What a wonderful creation. Feed an animal garbage, and it creates Bacon. Simply astonishing.
America is obsessed with Bacon, and I say for good reason. It’s worth getting excited over. Unless you’re my friend Kelly…she doesn’t like Bacon. Something might be wrong with her. Hopefully her baby will love Bacon once it arrives.
#1 — How should you store it?
In the freezer. Bacon is one of those items that just does well in the freezer. It will last close to a year in the freezer and it thaws quickly. Especially if you portion out specific amounts that you’ll be using. I like to freeze Bacon in Ziplock freezer bags. 6-8 slices is usually good for us, so that’s how I freeze it.
#2 — How should you cook it?
Hands down, the best way to cook Bacon is in the oven. I’m sorry you die-hard Cast Iron fans. I’ve played that game for a long time and all you end up doing is squeezing too much Bacon into your pan. It takes way too long to cook a good amount of these smokey wonder-strips.
Line a sheet pan with Aluminum Foil if you’re looking for quick clean-up, and lay your Bacon out real professional-like. Slide this into an oven and crank it to 375 degrees. It’s actually best if you DO NOT PREHEAT the oven. Starting with a cold oven in this case will help you to render the fat properly and avoid grease popping/splattering.
Cooking Bacon in the oven will give you the ability to get up to 2lbs of bacon cooked all at once! This is a necessity if you’re serving Bacon to a large group or if you’ve got pork-substance-abuse problems.
15-20 minutes in the oven and you’re Bacon will be phenomenal.
#3 — How should you eat it?
The possibilities are endless!! Get creative and stop using it the same old way. Think, think, think.
How about a Balsamic Bacon Vinaigrette for a salad?
You’ll need:
1 Teaspoon of Honey
1 Tablespoon of Balsamic Vinegar
4 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
Fresh Cracked Pepper
2 Strips of cooked Bacon (broken into little bits)
Whisk these ingredients together and let this dressing sit for about 10 or 20 minutes to allow all that Bacon-y flavor to infuse itself into your salad dressing. Mmm…salty sweet.
Mixed Greens, Parmesan Cheese, Fresh Raspberries, and Balsamic Bacon Vinaigrette. It works!
49 Comments
I can honestly say I’ve never seen anyone cook bacon in the oven, I’ll have to try it. We rarely eat bacon, but man, is it tasty stuff. Thank you for sharing. hugs from Hundewanderer.
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Mmmmm, bacon. I’m now so hungry, I can smell bacon. Thanks!
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Oh man, I love bacon. I can’t believe you guys manage with 6-8 strips. I think I can sneakily take down 6 strips myself…and then feel guilt…and then have one more slice.
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I bet Emmy inspired this
he has a bacon-fetish.
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Have you ever candied bacon? Oh my goodness, it is delicious. Coat some mostly-cooked bacon in brown sugar and put it in the oven to finish cooking, and the brown sugar caramelizes just a bit and mmmmmmmmmm.
I need to go to the store tonight, I think.
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Bacon in the oven is the best ever. I think I saw it once on the Food Network and have been a convert ever since. I will never go back! I did not, however, know about the not preheating thing. Thanks for the tip!
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Now this is a topic I can get behind! I wish we could get away with only using 6-8 slices at a time, but with 6 people in our family, we go through a pound at a time, and that’s with everyone only getting 2 slices. I’ll have to try the oven trick, and hope my grandmother won’t roll in her grave over it.
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No other way to go than in the oven. I hate cleaning up a stove top after someone has cooked bacon, I would rather throw the whole stove away, not to mention the way it permeates your whole house! Oven, oven, oven! I love you Blog.
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Bacon and peanut butter sandwiches (toasted)-yummy!
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I make my bacon the same way except I put mine on a cookie rack so that the heat gets under it and it gets a bit more crisp. Try it sometime!
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Now all I can think about is bacon, bacon, bacon. No turkey this Thanksgiving, just a big, fat loaf of bacon, wrapped in…yeah, baby, BACON!
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I feed 7 men at our house (6 sons, 1 husband) and oven is the only sane way for us :-). I have been doing this for years and instead of foil on the pan I discovered that baking parchment works as well and through our co-op I can buy large sheets of it for about $.03 per sheet. One of those doubled on a medium sized baking sheet (with edges) works great and amazingly the fat does not go through the parchment. I let it cool a little and slide into the trash after pouring off the fat for some other goodies. It usually takes two medium pans to bake 1 lb. of bacon.
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I had to laugh, thank you, for this one. Bacon. My husband insists that when we do the turkey up next week he will wrap bacon all over it…he really needs to stay away from some food sites.
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I love food week.
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I’m seriously coveting that salad… Oh my!!
Bacon is one food I NEVER tire of! And thank you for the how-to in oven cooking it. I’ve always tried to broil it in the oven and while it usually turns out ok, I have had times I forgot and committed the cardinal sin of over-cooking it. (And burning it, I’m sad to say.)
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MMMM freakin’ MMMM!
I can’t believe I never thought of portioning out a few slices of bacon per freezer bag and freezing it that way. *DUH!* Genius!
And the whole baking it in the oven thing?! Also freaking genius! I LOVE bacon but seriously HATE frying it on the frying pan. Great alternative! Will definitely try SOON!
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Truly it is the candy of meats. I’m definitely going to have to try this salad dressing. My coworkers make fun of me for my bacon love, but I was a vegetarian for 15 years, so I figure I’m making up for lost time.
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Ohhhhhhhhhh bacon. *drool*
Enough said. LOL.
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I’m with kelly on this one.
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My husband buys a big double package of thick-sliced bacon from Sam’s club every payday. He likes to cook it in a pan and he makes me grumpy when he leaves me to clean the mess. And the smell! Yuck! I’m going to grab the bacon this weekend and cook it in the oven.
My youngest son (24) is still living here with us and he inhales bacon as soon as it’s cooked. My very favorite sandwich is BLT. They are so good.
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Bacon is the best. The minute I saw your first pic, I immediately thought of Jim Gaffigan’s skit on bacon. You have to check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nT9P8MMpsE
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I agree with #9. I thought I was the only peanut butter bacon sandwich lovin’ fool out there! I AM NOT ALONE!!
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I always cook my bacon in the oven! When I was a tween I burned my face while helping my mom fry (i don’t even remember what exactly it was) dinner and have been terrified of frying ever since. The one thing I will attempt to fry is battered okra but only because it’s my husband’s favorite food and even then it’s a maybe once a year event.
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thanks once again! a new way to eat bacon… how i love those beautiful stripes…. yuuummm…
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Thanks for the correction on properly cooking bacon. I also cook on a lined baking sheet. However, I have broiled and flipped my bacon. I am really liking the lower temp idea, so as to avoid the splattering!! Fabulous!!
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Oh this one was really informative. Never ever thought of cooking bacon in the oven. I’m a 4 minute microwave oven fan…I need bacon fast;) Thanks for the tips and that fab dressing recipe!!
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Bacon is wonderful…
but does not bode well for dieting.
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“Feed and animal garbage,”
you mean “an”?
:o)
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Bacon is my favorite food. ever. for ever. Amen.
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That salad looks amazing! So glad to see you posting
about food! Thanks, Ina
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I looooove bacon, and I have been cooking it in the oven for years. I have nice big, baking sheets from Costco that hold a full pound of bacon with room to spare. Like Kristi, I line the pan with parchment paper (big rolls also available at Costco). After, I let the bacon fat cool slightly so it’s a bit thicker but can still pour, then I have a jar that I drain the fat into for cooking (like a nice fried egg :D). Just lift the paper carefully, fold slightly & voila, a “funnel”. I always cook a full pound, even though there are only 3 of us; next day we’ll have toasted tomato & bacon, or bacon pieces for breakfast burrito, or I just keep sneaking some until it’s gone, LOL! Will definitely have to try the salad mmmmmm.
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All I can say is BACON, BACON, BACON. Love It.
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*roflmao*
pork-substance-abuse!
hahahhahahaa
wow.
My sister in law introduced me to this method. She swears by it.
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Bacon is my favorite meat! But I hate how it smells up the house…
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Gross gross gross!
Although I admit your salad looks pretty darn good!
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I can’t believe you don’t like bacon Kelly. That’s downright un-American.
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Update: Big, fat and pregnant had to go out and buy herself some bacon shortly after reading this. I always hate cooking bacon on the stovetop, and now that I know I can cook it in the oven, well, that just opens up new doors!
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I have a question. Do you need to turn the bacon slices over during the cooking/baking in order to get both sides nice and crispy?
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mmm…bacon…i may need to try this cooking method for msot other bacon loving purposes because it sounds so easy and far less messy. for my grammy’s potato salad with hot bacon dressing though i gotta stick with a skillet.
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Not to be a stickler, but:
15-20 minutes in the oven and you’re Bacon will be phenomenal.
>> you’re = your?
I like bacon in the oven too. I sprinkle some turbinado sugar on top to make it sweet and slightly caramelized.
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We totally cook our bacon in the oven now. Our kitchen butts up against our bedroom wall…when we fry it, our bedroom smells like bacon when we go to bed…oven? Not at all!
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Just my 2 cents: I roll 2-3 pieces of bacon like a jellyroll width-wise and gently set them in ziploc bags to freeze. That way when I need a single serving I can pry them apart either by hand or with the tip of a butter knife and pop it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds to thaw. I waste less ziploc bags that way.
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hmm…. tried the oven bacon this morning. Not a fan.
It didn’t get crispy enough for me and I even cooked it longer than you recommended and flipped it after about 20 minutes.
I hate the mess of bacon on the stove but think I’ll stick with it for the lovely crispiness that it renders.
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Oh. My. Stars. I just tried this tonight for dinner and it is so perfect! It keeps my entire house from smelling like bacon grease all night. My bacon was crispy and golden and delicious. And you could eat all of it too, since there weren’t any chewy uncooked fatty pieces {that I don’t like} like you get when you cook it in the pan because it curls up. I am converted!!!!!
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I saw this when you posted it - LOVE THAT IDEA! I had a serious craving for bacon with my first pregancy - well, that and virgin margaritas with salt (ok, it was a salt thing…) and the craving never left. But bacon can be very high maintenance with all the turning and splattering and too-small pans. WIth all the company I am having over this holiday, I had to come back to your ost and remind myself. This technique will come in handy!
Blessings to you!
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I used this cooking method for our Christmas breakfast bacon and it was easy and tasted great. I used extra thick bacon so it too longer but was worth it!
Do you know what they complained about??? The bacon was flat!!!!
Merry Christmas to you and yours!
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I tried this on Sunday.. just on a smaller scale and it worked wonders! I hate frying bacon because I’m a scardy cat of the popping grease. Thanks for sharing!
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Made a big ol’ honkin’ hungry man breakfast for the family this past weekend and baked the bacon. I got the weird, dog, head-half-cocked looks as I did so but the result was gooood….Mmmmmm…bacon. Thx.
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Cooking bacon in the oven is my favorite way to prepare it. You can cook a large amount quickly, and it doesn’t splatter all over the cooktop. My family all thinks it tastes better this way, too. I learned this method while serving in the kitchen on a Tres Dias weekend.
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