We love bacon around here. But to be honest, I hate cooking it. It's the mess it makes...I always end up with bacon grease splattered all over everything! It's all over the stove top, the hood, and me. My husband loves a good hearty breakfast on the weekends of bacon and eggs but sometimes I don't cook it just because of the mess.
But I have discovered a different way to cook bacon without the mess, and end up with perfectly crisp bacon. Thanks to Mom on Time Out! Here's some of her reasons why this method is so much better.
- Baked bacon does not curl, you get nice straight bacon pieces every time.
- The bacon cooks evenly, no white fatty pieces on one end and burnt bacon on the other.
- No splattering of bacon grease all over you and the kitchen.
- No need to babysit the bacon, you don't even have to turn it over!
- Tastes delicious.
All you need is:
Bacon
Shallow baking sheet (but deep enough to hold all the drippings)
Aluminum foil (heavy duty works best)
Metal cooling rack (optional)
Non-stick cooking spray (optional)
Paper towels
Here is what you do....
Line a pan with aluminum foil. Make sure the pan is deep enough to hold all the bacon drippings which can be a lot.
Place your bacon slices in the pan in a single layer making sure no pieces overlap. Or, if you are using a rack, spray the rack with cooking spray and put bacon on the rack and then place in the pan. I chose not to do this as I just didn't want to have to wash the rack. Lazy or smart? You decide.
Put the pan of bacon in a COLD oven and turn it on to 400 degrees.
Leave in the oven for about 15 minutes, checking often. No need to turn the pieces over.
When cooked to your desired crispness, remove from oven, take the bacon out of the pan and drain on paper towels. We love to save the drippings for use as seasoning.
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| Bacon and Egg Sandwich! Yum |
Here are some helpful hints:
- Put the bacon in a cold oven, do not preheat
- Watch the bacon closely during the last few minutes.
- Remove bacon from pan as soon as its done. It will continue to cook in the hot pan.
- Try flavoring the bacon with black pepper or brown sugar.
- To freeze just undercook by a couple of minutes, let it cool, place in a freezer bag and freeze. To reheat, put a few slices in the microwave on medium power for 30 seconds.
- Make some up in advance to keep for casseroles, salads, cheese balls....whatever.
Ingredients
- Bacon
- Shallow baking sheet
- Foil (heavy-duty preferable)
- Metal Cooling Rack (optional)
- Non-stick cooking spray (optional)
- Paper towels
Instructions
- Line the baking sheet with foil. (You will want to use a baking sheet that has enough of a rim that it contains the bacon drippings.)
- If using a metal cooling rack, spray the rack with non-stick cooking spray, and place the rack inside the baking sheet.
- Place the bacon slices in a single layer either directly on the foil or on a rack Make sure not to overlap slices.
- Turn the oven on and set to 400 degrees. Do not wait for the oven to preheat. Go ahead and place the pan in the oven.
- Cook the bacon for 12-17 minutes. Cooking time depends on the thickness of your bacon, and how long it takes for you oven to come to temperature. Start checking your bacon around 10 minutes to ensure your bacon doesn’t burn. (Nothing worse than burnt bacon!)
- When the bacon is golden brown, the bacon is done.
- Once the bacon has reached your desired level of crispiness, remove immediately and place on paper towels to soak up the bacon grease.
- Eat and enjoy!
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