For me, the ultimate bacon is crispy to the point that it shatters upon first bite. When I try to achieve this at home using the normal stovetop method, however, it not only takes a long time, but it also leaves a huge mess for me to wipe down afterward.
As a result, I used to only reserve bacon as a treat—something that I ordered from my favorite diner. That is until recently when I discovered the culinary queen Martha Stewart's trick for an easier, super hands-off, and most importantly splatter-proof method to cook perfectly crispy bacon. Her tip? For the best bacon of your life, cook it in the oven on a parchment-lined baking sheet—here's how.
Why You Should Cook Bacon in the Oven
Beyond the miraculous fact that cooking bacon in the oven creates virtually no mess, this method offers a few more advantages:
It Makes More Bacon: Because you're using a sheet pan, you can cook many more pieces of bacon than you can on a skillet—a godsend when you need to feed a crowd.
It's Hands-Off: The heat that circulates all around the sheet pan in the oven eliminates the need for you to flip the bacon as it cooks, which means this is a hands-free cooking process. I use this time to make myself another cup of coffee.
It's Crispier: Compared to bacon cooked in a skillet on the stove, oven bacon is not only crispier but more evenly cooked. The bacon sits in its rendered fat and essentially fries in it, becoming crispy more quickly.
How To Cook Bacon in the Oven
To make oven bacon the way Martha suggests, line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper (you could also use aluminum foil) and lay slices of your favorite bacon flat on top, being careful to space them out to prevent any overlap.
Bake the bacon in a 400°F oven until well-browned and crisp, this should take between 15 and 18 minutes depending on the thickness of your bacon. To follow Martha’s method to a T, you’ll need to rotate the sheet pan halfway through. Although I've accidentally forgotten to do this countless times and my bacon still turns out great.
Carefully transfer the bacon to a paper towel to drain. It'll get a little crispier as it cools.
Make Your Whole Breakfast on the Sheet Pan
A sheet pan full of bacon fat is swimming with delicious opportunity. Before you discard the fat, crack a few eggs right on top of it and slide the sheet pan back into the oven. You could also reserve a portion of the sheet pan for frozen hashbrowns or toast.
Bake the bacon in a 400°F oven until well-browned and crisp, this should take between 15 and 18 minutes depending on the thickness of your bacon. To follow Martha's method to a T, you'll need to rotate the sheet pan halfway through.
Tried and true, this is the way I learned to cook bacon: Lay the strips in a cold skillet, place over medium-low to medium heat, flip and fry until you reach your desired doneness and then transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.
Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Lightly oil a non-stick tray then lay the bacon over (streaky or back) in a single layer. Bake for 10-15 mins, using tongs to flip the bacon halfway, until cooked and the fat is crisp around the edges.
The flour definitely helped to give the bacon a crispier texture and nicer color than the other methods I tried. Plus, it seems like the flour prevented the bacon from curling too much.
Bacon should always be put into a cold pan and heated from there. In addition, draining the fat is a requirement. It's difficult to get bacon crispy if it's sitting in liquid bacon fat. In a microwave or in an oven this isn't a problem (I put bacon on a draining pan in the oven), but you have to remove fat from a pan.
He cooks it in a frying pan, starting out from cold with a little drizzle of olive oil and gradually bringing the temperature up to medium-high so the fat renders out, placing something flat and heavy on top to ensure super-even crispy bacon.
Cook It In Water. This counterintuitive, yet highly effective method of cooking bacon in water produces a perfect product, every time. Published May 13, 2022.
Whether you prefer to microwave, pan-fry, or bake your bacon, the oven will allow you to keep your bacon crispy for up to a few hours. Set the temperature to 200ºF and center a baking rack. Lay your cooked strips out on a baking sheet and place them in the oven until it's time to enjoy.
As with other meats, allow some room between strips, about an inch, when placing bacon in the pan. Crowding creates steam and prevents the bacon from cooking evenly, giving you limp bacon instead of crispy strips. Cook in batches if needed.
As with other meats, allow some room between strips, about an inch, when placing bacon in the pan. Crowding creates steam and prevents the bacon from cooking evenly, giving you limp bacon instead of crispy strips. Cook in batches if needed.
In a cold skillet, arrange bacon in a single layer (don't let it overlap too much). Turn the skillet to medium heat and cook, flipping the pieces often to promote even browning, until they reach your desired doneness (8 to 15 minutes). Remove from oven and drain on paper towels.
Introduction: My name is Allyn Kozey, I am a outstanding, colorful, adventurous, encouraging, zealous, tender, helpful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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