What is the easiest way to fix bacon?
If you love bacon but hate the mess, the solution is super easy.
Cook your bacon in the oven.
My Story
Bacon is a mainstay of our traditional Christmas breakfast.
However, frying bacon for a family of six on Christmas morning is a thankless task.
One year, inspiration hit, and I decided to see what would happen if I cooked the bacon in the oven.
Eureka! It was so easy to cook the bacon in the oven that, never again, will I resort to frying bacon on the stovetop.
As a bonus, cleanup is an absolute breeze.
How to cook bacon in the oven.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Choose your bakeware.
A cast iron skillet or a heavy-duty, rimmed cookie sheet works best.
A cast iron skillet is virtually indestructible and a great choice for cooking bacon in the oven.
However, unless it’s a large skillet, you will only be able to make a small amount of bacon at one time.
Since I make at least a pound of bacon at a time, I use a heavy duty, rimmed cookie sheet.
Steer away from using nonstick bakeware. The heat and grease could damage the coating.
Line or spray the bakeware you are using.
A cast iron skillet does not need to be lined with anything. Simply spray a light coat of nonstick cooking spray in the bottom of the skillet.
A cookie tray can either be sprayed with nonstick cooking spray or lined with foil.
Lining the cookie sheet with aluminum foil makes cleanup a breeze.
Lay the bacon in strips on the bakeware.
Bacon shrinks as it cooks so don’t worry about trying to leave room between the strips.
Cook the bacon until it reaches the desired crispness.
The time it takes to cook the bacon will vary by oven and desired level of crispness.
Start checking it by the twenty-minute mark and remove it when it’s crisp enough to suit you.
Put the cooked bacon on a plate that has been lined with a paper towel to absorb any extra grease.
What should you do with the bacon grease?
There are a couple of options when it comes to deciding what to do with the bacon grease.
You can dispose of it.
If you used a lined cookie sheet, simply wait until the grease solidifies, pick the whole thing up and dispose of it in the garbage.
If you used unlined bakeware, pour the hot grease into a heat resistant container, allow it to cool and then throw it in the trash.
An empty soup can works well for this.
Either way, after pouring off the bacon grease, wash the bakeware as normal.
You can save and use bacon grease.
Having grown up with a can of bacon grease always on hand, I can attest to the fact that there are lots of things you can do with bacon grease.
In fact, there are so many, that I am planning a future post on all the ways you can use bacon grease.
But for now, know that bacon grease makes an excellent seasoning.
Add it to green beans or soup beans for a hint of bacon flavor.
Use it in the skillet when frying eggs and your eggs will taste a bit like bacon.
If you want to use and save bacon grease, store it in an airtight container. It doesn’t require a lot of grease to season food, so you don’t have to keep a ton.
Looking back, I have to wonder why we kept a whole coffee can (coffee cans were metal at the time) of bacon grease.
What is the easiest way to cook bacon?
Try cooking it in the oven. Chances are, you will never again fry it on the stovetop.
As a bonus, you might just be willing to fix bacon more often, even on Christmas morning!
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Comments or questions? Email me at Micki@LivingbyLittles.com
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