If you are pregnant/queasy/a vegetarian and grossed out by the sight of raw meat, you might want to click away. Go visit this funny site and come back here another day. I promise my next blog post won't include any photos of raw animal flesh.
When I mentioned on my other blog that we had given up paper towels, the single biggest question I received from readers concerned the draining of greasy bacon. Baking your bacon in the oven not only allows the bacon grease to drip away (no paper towels needed!), but it also turns out perfect strips of evenly cooked bacon-y goodness. Plus, it allows you to make way more bacon at a time than will fit in a frying pan, which comes in handy if you have a table full of hungry little breakfast monsters!
Place a cooling rack on a baking sheet, like this:
And then lay your bacon on it.
Then place the baking sheet in to a cold oven and turn the oven on to 350 degrees. It's best not to preheat the oven for this. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, but it honestly takes a different amount of time every single time I do it,so check your bacon often.
You don't need to flip it, but I always do because I have a compulsion to flip, stir and generally prod at the food I'm cooking, whether it needs it or not.
When it is brown and beautiful but not burnt, remove it from the oven. All of the grease will have dripped down to the pan and you will have a rack full of perfectly cooked bacon.
And if you pour the grease off the pan before it cools completely, clean-up is a cinch!
Thanks so much for visiting The Complete Guide to imperfect Homemaking!
Love it, yum!!!
ReplyDelete:) Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I always get splattered with hot bacon grease so this will be something I will be trying soon.
ReplyDeleteThis is the only way I cook bacon :) So much better than getting splattered with hot grease! One tip for cleaning up the grease though is not to use paper towels, but newspaper sheets. We get 2 free local newspapers weekly and I recycle them for cleaning up grease, lining the garbage can, etc.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea with the newspapers. I will have to try that. I have never done bacon in the oven and will try this myself. I have a George Forman grill and I LOVE it for cooking bacon. No need to flip, grease drains away, no splatter, easy clean up.
Deletethanks for the tips.
I just tried this for the first time today (saw instructions on another blog) and it worked really well! I'll be doing it in the oven again.
ReplyDeleteI had never done this before until I met my husband. He comes from a large family and his mom does it this way. Genius! So much easier than stove top bacon cooking I think.
ReplyDeleteYUM! Thanks for sharing! I always cook it in the pan, but it takes too much babysitting. I tried it on the grill and started a grill fire and I also tried to bake it directly on the pan and I still have burnt bacon residue on my cookie sheet... two years later. I am so excited to try this! You are such a happy part of my day!
ReplyDelete-Sandy
My family would love for me to make bacon more often, but I hate the greasy mess (not to mention having to fry in batches!) Will definitely do this next time!
ReplyDeleteMy family would love for me to make bacon more often, but I hate the greasy mess (not to mention having to fry in batches!) Will definitely do this next time!
ReplyDeleteMy family would love for me to make bacon more often, but I hate the greasy mess (not to mention having to fry in batches!) Will definitely do this next time!
ReplyDeleteI love doing it this way too because it is less stinky. When I was pregnant I couldn't stand the smell of bacon frying - it made me ill. But, being pregnant made me crave bacon like crazy. So I started using this method and I love it. Works for sausages too.
ReplyDeleteMy brother cooks a batch this way and then puts the cooked pieces in the freezer for quick bacon for sandwiches and such which I thought was a good idea.
I will confess, however, that I still hate cleaning the bacon grease residue off the cookie rack - always use my dishwasher for that. Got any tricks up your sleeve to make that process easier?
Now I want bacon!
Hi! I use the dishwasher too! :) I don't know what I would do without my dishwasher.
DeleteA co-worker told me she uses "baking sheets" (near the alumunim foil in stores) instead of the baking rack. Then just throw the baking sheet away. Most likely after letting it cool down.
DeleteLadies as a self certified baconaholic I can tell you this will change your life. For those wanting a mess less cleanup line your cooking sheet with foil. Then put rack on...cook bacon, remove and eat bacon, once cooled peel and ball aluminum up and throw away....easy least.
DeleteLaRieal - thehappinessbucket.wordpress.com
Yes yes yes! My mentor introduced me to this method and I never looked back- only I use a broiler pan set.
ReplyDeleteJust did this for last sunday's breakfast because I used the oven for baking some nice rolls. I did not use the rack but backing paper and it worked well! Love this and will never make bacon in a pan again!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Bacon!! So do all my family members. Wish I had known of this method quite some time ago. Hate cooking it on the stove! I appreciate the easy view of the pictures you provided as well.
ReplyDeleteMY FAMILY IS GONNA REALLY LOVE ME MORE NOW!!
Thank you so much!!
I LOVE cooking bacon in the oven. I HATE cooking it in a skillet. It always splatters and I cook it too long. But it turns out great in the oven. My second choice is the micrwave using one of those bacon pans from Wal-mart or Target.
ReplyDeleteDon't know if anyone's already mentioned this, but I cover the pan in foil before I put the grill back on top. I let the grease cool down and then just throw away the foil. Extra easy clean up!
ReplyDeleteWow, that's very very 'white' bacon! I suppose it crisps best - I should have clicked away!
ReplyDeleteWe do this too and I love it. Another tip, tin foil on the baking sheet. just wrap up and toss.
ReplyDeleteAnd what to do with the grease?! Keep a special jar for bacon drippings and keep in the fridge. Instead of olive oil on kale or broccoli, also done in the oven, try the bacon grease. Or if you don't like the thought of consuming it, keep it until you have enough to make suet for the birds from it! I never wonder what to do with bacon grease! : )
ReplyDeleteHi Kelly,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy reading your posts, you've loads of tips! where do they all come from?! I'd like to pass a blog award on to you, you can grab it over on my blog www.mummyandthemonsters.blogspot.co.uk
Kerri x
I know you said you've sworn off paper towels, but I always make my bacon in the microwave - on a plate and wrapped in paper towels. The end is crispy delicious bacon with no grease or slimy fingers.
ReplyDeleteMy mother used to skillet fry bacon for her brood of 10 every morning. And she saved all the grease. To this day, my father won't eat unless his food is fried in bacon grease - potatoes, meat, vegetables, eggs - if it's not dripping with bacon grease, he won't touch it.
I'll have to try your oven method next time and work on saving some innocent paper towels in the process.
Just wanted you to know that a friend happened across your blog yesterday and sent me a link, and I have been so blessed by what I've read so far. Looking forward to reading more!
ReplyDeleteWe have been cooking bacon like this for a while except we don't use a wire rack and we line the pan with parchment paper. Easy peasey clean up and delicious bacon.
ReplyDeleteRestaurants do this with bacon too. I save the grease in the fridge and use it to fry stuff in like potatoes eggs and stuff but also make bird feed cakes with it too for the winters here.
ReplyDeleteI miss you.
ReplyDeleteI love the oven cooked bacon but we line the pan with aluminum foil and just fold it in to itself when we are done and it saves so much clean up time. I'll have to try the cooling rack. Great ides :)
ReplyDeleteOhh htis looks incredibly yummy! So nice! I will have to try this asap, hmm!! :)))
ReplyDeleteLots of love,
Sabina
xxx
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Oh my word, that is some fatty bacon! Great tip though.
ReplyDeleteTurned out awesome! I will be using this method from now on - except I still placed the slices on paper towel - so I will keep buying it for bacon which is the only thing I really use it for (and an occasional disgusting mess).
ReplyDeleteThis is absolutely a time-saver if you are preparing bacon for the whole family. Plus, it is healthier compared to pan frying, which not only keep the grease in the bacons but supplement it with the use of cooking oil. Not to mention that the bacon strips are more presentable with the use of the oven.
ReplyDeleteBen
LagodelSolBistro.com - Best Restaurant in Miami
Makes a greasy mess in the oven, which is no fun to clean.
ReplyDeleteEasier to just get the precooked bacon that you microwave for 30 seconds.
ReplyDelete