About This Method: Martha Stewart's technique promises a “spatter-free” way to get “perfectly crispy bacon.” You simply line one or two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper, arrange the bacon on top, and bake at 400°F until it is crisped to your liking.
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.
If you have a sufficiently fatty bacon you will have enough oil expressed from the meat to make the bacon crispy so simply turn the heat up to a medium high until you notice that one side is crispy. Flip it over, shut off the pan, take it off the heat, and get everything else done.
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.
Published May 13, 2022. Sometimes the best techniques are the counterintuitive ones, and our simple stovetop method of cooking bacon in water is just that. It may sound weird, but it will produce crispy and tender bacon every time. America's Test Kitchen's bacon innovation has always been top notch.
If you don't want to wait on your oven, you can easily reheat your bacon on the stovetop. Turn a burner on to medium-high heat and allow a frying pan to heat up. Once the pan is hot, place a single layer of bacon on it. After a few minutes, your bacon will be crispy and ready to eat.
The best way to store cooked bacon so it stays crispy is to start (of course) with crispy bacon, then drain it properly and store it without moisture. An easy hack to store bacon without moisture (while still protecting the bacon from the moisture of the refrigerator) is to increase airflow.
A time-tested trick: This trick dates back to Regina's grandfather, Joe Avila: With a flour coating and an overnight chill, bacon both kept its shape better and stayed crispier in their bean-and-egg tacos.
The culinary gold standard
Regardless of storage methods, one thing remains constant: the reverence for bacon grease in Southern cooking. From seasoning cast iron skillets to frying eggs, this flavorful fat may not be great for getting those pants buttoned, but it sure is good on the taste buds.
Cooking bacon in the oven gives you perfectly crispy slices without any flipping or fussing, and the cleanup is superspeedy. It's also the best way to make bacon for a crowd. You can cook the bacon directly on aluminum foil-lined baking sheets or on a wire rack set on top of the baking sheets.
The seasoning combination that turns regular bacon into this high-dollar version consists of about a teaspoon each of black pepper and red pepper flakes, plus half a cup of brown sugar -- this works for eight or more strips, depending on how much of the mixture you use.
Diner and restaurant chefs usually position the strips on a rack atop a baking sheet and place it in the oven to effectively drain the excess fat. Unlike cooking bacon in a pan where the fat accumulates and leads to soggy, uneven-cooked strips, this method ensures the most desirable results.
The Best Way to Cook Bacon
After testing 8 methods of cooking bacon we found that baking it on parchment paper is the best one. Not only does it result in perfectly crisp, chewy, and even visually appealing strips, it also makes cleanup easy.
The best tool for cooking bacon is your oven, since it generates even heat. Place the slices on a racked bacon sheet and toss them into a 350 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Spin the rack 180 degrees at the half way mark. You should be rewarded with crispy brown bacon that is perfectly cooked.
Permit the cooked bacon to cool totally at room temperature. Place the bacon in a sealed shut holder or wrap it firmly in cling wrap or aluminum foil. Store the holder or enveloped bacon by the cooler. Appropriately put away cooked bacon can rearward in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.
Even though it doesn't necessarily come with a mild flavor, bacon is a total blank canvas. With the help of some extra ingredients and spices for your bacon, you can take its original savory, salty, and smoky flavor and enhance it with things like chili powder and coffee, Sriracha, maple syrup, brown sugar, or honey.
How to cook bacon in a frying pan. Put 1 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil in a frying pan and heat over a medium-high heat until hot. Add the bacon and cook for 2-4 mins on each side, depending on how crispy you like it.