What is the best way to cook bacon for BLTs?
By jasmine from Pasadena, CA
When cooking lots of bacon, it's easier to bake it in the oven. Line a jelly roll pan with foil, then put down a sheet of parchment paper. Arrange the bacon in a single layer and bake at 375 till done. Takes maybe 10-15 minutes.
I cook it in the microwave, too. But I put two paper towels on the bacon tray, lay my bacon on top of this and add another layer of paper towels to stop splatters. I cook till crispy. MUCH less fat and taste wonderful!
From someone who used to cook for a gold camp just outside of Fairbanks, AK, I can tell you the easiest way.
With two baking sheets the same size, I lined one with the bacon, and sat the other right on top with the baking side up...just like you were stacking them clean in your cupboard.
Nest them. If you will, with the bacon in between. This accomplishes two things. The bacon is flat and cooks faster, and you don't have any grease splatter. Hmm, now I am suddenly hungry!
I have a bacon tray for the microwave and I love it. Place bacon on tray, cover with a paper towel and cook until desired crispness.
I finally wised up and started frying bacon by cutting four or five strips in quarters, then dumping them into a well-seasoned cast-iron pan. Simply toss them a few times during cooking - time varies with temps, of course.
Remove to drain on a paper-towel covered paper plate. Small pieces are much easier to arrange 0n a BLT. I love it. If you want to, you can then fry eggs and/or potatoes in the oil left behind. Delicious!
I bake a pound of bacon at 400 degrees F for about 10-12 minutes on two foil-lined jelly roll pans. The bacon will bake at different times due to the amount of fat. Remove bacon to a plate covered in paper towels to absorb excessive fat. Use paper towels in between the layers plus on top. I freeze whatever is leftover. No need to freeze pieces separately since the pieces do not freeze together.
Another tip is to lightly flour the bacon slices before baking. Put some flour in a bag, I use the wax cereal liners that I save, add two slices of bacon at a time and shake to cover. It takes a little more time but is worth it since there is less shrinking and the bacon is very crisp.
Depending on my baking menu for the day, and I may need greased jelly roll pans, I will drain the grease from the cooled pans and then wipe off excessive grease before it will solidify. I store them in the refrigerator and then reuse the pans, not for baked goods but meats and vegetables.
The best is when I roast chicken wings in the oven. The bacon grease gives it a very good flavor. I do not do this often since it is definitely not a healthy way to cook. So this is usually a family treat. But whatever I bake in the pans is very tasty.
Before opening a package of bacon, roll it up at the narrow part. Unroll then open. This will make it easier to separate the slices.
