Best pan for baking bacon

[GotGarlic]

2. The purpose of the foil is to make cleanup easier - it doesn't affect the way it cooks.

Same with parchment. I try to minimize the use of disposable items, so I don't use either just for the convenience.

 

[taxlady]

Why does that matter? The grease stays in the pan or on the paper towels anyway.

Because the bacon doesn't need to be dabbed with paper towels or drain on them. And, if I want to, I can save the bacon grease. It's not soaked up by paper towels. That said, I wouldn't buy new ones, but DH probably would. I don't think they are that convenient.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

You put the paper towels in the microwave?

Yes, on a plate in the microwave oven.

And it comes out evenly cooked?

Welllll...mostly. Silversage explains it well. You need to keep an eye on it and check it/flip it/rotate it, but the entire cooking process takes a short time. If you do it a few times, you get the hang of it.

3. Microwaves can sometimes cook bacon unevenly. I find cutting the slices in half first helps. Also watch out, fattier or leaner slices cook differently in the micro. You may have to remove some slices before others.

 

[Jennifer Murphy]

Before going to the expense of new purchase, why don't you try with any wire rack you do have? You must have a rack for cooling cookies, cakes, hot dishes from the oven? Even if it doesn't fit the pan correctly, either too small or overhangs the edges. Just try a couple of pieces of bacon. You might not even like how it comes out! And don't forget that wire grid will need to be soapy washed too.

I did that and you are right. The result for ovewn baking with or without the rack is about the same, but the cleanup is quite a bit easier without the rack. Thanks.

 

[Jennifer Murphy]

This article provides quite a bit of information.

Baked Bacon for a Crowd Recipe

The best way to batch-cook bacon, whether you like it crisp or chewy.

www.seriouseats.com

When I'm feeling organized I bake bacon directly on a sheet pan and freeze the individual slices but that doesn't happen very often.

Usually, I cook it as needed in a frying pan or between sheets of paper towels in the microwave.

That's a great article. Thanks. It fits what a lot of people are saying here and what my preliminary testing reveals. I'll probably go with the foil method, buit more testing ahead.

 

[Jennifer Murphy]

I also can't help with a (sheet) pan, but wanted to ask if you've ever tried "baking" bacon i the microwave?
It comes out real crispy

I just tried that. It's certainly much faster and easier, but the texture of the bacon is different. It was a little tougher or more chewy, whereas the baked bacon was very crispy, which is what I like.

 

[Jennifer Murphy]

I don't think using a wire rack will improve how the bacon cooks in the oven, and it adds another piece of cookware to clean. I bake a pound at a time on a sheet pan, no foil, at 375F for 15 minutes, turning the slices over halfway through. Cooked bacon keeps in the fridge for a surprisingly long time ?

That matches my experience so far.

 

[Jennifer Murphy]

I use a half sheet pan to cook bacon. I can get a pound on the half sheet with a little overlapping. I don't use any foil. I spray the pan with PAM before laying on the bacon.

I used to use a rack with the half sheet but realized that then I had to clean the little bits of bacon baked onto the rack in addition to cleaning the pan and that's a pain in the butt.

My daughter uses parchment paper on the pan. She says clean up is a breeze.

Ok, I'm convinced. The wire rack adds nothing. I've heard about the parchment paper, but don't have any. The foil seems to help with the cleanup. Now I need to try PAM and no foil. Thanks

 

[Jennifer Murphy]

My two cents:
@Jennifer Murphy if you really want to bake Bacon on a sheet pan with a wire rack, I highly recommend this:

https://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-Naturals%C2%AE-Oven-Safe-Nonstick/dp/B09W9YZCCG/ref=asc_df_B09W9YZCCG/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=598357553882&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4385816910331333192&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9029969&hvtargid=pla-1720092365479&psc=1&region_id=972485

- also recommended by America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Country... I've used this brand in 1/8th, 1/4 and half sheet for many years, because - it has very little warping in a hot oven - key when baking Bacon, IMHO.

Looks like a good product.

My additional 2¢ :
I no longer bake Bacon in the oven on the rack, as @Andy M. mentioned, the clean-up factor - that's a no go for moi!
I simply line the half sheet pan with tin foil, lay out a pound + of Bacon, slap it into a cold oven set to 425° and cook it til it's done - I go by smell, does it smell really good in the house, yup, it's probably done - remove to a plate lined with a paper towel and layer, Bacon-Paper towel-Bacon.... works like a charm every single time!

I'm sold on the no-rack method. I also tried the cold oven method. The bacon seemed a little more tender, but that may have been my imagination.

 

[Jennifer Murphy]

I meant directly on the foil in the baking tray, but that's just for the easier clean up. I haven't tried with a preheated oven. When I cook bacon in a skillet, I put the bacon on the cold skillet before turning on the heat and my experience tells me that is the better way to do it, at least in a skillet. I don't have to add any grease to my skillet for the bacon not to stick, because it renders enough fat before it gets hot enough to stick. I figure it must work the same way in an oven. To me, it's also a tiny bit more convenient to stick it in a cold oven. I don't have to pay attention to when the oven gets to temperature.

I tried the cold oven method. It works at least as well and the pre-heated oven and is simpler.

 

[Jennifer Murphy]

1. It works better on a pan without the rack.
2. The purpose of the foil is to make cleanup easier - it doesn't affect the way it cooks.
3. Microwaves can sometimes cook bacon unevenly. I find cutting the slices in half first helps. Also watch out, fattier or leaner slices cook differently in the micro. You may have to remove some slices before others.

Yes, the microwave is faster, but the results from oven baking are better -- at least based on my limited testing.

 

[dragnlaw]

Ok, I'm convinced. The wire rack adds nothing. I've heard about the parchment paper, but don't have any. The foil seems to help with the cleanup. Now I need to try PAM and no foil. Thanks

What is the purpose of that? Maybe I've mis-read some of the methods, but if you think about how it is done in a fry pan, the best way is to start cold - fat is rendered and you get no-stick bacon. Try that in the oven as well.
Remember, often the foil and/or parchment somehow or other, always seems to develop a leak and you are still going to wash the sheet pan.
When you do not use a liner it is also much easier to collect and save the bacon fat.

 

[dcSaute]

reading this thread, it appears to the casual observer . . .
there's more than one way to cook bacon.
or?
years back with bigger family eating . . . tried the rack-in-the-oven method.
sorta' kinda' works okay - but what a clean up mess.... toothpicks and rack cleaning . . not good . . . .

got a round bacon press to fit my 10" CI skillet - superb results. flat strips, evenly cooked (gas, some attention to temp required....) - four strips per go-round....

mid-1980's I was "introduced" to small quantity micro-wave cooking. ignored it as "small quantity" did not fit feeding six bacon starved people . . .

fast forward to empty nesting - a couple dishes requiring small qty - e.g. breakfast burrito with bacon/scrambled egg/four blend cheese....
works like: dinner plate, lay down two paper towels, strips of bacon, cover with paper towel. use rotating plate microwave - one minute per slice on high as a starting point.

....starting point.... oh dear there's a really big catch.....
most supermarket bacon ala OscarMeyer etc is "wet cured" - they inject the pork belly with curing salts/liquid and voile' in an hour you got bacon.
okay, works - but every brand cooks different because they all have different retained moisture, no to mention 'more leaner' or 'more fatter' strips.
so the microwave works - no question - but the timing hugely depends on the power of the microwave and the condition of the bacon you are cooking.

living next to Amish Country, we get "dry cured" bacon - salt/sugar/pepper, hung and smoked for weeks.... no injection of no nuttin'.
it cooks up totally different than insta-wet-cured supermarket bacon.
downside: dry cured bacon is not available on every street corner . . .

microwaving dry-cured bacon results in lots of fat soaking into the paper towels, clearly identifiable stripes of meat and clearly intact stripes of crispy-ed fat - and absolutely parsecs better than any of the wet cured product.

bottom line: my fav cook for brand name wet cured is CI skillet + bacon press.
for 2-4 strips dry cured - towels on plate covered with towel in the microwave.

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

Looks like a good product.


I'm sold on the no-rack method. I also tried the cold oven method. The bacon seemed a little more tender, but that may have been my imagination.

I forgot my other 2¢ (that's 6¢ all together )
By lining the tray with tin foil, I let the rendered fat harden, fold up the mess so as not to uck-up my trash can and chuck it
or
let that liquid gold cool and pour it into a sealed container, stash that in the `fridge and again, fold up the tin foil and you'll have very little clean up to do.

 

[Andy M.]

Ok, I'm convinced. The wire rack adds nothing. I've heard about the parchment paper, but don't have any. The foil seems to help with the cleanup. Now I need to try PAM and no foil. Thanks

After the bacon is cooked and removed to paper towels. I leave the pans to cool so they can be handled but the grease is still liquid. I pour the grease off through a strainer and save it. Then I fill the pans with hot water and let them soak for a while. They clean up easily with a blue scrubber sponge and dish soap.

I find that the methods I described here and in earlier posts to be the least amount of effort for me. A key quality for any recipe.

 

[taxlady]

Same with parchment. I try to minimize the use of disposable items, so I don't use either just for the convenience.

I seldom use parchment, just for convenience. I have a couple of silicon sheets that work well. I also try to be sparing on the aluminium foil. But, I worry less about that. It is infinitely recyclable. And, if the local recycle regulations allow it, it can be recycled while dirty. Apparently the process of melting the used aluminium burns off anything left on it.

 

[Badjak]

@dcSaute hits on a good point:
Source and quality of the bacon.
Our standard bacon was a cold smoked slab (streaky bacon). We kept it in the fridge wrapped in a tea towel and cut when needed. This would fry easy in any frying pan without oil. The fatty bits were clear firm white. These are the ones I put in the microwave

I can imagine that back bacon would do totally different, same as anything you buy pre-packed and is sort of watery soft stuff.

 

[jennyema]

I don't think using a wire rack will improve how the bacon cooks in the oven, and it adds another piece of cookware to clean. I bake a pound at a time on a sheet pan, no foil, at 375F for 15 minutes, turning the slices over halfway through. Cooked bacon keeps in the fridge for a surprisingly long time ?

I cook bacon exactly the same way. Just on a cookie sheet with foil.

don’t overthink this

 

[Aunt Bea]

don’t overthink this

Amen, a valuable bit of kitchen wisdom!

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

Half sheet baking pan with a chrome cooling rack (Available at Wally World). The rack will only fit 10 slices of bacon, so if you buy a pound of bacon instead of a 12oz package you will need two pans and racks or bake it in two batches. 375^oF oven for 18 minutes for regular slices or 22 minutes for thick slices.