Perfect Bacon, Every Time
October 2, 2012 7:22 PM   Subscribe

Making perfect bacon every time is easy. Here's how:

Brought to you by Dan Benjamin of Hivelogic, and 5by5.
posted by SansPoint (81 comments total) 24 users marked this as a favorite
 
Making perfect anything every time is easy. Cook it.
posted by Science! at 7:24 PM on October 2, 2012


No, no, oven-baked bacon is too dry. This MeFi post got me boiling my bacon. I was initially dubious, but it is fantastic.
posted by painquale at 7:25 PM on October 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


Crispy bacon, ugh.
posted by unSane at 7:28 PM on October 2, 2012 [6 favorites]




Cover a plate with three sheets of paper towel. Place strips of bacon on top. Cover with two more sheets of paper towel. Place plate in microwave. Run microwave until bacon is cooked to desired doneness.

You're welcome.
posted by Egg Shen at 7:32 PM on October 2, 2012


Found this the other day via Pinboard. There are many methods to cooking bacon, this is a pretty good one. I printed several copies at work and left them on the breakroom table, just in case there's anybody out there who still doesn't know how to cook bacon.
posted by Doleful Creature at 7:34 PM on October 2, 2012


It's true. I did Bacon of the Month Club with my roomie one year for his birthday. After eight solid months of trial and error in cooking strange artisinal special bacon we didn't want to mess up, this link popped up when I last-resort-googled "how to cook bacon".

The oven-baked thing works every time, gives you lots of control to adjust if the bacon is thicker or thinner, and we never ruined bacon again.
posted by Mizu at 7:35 PM on October 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


Cover a plate with three sheets of paper towel. Place strips of bacon on top. Cover with two more sheets of paper towel. Place plate in microwave. Run microwave until bacon is cooked to desired doneness.

You're welcome.
posted by Egg Shen


I find this varies widely depending upon the type/brand of paper towel. Thinner ones seem to fuse to the bacon and make it less easy overall. I'd almost rather clean up the grease splatter in the microwave.
posted by blaneyphoto at 7:36 PM on October 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


this method only really works with thick, fatty bacon, your average supermarket American bacon is too thin and will just dry out.

However, like making rice, the mass oven cooking method is good for restaurants that just need bacon on hand at all times, like for crumbling in as an ingredient.
posted by The Whelk at 7:37 PM on October 2, 2012


Crispy does not describe the perfection that comes out after 20 minutes. This is legit.
posted by Kale Slayer at 7:38 PM on October 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


also doing bacon in the oven removes the element of danger and strategy involved in making bacon while totally hungover in a terrycloth robe. Better than coffee for waking you up.
posted by The Whelk at 7:39 PM on October 2, 2012 [6 favorites]


An added plus, you can cover the bacon with course black pepper and it sticks with this cooking method.
posted by 445supermag at 7:40 PM on October 2, 2012 [2 favorites]


My bacon is always perfect. It's bacon.
posted by mek at 7:40 PM on October 2, 2012 [17 favorites]


This is also how you make a good bacon weave.
posted by not_on_display at 7:41 PM on October 2, 2012


Obligatory: Rachael Ray's Late Night Bacon. (I love the reviews. Engagement bacon!)
posted by mochapickle at 7:43 PM on October 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


My bacon is always perfect. It's bacon.

and cook it at as low a heat as you can get away with. stops it from curling.

also, if you're roasting some poultry, you can attach some to the outside. That ends up tasting rather amazing ...
posted by philip-random at 7:43 PM on October 2, 2012


Crispy bacon, ugh.

Then take it out of the oven a few minutes earlier.

If you are cooking just a couple pieces of bacon, the oven is a big waste. But if you are cooking an entire package, then the oven is the best possible way. As long as you keep an eye on it there's no overcooking, no mess, no fuss. Easy peasy. I've tried preheating and I've tried the method suggested here, and I honestly can't tell the difference, and probably the bacon can't either.

I put it in at a lower temperature, but my oven tends to run hot.
posted by Forktine at 7:45 PM on October 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


rachel ray's late night bacon was apparently a joke between her and a fuck buddy. i think i remember hearing that she thinks the comments are hilarious.
posted by nadawi at 7:46 PM on October 2, 2012 [2 favorites]


please don't get Rachel ray having sex associated with bacon in my mind that is like Ludovico level shit kthx
posted by The Whelk at 7:48 PM on October 2, 2012 [3 favorites]


Protip: sprinkle brown sugar over the bacon before you bake it.

You're welcome.
posted by phunniemee at 7:52 PM on October 2, 2012 [2 favorites]


I do it on 325 convection for 20 minutes- 350 or 400 regular bake yields good results but takes 30 or 40 minutes in my oven. I also do it in a cast-iron skillet - easier to clean.
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 7:52 PM on October 2, 2012


No, no, oven-baked bacon is too dry. This MeFi post got me boiling my bacon. I was initially dubious, but it is fantastic.

That's an old trick used by bad restaurants to serve you a grilled cut of meat a few minutes faster. They boil your steak or chop for a couple of minutes, then sear it on a grill. It looks like a grilled steak, it's juicy, but the juice is mostly water and the flavor cooked off in the boiling water.

So this post linked to a page with only 190 words. There ought to be a rule against posting links to something that is shorter than most MeFi descriptions.

Now I will post something that is as informative as that link.

How To Boil Water

1. Pour water in metal pan.
2. Put pan on stovetop burner that is approximately the size of the pan bottom.
3. Turn burner on high.
4. Wait until bubbles form at the bottom of the pan, the water circulates rapidly, and steam rises.
5. Turn off burner.
posted by charlie don't surf at 7:53 PM on October 2, 2012 [8 favorites]


I don't think I have ever had badly cooked bacon, just bacon that is delicious in different ways.
posted by empath at 7:53 PM on October 2, 2012


Huh. Just pulled a pan of oven cooked bacon out before reading this. Standard op in this household. it does work best with a thicker cut like Fletchers. (BLT's with home grown 'matos, mmmmm).
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 7:54 PM on October 2, 2012


Rachel Ray: American celebrity chef; born 1968 in Glens Falls NY; height 1.60m.

You're welcome.
posted by Flashman at 7:55 PM on October 2, 2012


Crispy bacon, ugh.

Pistols at dawn, sirrah.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 7:56 PM on October 2, 2012 [4 favorites]


We do it in the oven, but lay the bacon out on cooling racks over cookie sheets with edges. This allows for the bacon to not wallow in its own grease. As a bonus, because the package takes up more than one pan this way, some is crispy like my wife likes it, and some comes out chewy like I like it. Winners all around.
posted by neilbert at 8:00 PM on October 2, 2012


Piglet rescues kid
posted by Flashman at 8:01 PM on October 2, 2012


another way to fix the wallowing problem - crumple foil and then spread it out on the pan, then lay the bacon on it. it also makes cleanup a breeze.
posted by nadawi at 8:03 PM on October 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


Bacon should be on a wire rack in a half sheet pan for drippin', if you use the oven method. A waffle iron also works in a pinch. N00bs.
posted by middleclasstool at 8:06 PM on October 2, 2012


The difference between good bacon and crap bacon isn't so much in the cooking as it is in the buying good, thick bacon in the first place.
posted by jimmythefish at 8:11 PM on October 2, 2012 [5 favorites]


I've been trying out a number of different types of bacon here, and by far the best one is the tamworth free range stuff sold out of my local rowe farms outlet. These pigs are only one or two steps removed from wild boars, very hardy animals that live outdoors all year round. The farm that raises them feeds them a forage based diet, unlike most pig farms where they're fed grain.

The fat on this bacon tastes absolutely delicious - it has that almost sweet complex flavour similar to the fat in grass fed beef.
posted by spacediver at 8:17 PM on October 2, 2012


I don't think I have ever had badly cooked bacon, just bacon that is delicious in different ways.

Yes, bacon can be badly cooked. I was once chopping up some bacon that was slightly overcooked to make some bacon bits. I was using my favorite Henckels Four Star 9" chef's knife. I put two slices on top of each other, started slicing, and it was tough as leather. I bore down a bit, and suddenly the 9" knife broke near the hilt, sending 8" of blade flying into the air straight at my face. I jumped back, and the blade flew up above my head, and then embedded itself point down, an inch deep into the floor, about 1 inch from my toes.

I took the knife back to the dealer. The manager looked at it and said, "How the hell did you do that? Were you prying something up sideways?" I told him, just regular vertical slicing. He replaced it on the spot, under the Henckels lifetime warranty.
posted by charlie don't surf at 8:18 PM on October 2, 2012


Obligatory: Rachael Ray's Late Night Bacon. (I love the reviews. Engagement bacon!)

I imagine that's a joke on the obnoxiously named You Won't Be Single For Long vodka cream pasta.
posted by Elsa at 8:18 PM on October 2, 2012


If bacon had an edit feature, it would be perfect erryday.

-dat countdown clock is simply too tempting.
posted by vozworth at 8:20 PM on October 2, 2012


Stopped reading at the word OVEN.
posted by TheTingTangTong at 8:26 PM on October 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


Place plate in microwave. Run microwave until bacon is cooked to the desired doneness. You're welcome.
posted by Egg She


Clockwise or Counter-Clockwise?
posted by StickyCarpet at 8:28 PM on October 2, 2012


Hows 'bout some eggs wit dat?
posted by ovvl at 8:29 PM on October 2, 2012


Our house gets hot during the summer, so my husband and I figured out how to make bacon on the grill. We use skewers that have been soaked in water so they don't burn and we usually do two strips of thick cut bacon per skewer, folded up and pierced so they look like ribbon candy. Veggies like zucchini, peppers, eggplant, cherry tomatoes and mushrooms are usually on the skewer, too, so we can lie to ourselves and call it a healthy meal.

This is my favorite way to cook bacon. The edges get crunchy and a little burnt, but the middle stays soft and chewy. The veggies get caramelized, too. We eat our bacon kebabs over big bowls of rice so the bacon gets mixed with burst open tomatoes and sharp peppers. It's heavenly.
posted by Alison at 8:32 PM on October 2, 2012 [8 favorites]


Am I the only one cooking bacon in a cast iron skillet?
edit: upon further review: no, I am not.
posted by The Hamms Bear at 8:34 PM on October 2, 2012


Oven? Yes, horrible idea. However. The Pasqual's Kitchen recipe for Red Chili and Brown Sugar Bacon excerpted here is unbelievably amazing. It might just change your life.
posted by micturator at 8:34 PM on October 2, 2012 [3 favorites]


How To Boil Water

Really, you should use the kettle and then just pour the boiling water into your pot.
posted by pompomtom at 8:47 PM on October 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


rachel ray's late night bacon was apparently a joke between her and a fuck buddy.

The Donnas - Midnight Snack
posted by charlie don't surf at 8:48 PM on October 2, 2012


I am a person who saves the bacon drippings to cook with. Therefore, my bacon cooking maximizes the rending of the fat while minimizing wastage. This is why I do not use the boil method.

I worry that baking in a pan in the oven would produce much less fat, because a lot of the fat would be stuck to the pan and not easily removed. Can anyone comment on this?
posted by rebent at 9:02 PM on October 2, 2012


I pan cook bacon in the oven using the exact above method rather frequently - it's the only way to cook an entire package. I never preheat because I know it takes 20 minutes from cold oven to perfect bacon - not too crunchy, not too chewy, just perfect doneness and not all curled up.

rebent, using a plain old sheet (jelly roll, or whatever you call it) pan renders the fat perfectly. There's no need for a rack or anything else, you just put the bacon on a paper towel on a plate after it's done cooking. I use the same sheet pan for bacon and stuff like grilled veg / roasted potatoes - after a couple batches of bacon the pan self-seasons to a dark brown that has a similar hardness as cast iron, does not stick, and only needs gentle cleansing / wipe dry to keep clean.
posted by lonefrontranger at 9:08 PM on October 2, 2012


Rebent, I also save the drippings, and it works a treat with the oven method.

I cover my tray with foil, and lay the bacon atop the foil. As soon as it's done cooking, the bacon is removed from the tray. Let the tray (and foil and fat) cool for a few minutes, then you just grab the sides of the foil to form a spout and pour it into your drippings can. And it's a goodly amount of fat--I get more this way than I did when I was panfrying. Give it a go!
posted by MeghanC at 9:18 PM on October 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


It's not so hard to have perfect bacon frying it in a pan. You just need to determine correct parameters for your stove and then use a timer; in my case, starting from a cold burner, it's nine minutes, flip, six minutes + two if it's thick.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 9:23 PM on October 2, 2012


Properly cooked bacon will not sag if you hold it out lengthwise, nor will it snap if you bend it.
posted by grog at 9:27 PM on October 2, 2012 [3 favorites]


I don't do this at home, but in my fry cook days my favorite way of preparing bacon was the old restaurant kitchen trick of throwing it in the deep fryer. It would cook in seconds, and the hot oil had a way of crisping up the bacon fat without rendering very much of it out, so you got a lot of that awesome crispy-chewy fat on every strip. You wouldn't get those pretty straight planks, of course, but it tasted fantastic.

Oven cooking is hands-down the best way to cook more than a single serving of bacon. Although I typically set the timer for 15 minutes, then peek at it until it's a little before the correct (for me) amount of doneness, then turn the oven off.
posted by El Sabor Asiatico at 9:42 PM on October 2, 2012


I learned to do bacon like this cooking in bulk for summer camps and stuff. It works really well. Makes bacon my favorite way, every time - really crispy but not burnt. Plus, no grease spatters all over the stove. Or you.
posted by Miko at 9:50 PM on October 2, 2012


Oh, missed your question, rebent - yes, you get as much or more fat because you don't lose it to the surrounding oven. I use a "jelly roll" pan which is about 1/2" deep, and just pour the fat off into my coffee can for storage.
posted by Miko at 9:51 PM on October 2, 2012


I am a person who saves the bacon drippings to cook with.

So did my grandfather. But then, he liked eating hog offal. He was a USDA Inspector and researcher. My mom used to tell me stories about how he'd bring home condemned meat and fry it in his big cast iron skillet and then look at it under his microscope. You don't want to know what he was looking for.

I once visited my cousin, who showed me the most disgusting breakfast I have ever seen. He fried a whole pound of bacon, until there was inch of fat in the skillet. Then he took the bacon out and put two eggs in, and spooned hot grease over the top of the eggs to cook them. It was like poaching eggs in hot lard. He told me that our grandfather taught him how to do that. He ate the whole pound of bacon and the eggs, and then saved the fat in a tin can.

I think saving bacon fat is a WWII thing.
posted by charlie don't surf at 9:57 PM on October 2, 2012


Despite its utility in munitiions, saving fat goes back much longer than WWII. It's basic home economy. People saved fat from beef, pork, geese, chickens from at least as early as we have written household instructions. Fat is just valuable. As a source of calories, and as a lubricant. Animal fat was typically used to grease mast hoops and slush topmasts on ships and to lubricate wagon wheels and to work into leather goods to soften and help proof them.

My only problem with bacon fat is that, even though I only make bacon maybe six times a year, that produces a lot more fat than I can really use. I use it to grease a skillet for making cornbread, for certain scones or biscuits, stuff like that.

There's something funny about bacon fat. We tend to demonize it, tell stories about it, like it's just the worst thing imaginable. Thing is...it really isn't all that bad, at least not when stacked alongside similar fats. It's higher in dietary cholesterol; that's about the worst you can say. Comparing it with olive oil, you don't see such an incredibly dramatic difference, at least not a difference warranting the degree of "OMG bacon fat will KILL YOU" that people generally react with. Olive oil's high in monounsaturated fat, but bacon fat has more Omega-6s and is higher in vitamin D.

Anyway, it's a perfectly fine thing to use in cooking, especially if it replaces a nutritionally similar fat.
posted by Miko at 10:20 PM on October 2, 2012 [7 favorites]


I've used bacon fat as a butter substitute (usually 50% worth) in savory dishes.

Like a savory cheesecake, with potato-chip crust. Or a shortbread.

Much better than pouring it down the drain!
posted by the man of twists and turns at 10:38 PM on October 2, 2012


Y'all aren't grilling bacon yet? Seriously? You know, just like normal bacon but with grill marks and outdoor deliciousness combined with the mortal fear of an unholy fire?

Free pro tips: for crissakes use INDIRECT HEAT (look it up, playa) and keep a sharp eye out for the telltale wisps that say your bacon is becoming salty bits of char. Also, a fire extinguisher nearby might not be a bad idea.
posted by Ogre Lawless at 10:59 PM on October 2, 2012


Comparing it with olive oil, you don't see such an incredibly dramatic difference

The dramatic difference is in how good it makes things taste, I'd say. But even using it to cook eggs and sometimes things like roast vegetables, there's no way I use enough oil/grease/lard to bother keeping all of the bacon fat I happen to render in a year. I always keep some available, but one small jar of bacon fat lasts me quite a while.
posted by Forktine at 11:10 PM on October 2, 2012


Half pound of bacon, 10 inch cast iron skillet, 10 minutes on medium high = breakfast bacon. Fry some eggs while the toast is down.

I never even thought of other methods. How else can you keep your skillet seasoned? Of course you save some of the fat, that's what metal coffee cans are for.
posted by Marky at 11:33 PM on October 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


I have never felt the difference between Britain and the US more acutely than while reading this thread.
posted by zemblamatic at 1:49 AM on October 3, 2012 [4 favorites]


Bacon fat is notorious for congealing in the sewer, so I take care to always pour it off into a jar when I'm done. But there's never much left after I've fried the eggs, the bread, the tomatoes and the mushrooms in it.
posted by Flashman at 2:57 AM on October 3, 2012 [3 favorites]


Then he took the bacon out and put two eggs in, and spooned hot grease over the top of the eggs to cook them. It was like poaching eggs in hot lard.

I grew up doing it this way, except with the addition of some butter into the bacon fat before the basting began.

Haven't done that for a long time.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:41 AM on October 3, 2012


I find this varies widely depending upon the type/brand of paper towel. Thinner ones seem to fuse to the bacon and make it less easy overall. I'd almost rather clean up the grease splatter in the microwave.

When I've encountered fusion problems, it's been due to insufficient thickness of the bacon. As mentioned above, thicker bacon is where it's at.

I can vouch for my method when used with Oscar Mayer Butcher Thick Cut and Bounty towels.
posted by Egg Shen at 5:14 AM on October 3, 2012


I should add that I put the finished product between two fresh sheets of paper towel and lean on them to get rid of the excess grease. You know, for health reasons.
posted by Egg Shen at 5:21 AM on October 3, 2012


Related.
posted by unSane at 5:38 AM on October 3, 2012


Agree strongly with whoever it was said that this thread exemplifies the US/UK divide.

To me American bacon is one of a ton of examples of American food that isn't really food. I look at it and my brain rebels. "You're not going to put that in your mouth". Chicken wings, same thing. I feel like I'm eating packaging.

Not that British cuisine isn't replete with similar examples - black pudding? But I ican't see how you can eat belly bacon after you've had proper side bacon. Back bacon -- which is what you get here in Canada - is another thing entirely and more like a thin slice of pork to me.
posted by unSane at 5:50 AM on October 3, 2012


Cover a plate with three sheets of paper towel. Place strips of bacon on top. Cover with two more sheets of paper towel. Place plate in microwave. Run microwave until bacon is cooked to desired doneness.

That's a good way to ruin five perfectly good paper towels
posted by any major dude at 6:13 AM on October 3, 2012 [2 favorites]


No, no, oven-baked bacon is too dry. This MeFi post got me boiling my bacon. I was initially dubious, but it is fantastic.

Same here. I find that it's cleaner than regular pan frying, easier and less time consuming than baking, and has the best flavor.

If you're doing it right, all the water will boil off and you don't lose any flavor. For those who haven't checked out the link to the previous FPP, the method comes from America's Test Kitchen where they will have compared all of the various cooking methods. If the video were longer, they'd take the time to explain what else they tried and why they found this to be better, it's kind of their thing.
posted by VTX at 6:37 AM on October 3, 2012


My only problem with bacon fat is that, even though I only make bacon maybe six times a year, that produces a lot more fat than I can really use. I use it to grease a skillet for making cornbread, for certain scones or biscuits, stuff like that.

List of things to try Bacon fat in\on:

Popcorn
Homemade vinaigrette (it will have to be a warm dressing, but I've found it works really well with balsamic vinegar )
Brushed toasted bread with garlic (For advanced users: Take a cold beer [not American Lager], put in a mixture of: 1 Tbsp each melted butter and melted bacon grease, and garlic powder, onion powder, maybe some cheese powder or mustard or something to taste. Stick in the fridge. Spread the fat that solidifies up top bread to be toasted and use the beer for a BBQ sauce or something).
Caramelized onions.
Any time you sweat onions or garlic.
Home-made apple sauce (just use Alton's recipe replace the butter with 1\2 as much bacon grease and maybe the brandy with bourbon and cut the sugar way back)
Actually, you know what, any time you use apples in a savory dish it works well as the fat.
Popovers
Pretty much any time you cook with ground pronghorn antelope (Which is by far the leanest meat I've ever seen)
as a small fraction of the fat in home-made mayonnaise.
Greasing the pan for pancakes.
Cooking eggs in (Scrambled or fried).
Hashes
Mashed potatoes
etc.

Thing that is disappointing that bacon fat doesn't work for:

Baked potatoes. I've tried every fat in my kitchen, and olive oil still work the best for brushing the outside with, bacon grease tends to make the skins REALLY leathery. My work around is that I fry up some small bits of smoked heart in olive oil, brush that oil on the potato and sprinkle on the heart like bacon bits. You get your crunchy and smokey and rich meaty flavor that way.
posted by Gygesringtone at 6:42 AM on October 3, 2012 [2 favorites]


To me American bacon is one of a ton of examples of American food that isn't really food. I look at it and my brain rebels. "You're not going to put that in your mouth".

Funny, that's always what Americans say about British bacon.
posted by Miko at 6:55 AM on October 3, 2012


I am a person who saves the bacon drippings to cook with. Therefore, my bacon cooking maximizes the rending of the fat while minimizing wastage. This is why I do not use the boil method.

I worry that baking in a pan in the oven would produce much less fat, because a lot of the fat would be stuck to the pan and not easily removed. Can anyone comment on this?


I don't have nearly as much luck saving the drippings cooking in the oven, but I've never tried the foil method mentioned above. I'm also reluctant to cook it in the oven because (unlike cooking it my cast iron skillet and saving the drippings) it does not make me feel like a pioneer.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 6:56 AM on October 3, 2012 [1 favorite]


My preferred bacon recipe.
posted by grubi at 7:12 AM on October 3, 2012


Gygesringtone: Thing that is disappointing that bacon fat doesn't work for:

Baked potatoes. I've tried every fat in my kitchen, and olive oil still work the best for brushing the outside with, bacon grease tends to make the skins REALLY leathery.


You need to get yourself some duck fat. Seriously.
posted by hanov3r at 7:53 AM on October 3, 2012 [1 favorite]


You need to get yourself some duck fat. Seriously.

You know what's odd is that I generally have goose fat on hand, and I was sure I had tried baked potatoes with goose fat, but I can't for the life of me think of why I liked the olive oil better. I do remember thinking that the fats that were liquid at room temperature did much better than the fats that weren't.

Maybe I need to bake some potatoes soon.
posted by Gygesringtone at 8:25 AM on October 3, 2012


I have the best bacon. My small town butcher smokes it along with the chops, cuts it thick, and sells it by the pound. My wife cooks it very slow on an electric griddle. Last Christmas, my fussy foodie sister-in-law from California was here. S-i-l often rants about the poor quality of food here in Bumfuck ND. We made bacon as part of our breakfast. I think the s-i-l ate half a pound. Indeed, this stuff it to die for.
posted by Ber at 9:09 AM on October 3, 2012


good bacon = bacon that is mine

bad bacon = bacon that is someone else's and i can't reach it

best bacon = bacon that was someone else's until they stopped paying attention long enough for me to steal it
posted by elizardbits at 9:09 AM on October 3, 2012 [3 favorites]


This is the method I use on normal days. It's possible I even heard about it on a 5x5 podcast.

HOWEVER, when I have the time I drop the temp to 250. It takes over an hour, but the bacon tastes even better. I plan to drop the temp to 200 to see if there is any further improvement from cooking it even slower.
posted by probablysteve at 9:33 AM on October 3, 2012


Do you think that somewhere in alternate universe pigs are having an internet discussion about the best way to cook humans?
posted by euphorb at 12:31 PM on October 3, 2012 [2 favorites]


I just tried the baking method. I have learned three things:

1) My oven heats slowly. I had to put it in for extra time.

2) My oven is hotter near the front. The bacon strips showed a perfect doneness gradient.

3) Baking bacon doesn't smell like frying bacon. This is significant because it means there's a chance I can stop getting an eager text message from my friend in the other half of the duplex every single time I cook bacon.
posted by darksasami at 12:33 PM on October 3, 2012


I've been doing this for years. Perfect bacon every time, and you can choose how crispy/soft you want it by varying cook times past 18 minutes...
posted by Chuffy at 1:28 PM on October 3, 2012


I was brought up with colonial British sentiments so I usually prefer my bacon thick, straight, flat, and brittle enough to crack when bent but still chewy in the mouth.

The trick is to let the streaky bacon strip start curling in the skillet, then making small nicks with scissors to relieve structural stress at strategic locations as they occur. Apply spatula to bacon to flatten.

That said, there are certainly different bacons for different purposes. I like thin crispy crumbly bacon for sandwichs/burgers so I'm definitely going to try the boil-dry method with thin American-style streaky bacon.
posted by porpoise at 5:05 PM on October 3, 2012


I just made some bacon for the first time in about 6 months this morning. It was delightful.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 8:55 PM on October 5, 2012 [1 favorite]


I did not cook it in the oven.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 1:41 AM on October 6, 2012


« Older a symmetrical doodling program   |   World's Best Father (FCVO "best") Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments