How to Bake Your Bacon Instead of Frying It

If the thought of having to take out a pan, potentially smoke up the kitchen and get burned by oil does not sound like a great way to start the morning, try baking your bacon instead of frying it. I came to love baking bacon after I was tasked with cooking up huge batches of bacon for a function each year. Clearly the stove top was not going to do the trick. So, I turned to baking the bacon to get more bacon done. While I still fall behind in serving up enough to satisfy all the hungry mouths, everyone always asks how I make the bacon in the oven. So, here’s what I do:

1. Start preheating the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

3. Place strips of bacon on the baking sheet.

4. Put the baking sheet in the oven.

5. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until desired crispiness is reached.

6. Drain bacon on a plate covered with paper towels.

• Make sure the foil goes over the edges of the pan for easy clean up.
• The preparation for the bacon is so fast that often the oven is not done preheating. Chuck the bacon in the oven in as soon as you are done lining the pan. It makes no difference on the end product.
• Once the oil solidifies on the pan, you can just roll up the foil and throw in the trash. Clean up is quick and easy.

• You can also put used (like after drying your hands) paper towels on the tray to soak up oil. Then you do not have to wait for the oil to solidify as much.

Parents especially love this approach because they do not have to worry about oil splatter hitting their children if they walk into the kitchen. Also, you do not have to baby sit a pan hoping it won’t burn. This allows time to cook eggs or tend to other parts of breakfast or life in general. I even bake crescent rolls about midway through the cooking time for the bacon: two uses for the same heat from the oven. 

I no longer eat pork. But I have found this method still works great for turkey and beef bacon!