I like to think one of the main reasons we switch over to a ketogenic diet is not for losing weight or living a healthier lifestyle, but for the love of the glorious bacon we get to eat all the time. Don’t get me wrong, losing weight and living healthy is great, but not as great as the first taste of bacon you get in the morning on a daily basis!
Being as I consume bacon so often, I was starting to get tired of the same old pan fried, semi-dry and sometimes soggy mess that ends up coming out. I started experimenting with oven cooking the bacon, and granted it is a lot better – it wasn’t perfect.
Adding a small pool of water around your bacon will help the meat stay tender and juicy while the fat and edges of the meat get to crisp perfection.
You might be asking: What do I do with all the bacon grease that’s laying on that baking sheet? Save it for next time. Instead of using water, use the extra bacon fat. Baking bacon in bacon drippings? I think that’s an instant win.
The Preparation
- Bacon
- Bacon
- Bacon
Wait, did I remember to say bacon?
The Execution
1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Get a cookie sheet that’s laying around and put some foil over it.
3. Lay down your strips of bacon in a neat row, so they are just about touching each other on each side.
4. Pour 1 cup of water over the bacon – try to distribute it evenly.
5. Put your bacon into the oven for 20 minutes. Yes, it takes a long time – but it’s well worth the wait.
6. Keep waiting.
7. Jeez, how long is this going to take!? I want my bacon already!
8. Oh good it’s finally done! Take your bacon out and observe that beautiful pork.
9. Transfer that bacon over to a paper towel to drain excess grease and ensure maximum crispiness.
10. Put this stuff on anything and everything!
I bake mine in the oven, but I use a cooling rack and a sheet pan. I put the bacon on the cooling rack (the wire rack you cool cookies, cakes, etc on) and lay it on the sheet pan. I bake slow, at about 300 and it comes out perfect every time. The bacon doesn’t sit in the grease and it’s crispy & delicious. yummy
I used to do my bacon in a similar way, I just think that the water gives better results. And when you start baking the bacon in its own fat it turns to expert level taste!
This was a complete fail for me. The bacon was still pretty much raw after 25 min. I drained the liquid, put down a new piece of foil and put it back in the oven for 15 min… that’s crisp bacon.
Sorry that didn’t work out for you!
If you placed bacon in a preheated 400 degree oven for 25 min, and it was still raw, water or no water, there’s something seriously wrong with your oven.
I actually set my oven to 425ºF and put the pan of bacon in it immediately, with no pre-heating. By the time the oven reaches full temp (about 15-20 minutes), it is time to turn the bacon over, pour off the bacon grease into a storage container, and then put the bacon back in for about 5 more minutes. Turns out perfectly crisp, every time, and I get a nice container of bacon grease for making, umm, almost everything! However, my oven needs cleaning much more often due to all those bacon grease spatters. Would someone please manufactur a rectangular spatter screen for the oven, similar to the round ones used on the stove. Anyone?
That sounds like a winning product idea!
Kind of late to the party, but I cooked my bacon per the recipe last night and it was perfect. It stayed flat, hardly shrank at all, was crisp but not hard. I did have to cook it for about 30 minutes, but it was so worth the wait.
Glad it turned out good for you!