Best pan for baking bacon

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Jennifer Murphy

Senior Cook
Joined
May 18, 2014
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146
Location
Silicon Valley, CA
The last time we were visiting the grandkids, my son served bacon at breakfast. I generally do not like bacon, too greasy, but out of politeness, I tried one piece. It was the best bacon I have ever tried. I asked where he bought it. He said it was just whatever bacon they have at the grocery store. The difference, he said, is that it is baked, not fried. I was so impressed that I decided to give it a try.

He cooked his in a cookie tray on a sheet of tin foil at 400° to 450° for about 15 minutes. He then lifts the bacon one piece at a time off the tin foil and onto a paper towel. He then taps them with another paper towel and serves. Delicious.

I thought a wire mesh would work better than tin foil, but I don't have one that will fit any of my cookie sheets. I tried a few strips on a heavy metal tray with slits in it that I use for baking chicken and turkey. It came out OK, but it's pretty old and a real pain to clean. So I'm thinking of getting a new cookie tray with a wire mesh. There are a lot of them available. But most of them that come with a fitting wire mesh call it a "cooling tray", like these:



That makes me worry that the wire mesh cannot stand the heat. The descriptions seem to indicate that it can.

Can anyone recommend a shallow tray with a wire mesh or screen that I can cook bacon on?

What better? Aluminum? Stainless Steel? Teflon coated? Something else?

I'd also appreciate any other comments of baking bacon.

Thanks
 
I'm sorry, I don't have any recommendations for a tray with a mesh wire.

Personally, I think the bacon cooks better directly on the sheet pan. Also, I put the bacon on a wire rack when it's done, so it stays really crispy, rather than sitting in grease. The instructions I use to bake bacon have you start it in a cold oven. It works well. I suggest turning the pan that the bacon is in after half the time has passed. https://www.foodnetwork.com/how-to/packages/food-network-essentials/cook-bacon-oven
 
I'm sorry, I don't have any recommendations for a tray with a mesh wire.

Personally, I think the bacon cooks better directly on the sheet pan. Also, I put the bacon on a wire rack when it's done, so it stays really crispy, rather than sitting in grease. The instructions I use to bake bacon have you start it in a cold oven. It works well. I suggest turning the pan that the bacon is in after half the time has passed. https://www.foodnetwork.com/how-to/packages/food-network-essentials/cook-bacon-oven
When you say "directly on the sheet pan", do you mean without the foil? The link you provided recommends either the foil or a tray. The wire rack seems better to me.

I treied it once with a pre-heated oven and once with a cold oven. I couldn't tell much difference.
 
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 think I tried it once a long time ago. My recollection, which may be faulty, was that it was cooked unevenly. Some parts were burned, some were about right, and some were undercooked. I think I chalked that up to the microwaves not being evenly distributed throughout the space even with the rotating wheel.

How do you do it? I'll give it a try.
 
It's a long time ago... I haven't had a microwave for a couple of years now.
I put bacon on a plate. It was a small simple microwave, I imagine I put it on it's medium setting.
Maybe 2 or 3 minutes, check often.
Remove and put on paper when almost done. They keep crisping up. Even when not fully browned.

I can't be more precise. I remember it was just for myself, so not a big amount
 
It's a long time ago... I haven't had a microwave for a couple of years now.
I put bacon on a plate. It was a small simple microwave, I imagine I put it on it's medium setting.
Maybe 2 or 3 minutes, check often.
Remove and put on paper when almost done. They keep crisping up. Even when not fully browned.

I can't be more precise. I remember it was just for myself, so not a big amount
Well, it can't hurt to try it with 2-3 pieces.

The one thing about the microwave is that the amount of food matters a lot more than in an oven. No one else in this house likes bacon, so it would just be for me. If I can get 2-3 pieces done in 3-4 minutes vs 15 minutes in a hot oven, that would be great. And much less cleanup!

Thanks
 
No one but you in your house likes bacon? :oops: What kind of heathens do you live with, @Jennifer Murphy? :D

I cook bacon in the microwave when I don't need to save the grease. Start with one minute for 2 pieces, flip them over and cook for another 30-45 seconds. Remember that they continue to cook out of the micro. I put the bacon between sheets of paper towels.

I also have success frying them in a skillet with water. They stay relatively flat, the water prevents them from splattering and evaporates as they cook.
 
No one but you in your house likes bacon? :oops: What kind of heathens do you live with, @Jennifer Murphy? :D
The non-bacon eaters would differ on who is the heathen. ?? And I didn't like bacon either when it was fried and greasy.

I cook bacon in the microwave when I don't need to save the grease. Start with one minute for 2 pieces, flip them over and cook for another 30-45 seconds. Remember that they continue to cook out of the micro. I put the bacon between sheets of paper towels.
You put the paper towels in the microwave?

And it comes out evenly cooked?

I also have success frying them in a skillet with water. They stay relatively flat, the water prevents them from splattering and evaporates as they cook.
Interesting. If the microwave doesn't work for me, I'll stick with the oven.

Thanks
 
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.
 
This article provides quite a bit of information.


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

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!
 
When you say "directly on the sheet pan", do you mean without the foil? The link you provided recommends either the foil or a tray. The wire rack seems better to me.

I treied it once with a pre-heated oven and once with a cold oven. I couldn't tell much difference.
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.
 
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.
 
I light the oven set to 400ºF then prepare the pans of bacon (I do two pounds at a time). When the pans are ready, they go into the oven at whatever the temp is.
 
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 ?
Cooked bacon does not last very long in the fridge at my house. :unsure: I'm lucky if it lasts two days. :pig: :pig: :ROFLMAO:
 
We sometimes cook a few pieces of bacon in the microwave. We have some microwave bacon trays. They are a nuisance to clean up, but the bacon doesn't sit in the grease. I find that the mw makes lovely bacon, but if I make it that way too many times in a week, we start to notice a slightly odd flavour. It just doesn't seem as good anymore.
 
We sometimes cook a few pieces of bacon in the microwave. We have some microwave bacon trays. They are a nuisance to clean up, but the bacon doesn't sit in the grease. I find that the mw makes lovely bacon, but if I make it that way too many times in a week, we start to notice a slightly odd flavour. It just doesn't seem as good anymore.
Why does that matter? The grease stays in the pan or on the paper towels anyway.
 

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