your oven). I’d also cover it with a sheet of aluminum foil for ease of cleaning. There are some special pans to help you bake bacon, but you don’t need to invest money into special pans to enjoy the baked flavour (Although it doesn’t hurt to invest in something that’ll make your life easier!).

3. Put the bacon on the sheet. Make sure the bacon pieces don’t overlap each other.

4. Put the sheet in the oven and bake for five minutes. After the five minutes are finished, turn the tray around to ensure that the bacon cooks evenly.

5. Bake for a few minutes longer. You’ll have to keep an eye on it. Ovens always vary in their cooking temperatures, and the baking time depends on how crispy you like your bacon.

6. Take your bacon out. Dab it with a paper towel to remove any excess bacon fat.

BaconBaked400.jpg
 

SMOGZINN

Lifer
Jun 17, 2005
14,359
4,640
136
Yes, it works really well.
But I put mine on a roasting pan so the grease drips down off the bacon. Now I get crispy bacon that is not greasy.
 

bfdd

Lifer
Feb 3, 2007
13,312
1
0
I bake bacon all the time. Comes out great imo, though I usually have it on a cookie sheet.
 

Dirigible

Diamond Member
Apr 26, 2006
5,961
32
91
I always cook my bacon that way. Foil on a cookie sheet. Nonstick spray. Bacon on. Into the oven.
 

GagHalfrunt

Lifer
Apr 19, 2001
25,284
1,998
126
I've been cooking mine that way for years. By far the best way to cook it.

Here's a tip, you can pre-cook bacon for easy heating later on. Buy a pound and cook the above method, then stop when you're about 80% cooked. Dry the bacon off and it can be refrigerated or even frozen. Then the next time you want bacon the stuff can be microwaved or fried in 60 seconds and be as good as fresh.
 

Baked

Lifer
Dec 28, 2004
36,052
17
81
Nah, I cook it in a pan so I can use the bacon grease to cook my hashbrown and eggs.
 
Sep 12, 2004
16,852
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Nah, I cook it in a pan so I can use the bacon grease to cook my hashbrown and eggs.
After baking, pour the bacon grease out of the sheet pan and use it.

I like the baking method for a few reasons:

1) You don't get bacon grease splatter all over the stovetop.

2) The bacon tends to stay flatter when baking it.

3) Wrapping the sheet pan in foil and using a bit of cooking spray makes for easy cleanup.

ime though the cooking directions in the OP are a bit off. I crank the oven up to 450 F (and it's that hot based on my oven thermometer) and it still takes 12 - 15+ minutes to get perfectly crisp bacon.
 

mmntech

Lifer
Sep 20, 2007
17,501
12
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Anyone microwave it?

That's how I usually cook it.

I've baked it on the BBQ before. Probably the tastiest way to do it. Crispy and smoky. Gotta really watch for flare ups from the fat dripping. I've cremated a few pieces that way. Plus your clothes will reek of bacon for the rest of the day.
 
Sep 12, 2004
16,852
59
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I've microwaved it in parchment paper. I've also used paper towels too but it tends to stick to those. It's an OK method but there's no Maillard reaction like when pan or oven cooking so it doesn't taste quite the same. It's an easy, fast way to par-cook it though for wrapping a filet or scallop.
 

Ns1

No Lifer
Jun 17, 2001
55,420
1,600
126
X2, OP, why the pic that shows bacon cooked directly on the oven racks and not in a cookie type sheet?.

I ripped it from google images. That's how I would do it, that way the grease drips.

Anyone microwave it?

I used to until I started doing it in a pan. I bet I'll keep doing it in a pan until I start baking it.
 

nageov3t

Lifer
Feb 18, 2004
42,808
83
91
I usually bake if I'm cooking a lot, or microwave if it's just for myself.

hate cooking bacon on the stovetop because of the mess.
 

Destiny

Platinum Member
Jul 6, 2010
2,270
1
0
I bake it and cover it with chocolate! Works better than giving a regular box of chocolate to a chick!:awe:
 

jhansman

Platinum Member
Feb 5, 2004
2,768
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91
Yep, on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Flavor is preferable to fried.
 

davmat787

Diamond Member
Nov 30, 2010
5,512
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Made bacon in the oven a few hours ago, BLT's and corn on the cob for dinner. Lined with foil and then parchment paper, didn't have to clean the cookie sheets when done.

One of the bonuses with cooking bacon in the oven is the grease is cleaner and easy to save. Nothing beats bacon grease for cooking when you can use it.
 

bunnyfubbles

Lifer
Sep 3, 2001
12,248
3
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That's how I usually cook it.

I've baked it on the BBQ before. Probably the tastiest way to do it. Crispy and smoky. Gotta really watch for flare ups from the fat dripping. I've cremated a few pieces that way. Plus your clothes will reek of bacon for the rest of the day.

you say that like its a bad thing...
 
Sep 12, 2004
16,852
59
86
Made bacon in the oven a few hours ago, BLT's and corn on the cob for dinner. Lined with foil and then parchment paper, didn't have to clean the cookie sheets when done.

One of the bonuses with cooking bacon in the oven is the grease is cleaner and easy to save. Nothing beats bacon grease for cooking when you can use it.
imo there are 2 fats that beat bacon for cookng - duck fat and beef marrow fat. Marrow fat is my absolute favorite because it's so clean, almost like beef butter. A little goes a long way. Bacon fat is still awesome though.
 

nanette1985

Diamond Member
Oct 12, 2005
4,209
2
0
It's been too hot to fire up the oven. But a cold front just went thru with thunderstorms and tons of rain - so oven, here I go. Store brand bacon was on sale - this is a fine way to toast up the cheap stuff.

This thread gets a high rating on my list of threads that make me hungry.