Perfectly Cooked Bacon

I love bacon almost as much as I love sausage and my kids love bacon even more. We don’t usually cook it at home because we are trying to avoid the nitrites and other nasties in most commercially available bacon.  I also haven’t been able to find a bacon we can afford that we also feel is healthy enough to feed our kids more regularly, until now – Applegate Naturals Uncured Sunday Bacon.

package of applegate uncured natural bacon

Applegate Natural Uncured Bacon is Nitrite & Nitrate Free

As much as I love bacon, I hate over cooked bacon. Here is our trick for making perfect bacon everytime.

perfectly cooked bacon

Perfectly cooked bacon

Start with thick sliced bacon

We buy it in 3 packs and freeze it until we’re ready to use it.  The thicker slices stay together better as you separate it and give that chewing and crispy magic when you bite into the bacon.

If Frozen

  1. Turn your oven to 375° F
  2. Remove the bacon from the packaging and place the whole thing on a metal baking sheet or glass baking dish.

    frozen bacon on cooking sheet

    Put frozen bacon in the over for 2-4 minutes to thaw enough to separate

  3. Bake for 2-4 minutes.
  4. Carefully separate the slices and spread out in the pan or dish.  If it will not separate easily, flip over the slab and put it in for another 2-3 minutes.
using tongs to separate bacon

Thicker sliced bacon is easier to separate

Bake at 375°F for 10 minutes

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F if you haven’t already done so while thawing the frozen bacon above.
  2. Separate each strips of bacon on the baking sheet or baking dish.  It is fine for the bacon edges to touch as they will shrink when cooking, but the strips should not overlap.

    Separate the strips of bacon.  They can touch, but should not overlap.

    Separate the strips of bacon. They can touch, but should not overlap.

  3. Put the bacon in the oven at 375°F for 10 minutes
  4. Check on the bacon.  If it looks almost done, flip each piece over.

    mostly cooked bacon ready to be flipped

    Bacon ready to be flipped

  5. Bake for an additional 2 minutes and check.

    cooked bacon on baking sheet

    The bacon is done.

  6. Place bacon on paper towels or a cooling rack to remove excess grease.  You can save the bacon drippings and use it for other things like scrambling eggs in your cast iron skillet.

    perfectly cooked bacon

    Perfectly cooked bacon!

Let it cool for just a minute and enjoy! Be sure to get a piece or two before your kids scarf it all down.

Happy Greening!
Jon

 

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Comments

  1. This is how we make bacon too! Works like a charm.

  2. This is exactly how I have been cooking Bacon over 15 years only thing I do different is I cook mine on a double broiler so the bacon does not cook in the fatty grease

  3. Jon I’ve got a green challenge for the fam: three weeks of the #1 way to reduce your carbon footprint!
    http://michaelbluejay.com/veg/environment.html

    • Lucy, you are totally right that going vegetarian is one of the best things we can do to reduce our carbon footprints. I’m not there yet, though I do try to do Meatless Mondays. We have also reduced the quantity of meats we eat at each meal and have broken away from the concept of needing a meat with every meal. Thanks for the challenge!

  4. Everyone is making bacon in the oven these days. I’ve always though the stovetop was the best place, but apparently it’s easier and tastier when using the over. Thanks!

    • Hi Shary, it is totally possible to cook tasty bacon on the stovetop, but it requires way more attention be paid to it than can be mustered in our house 🙂 Let us know how it goes when you try it out.

  5. I have never cooked bacon this way but after the recent demise of my electric skillet I will have to try. 🙂

  6. An even easier way to cook bacon is place it on a broiler (vented top w/ a pan under to catch the bacon grease). Place broiler in a cold oven and turn on oven and preheat to 400. When it reaches 400 bacon is done. Now, sometimes I have to preheat it to 425. Depends on your oven. I don’t have to flip my bacon, I don’t have to set a timer. Super easy and perfect crispness. Yummy!

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