Bacon
The best way to make bacon? Roast it. There is no doubt. Roasting is my favorite way to cook just about everything so it came as no surprise to me to recently discover just how good roasting works for bacon. Even cooking, no curling, no grease spatters on the counter. How bad can that be? Ina Garten, of course, has been saying this for years and anyone that watches her show would know that as she says it just about every time she cooks the stuff. She actually says a lot of stuff over and over again doesn’t she? (Still, I love her.) Anyway, put the bacon on a rack over a rimmed cookie sheet and roast at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Lay parchment down under the rack for easier cleanup. Take the rack out of the oven and just let it drip and cool down or transfer to paper towels. Or, if you are serving brunch, just turn the oven off, let cool a minute or two and put the rack back in the oven while you are getting everything else ready.
Interestingly enough, the doyenne of roasting, Barbara Kafka, suggests that the microwave is the best place for bacon. WTF? She might have a point if all you are after is a few pieces but any more than that and you will be doing yourself a huge favor to fire up the oven. I had to cook 18 slices recently and didn’t want to deal with the mess so I decided to try out this method. I’m sold. And no, I’m not saying why I needed all that bacon but lets just say I needed it. (If anyone really needs bacon.) Oh, and did you spot the split infinitive in this post? Don’t bother writing me to tell me you can’t do that. You can.
Cooking bacon this way is awesome. I often cook bacon this way when I need lots of bacon. Strips are uniform, flat and the fat drips away. Heaven.
I have, on occasion, made bacon in the microwave for those quick, fast times I had to REALLY have bacon.
Yes…I found the split infinitive….
I roasted bacon once and the mess in the oven made me vow “never again”. Do you have a tip for that? It looks like you have been a busy blogger since I have been in HI. And just so you know I am anti-Target too. GREG
My family has decided that this is the best way to make bacon – its always uniform in “cook” texture and taste.
The only think I do differently is that I only put my oven at 350 and about 1/2 way through I “turn” the slices
Thanks Kat. As you can see I cook it on the rack at higher temperature negating the need to flip. Your method is great if you cook it on the pan itself. I don’t know why Greg thinks it is messy. Perhaps he has found bacon that doesn’t spatter the stovetop?