How do you cook your bacon? What do you do if a whole group of people are coming over for breakfast? Questions I needed to answer this morning because I was cooking for 7 people and I wanted bacon, omelets, baked eggs and toast. My father-in-law, both of my step-son’s and one of their friends, along with Nancy and her brother were coming over to eat some breakfast before the men headed out to play some paintball… yes, paintball.
I’ve been playing on and off for over 20 years and I love it about as much as cooking. Yes it is actually safe and believe it or not, paintball has moved ahead of snowboarding as the fourth largest alternative sport in America. In fact over 8 million people played last year and almost 1 million played at least 15 times in the same time frame. I play with 15 to 20 other guys and gals, some lawyers, some business owners, some military guys and overall just a bunch of great people. Anyway back to the bacon!
There are several ways to cook bacon: you can fry it, microwave it, broil it or bake it. I’ve done them all with the exception of broiling and I’ve found that baking is the way to go! It is super easy and provides consistent results. It actually is pretty easy to clean up as well. Stay tuned.
Let’s start with some basic pros and cons for each way to make bacon.
Microwaving – Hard to figure out the timing, not crisp, actually lacks the best flavor and is unappealing in the looks department.
Frying in a Skillet – Better looks, better flavor, grease splatter all over your stove, hard to fit many pieces in the pan, have to pay more attention which is difficult when trying to make an omelet, toast bread, baked eggs and make a fruit tray, shrinkage, hahahah and inconsistent.
Oven Frying – Best of all worlds. – Super consistent results, perfect flavor, easy clean up, no babysitting and fast results and almost no shrinkage!
So try and bake your bacon next time, especially if you have company! Oh and here is a tip from my wonderful wife Nancy. “You can bake off the bacon a day before you need it and just heat it up in the oven when you need it. You will be the king or queen of pork. Just don’t sneak any out of the fridge before you need to serve it.” Oh and what to do with the bacon grease, put it in the pan to cook your eggs or potatoes. You will love it!
Baked Bacon
Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet (must be rimmed to hold bacon fat) with parchment paper. Arrange the bacon slices on the sheet. Bake until desired doneness from 15 to 20 minutes. Before pulling out take a quick peak to make sure the bottom is as brown as the top, if not leave for a few more minutes. Transfer bacon with tongs to a paper-lined plate, drain and devour! Please post your comments and breakfast wins and blunders!
Technorati Tags: Bacon, Baking, Breakfast, Eggs, Food, Frying, Oven
Yep – in the oven is the way to go. I use Alton Brown’s method:
“Place the strips of bacon onto a sheet pan fitted with a rack and place into a cold oven. Turn the oven to 400 degrees F and cook for about 12 to 15 minutes, depending on how crispy you like your bacon. Remove from rack and drain on paper towels.”
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_17624,00.html
One of these days I’ll actually smoke my own bacon as well…
Did I forget to mention the weaving bacon?
http://www.instructables.com/id/Bacon-Placemats/
Can you tell I like bacon?
http://peacethroughpork.com/
I don’t think you’re cooking bacon in the microwave right. I find it the best for single-servings, and I always get crisp, tasty, beautiful bacon. But there’s a secret: Paper towels. Take two paper towel sheets, fold it in half, place 2-3 strips on one half of it and fold it over, so that there’s two layers of paper towel on top of and beneath the bacon. Press it a little so that it sticks and a little grease holds it together. cook it for 2-3 minutes; the paper towel holds the grease with the bacon and fries it, and holds it out into strips so it doesn’t shrivel. It’s great.
[...] weekend. Oh and I did get to play some paintball on Sunday. (See the article about Baking Bacon for more background on my paintball playing.) I studied a bit of accounting in college so somewhere [...]
I am work kamping in the restaurant of an RV park in South Dakota. And I am a prep cook!! Yes, my shift starts at 5.00AM !!
And we bake the bacon!!
Joe and Nancy,
I think baking bacon is absolutely the way to go. I buy Neuske’s bacon when I’m in Wisconsin visiting family and keep it on hand in the freezer. Actually just brought back bacon for my staff at Everyday Food magazine. Ever try sprinkling it with brown sugar and pepper?
I tried it and I liked it. You have changed my life.
I am the “go to” grandpa for BLT sandwiches. This will let us all eat at the same time, rather than a couple of sandwiches at a time
I wonder if I can cook “fried” green tomatos like this too?
Hmm….
Thank ya
[...] Pancakes are the ultimate in seasonal flexibility when it comes to flavors. Summers’ blueberries, bursting with that sweet tartness, bananas and toasted pecans for that classic hit of nostalgia, shredded apples and chopped walnuts when falls’ chill hits the air, and of course these babies. Pumpkin pancakes with those trusty spices of the holiday season – cloves, ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon. What could be more inviting? Well, maybe a side of smoky applewood bacon, baked by Joe. [...]
I have trided to bake Bacon .I myself like my bacon very crisp, so I bake it 20 minutes . I found it very tasty .
Oven baking is for sure the best and easiest way to cook it.
Bacon is a healthy food when prepared correctly and baked Bacon has less calories that fired Bacon.
I have been baking my bacon for about 15 years and I like to put it on my broiler pan and rack. I turn the bacon about halfway through the cooking time (I love to admire the way it looks!). A broiler pan and rack allow the bacon to drain right away and the grease is contained nicely. Recently, a friend came over to make BLTs for our families. I couldn’t believe it when I saw her take a full pound of bacon, separate it a LITTLE and fry in a heap in a pan! The bacon had to basically be broken apart to use AND it made a mess of my stovetop!
Whatever–enjoy your bacon your way!!
Just wanted to thank you so much for opening my eyes to the world of BAKED bacon! It cooks perfectly every time!! I will never fry bacon again!