Bacon is one of the finest gifts of the world to humans. This savory treat can be eaten at any time of the day: breakfast, lunch, or dinner. While there are tons of ways to cook bacon, baking it in an oven is much more comfortable.
If you want to know how to cook bacon in the oven perfectly, this article is the one for you. Cooking bacon in an oven will only take minutes to do. Plus, it will make your bacon crispy and brown, just like how you want it.
Perks of cooking bacon in the oven
One of the best advantages of cooking bacon inside an oven is it's mess-free. All you need to do is put some bacon strips on a baking sheet, pop it in the oven, and come out crispy.
However, if you are only cooking a few bacon pieces, cooking it in an oven can be a waste of gas. If you plan to cook 3-4 bacon strips, you can cook it in a skillet with water. Or, if you have a small oven toaster, you can pop it in there too.
How to cook bacon in an oven
With all the techniques and tricks on how to cook bacon, cooking it in an oven is the best way. If you want to achieve that golden, crispy brown bacon strips, here are some steps to do so.
- Preheat the oven. When you are preparing your bacon strips, make sure to preheat the oven. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. While the oven is heating, prepare a large baking sheet and cover it with foil.
- Use a cooling rack. To ensure the bacon cooks both sides, putting a cooling rack inside with the baking sheet is a must. Raising the bacon a bit higher above the baking sheet will allow the bacon strips to be crispy.
However, if you don't have a cooling rack at home, you can skip this step.
- Bake. Carefully put the bacon strips on the baking sheet. Do make sure the pieces do not overlap with each other so they won't stick-Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the bacon strips are crispy.
Keep in mind that the baking time depends on how thick the bacon strips are. It is recommended to check the pieces after 15 minutes of putting it in the oven.
- Drain the bacon strips. Once the bacon is cooked and crispy, take it out of the oven. Drain excess grease by drying it with a paper towel. Carefully pat the strips with a paper towel until the oil dries out.
- Keep the bacon fat. When the bacon is cooked, you will see excess grease on your baking sheets. You can save the bacon juice in a jar container to use after or in the future.
Bacon oil gives a flavorful touch on any dish. You can use the oil to fry other food such as eggs or cook vegetables on it. Even if you don't use bacon in those dishes, it will add a savory, bacon flavor.
In less than 25 minutes, you will have a batch of perfectly cooked bacon strips that you will enjoy!
