I’m sure some of you will tell me this is the oldest trick in the book, but Scott (bro-in-law), and fellow Swagger contributor, recently taught me how to bake bacon (thank you Scotty). Yep, the ultimate hack of baking bacon right in the oven. It saves time, stove top space, and perfectly crisps your bacon every time.
When you’re cooking bacon for a larger crowd (or even just yourselves), it’s clutch to be able to throw it in the oven so you can focus on your eggs and home fries on the stove top (while drinking brunch cocktails). We’ve all been in that horrible situation where you’re stuck with cold bacon because NOW you need to scramble those eggs and cook those home fries.
How to Bake Bacon
There are a few different approaches to bakin’ bacon, but I like to stack a cooling rack on top of a foil-lined 11X17 pan. The rack helps with 360 degree cooking (no flipping) and the foil prevents a scorched pan (no scrubbing).
Some swear by placing the bacon directly on the pan to better fry/crisp up the bacon within the grease. While others prefer the drip pan method to keep the bacon more tender in the center but crispy around the edges.
Personally, I think it comes down to how long you bake in the oven, regardless of the method. I like my bacon crunchy around the edges, but still slightly tender in the center. Sound like the perfectly prepared bacon? I think so.
Arrange bacon on the baking sheet/cooling rack tightly but with no overlap. I always use thick cut bacon and bake at 400 °F for a good 25 minutes. I think regular bacon is too thin and shrivels up too much. No one likes thin floppy bacon at brunch.
Test the bacon at 20 minutes and add more time if needed. Just remember, bacon will still crisp up even after it’s taken out of the oven.
See it’s that simple—now you have an extra hand for a Bloody Mary, or maybe a French 75?
Prep Time:
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PinIngredients
- 1 pound thick cut, smoked bacon.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 °F.
- Line a 11×17 baking sheet with parchment paper or foil to prevent the drippings from burning onto the pan. Place a cooling rack on top of the baking sheet.
- Bake bacon for 20-25 minutes, or until to desired level of crispness. No need to flip.
Notes
If you use regular (thinner) bacon, you may want to adjust cook time to 15-20 minutes.
