Oven Cooked Bacon Done Right

Have you tried oven cooked bacon? Bacon is one of my favorite foods. I like eating it, but until recently wasn’t thrilled about cooking it. Last March I went on a press trip to San Francisco. One of the hotels we stayed in served bacon straight from the oven. Literally! You walked into the kitchen to pick the hot foods you wanted on your breakfast plate. After tasting that bacon, which they actually sprinkled with brown sugar and cayenne pepper before it went in the oven, I was hooked on oven cooked bacon.

Have you been wondering how to make oven cooked bacon that your family will enjoy? It’s not difficult at all! It just takes some prep and time in the oven, and it will come out as crispy as everyone likes it.

Oven Cooked Bacon Done Right

Ingredients and supplies

Bacon
Parchment paper (or aluminum foil)
Baking sheet

Directions

1. Lay a clean, dry baking sheet on the workspace in front of you.
2. Run your hands under the faucet and sprinkle water droplets onto the baking pan.
3. Lay down the piece of parchment on top of the water (or foil). The reason for sprinkling the water is so when the parchment or foil touches the water, it almost acts a ‘glue’ to keep the parchment from shifting around on the pan and it’s much easier to work with.

4. Preheat your oven to 350
5. Open your package of bacon and with clean hands, take each strip of bacon and lay it flat on the baking pan. Start from the left side and work towards the right, or vice versa.
– do not overlap the pieces of bacon because if you do, they seem to ‘glue’ together as they cook and you will have all the pieces stuck together. Also, the piece being overlapped doesn’t not caramelize and retains a sort of ‘raw’ look.
– if you have a full pound of bacon to do, this may have to be done in batches or in two pans.

6. Place the pan in the oven and cook for approximately 20 – 25 minutes or to your preferred done-ness (crispiness). Keep an eye on the pan as the bacon can go from one stage (3/4 cooked to over crispy) in NO time.
7. When cooking time is complete, remove from the oven and let sit for a few minutes.
8. Remove the oven cooked bacon.

Oven Cooked Bacon Done Right

Tip: The bacon grease that has accumulated on the sheet pan can be drained into a mason jar and kept in the fridge with a tight fitting lid. You can use the fat for many savory dishes, in the place of using butter or oil. It’s also one of the ingredients in these Maple Bacon Cupcakes.