Kitchen Tip: How to Make Bacon in the Oven

January 16, 2013 • Alaska from Scratch, Breakfast, Kitchen Tips, Recipes

Weather: 18 degrees, the recent rains have frozen over and our driveway is a solid sheet of ice
What I’m listening to: The Lost are Found, Hillsong Chapel

Oh bacon, how we love you. We are obsessed with you. You are in our breakfast, our lunch, our dinner, and our desserts. We wrap things with you, we stuff things with you, we top doughnuts with you, we toss you in salads of every kind, we put you on pizza, and we even dip you in chocolate.

We love you so much that for years we’ve been willing to burn ourselves with bacon grease splatter, get grease stains all over our clothes and aprons, and coat our stovetops and everything surrounding with shimmering bacon grease raindrops. We love you that much. 

And now, we’re all going to love you even more – because the secret is out.  We know how to cook you even better than we did before. We know how to make big batches of you all at once, without flipping, splattering, or having to make multiple batches. We know how to get you perfectly-cooked, delightfully crisp from top to bottom of each and every slice, every single time. We know how to avoid the limp, soggy, fatty portions that just don’t cook the same as the rest. We’ve discovered how to avoid those edges that get burned while the rest of the slice is just not-quite-there-yet. We have found bacon perfection.

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1. Line a baking sheet with foil. Place bacon on foil.

IMG_35362. Place bacon in a COLD oven (this is the trick to getting the fat to render evenly) on the center rack. Turn oven on to 375. Set timer for 16-18 minutes (16 minutes for chewier bacon, 18 minutes for crispier).

IMG_35373. Remove bacon from oven (I took mine out right at 18 min. I love mine crisp). Drain on paper towels.

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4. Look in awe at how evenly cooked and crisp they are. Consume with pleasure.

Some fun bacon recipes for you to enjoy:

BLT Sandwiches with Sunny Side Up Eggs

Bacon Avocado Egg Salad

Bacon & Egg Pizza

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon & Hazelnuts

Bacon Ranch Potato Salad

Fresno Potatoes

If your oven takes a long time to preheat and come up to temperature, it will alter your results with this recipe – consider a longer cooking time or preheating your oven prior to cooking. 

Kitchen Tip: How to Make Bacon in the Oven

Yields: 8 slices bacon, can easily be doubled by using larger pans or multiple pans

  • 8 slices bacon
  • large baking sheet
  • aluminum foil

Line the baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the bacon slices on the foil. Place the pan in a cold oven (this is the trick to getting the fat the render evenly). Set oven to 375. Bake 16-18 minutes (16 for chewier bacon, 18 for crispier bacon). Remove from oven and drain on paper towels. Enjoy.