We’re Bakin’ Bacon!  You betcha…no fakin’!

Ah, bacon…. delicious, glorious, beautiful, crispy, crunchy pork flesh!  Just thinking of it make my mouth begin to water.  The smell of it could drive a dog to get it himself…if only he had thumbs!   The mess it can make when cooking is another story…not so pleasant.

If you’re still cooking bacon in a pan on the stove-top, it’s time to make a change and take a tip from professional kitchens…USE THE OVEN!   I’m not talking microwave here either.   Yes, I’ve done bacon in the microwave but unless it’s your only option I just don’t think it’s a good choice.   The smell alone is what I’d expect if Babe tried to escape the farm and got hung up on an electric fence….not good!   You probably don’t have a self-cleaning stove but chances are the oven is self-cleaning.  The volume of bacon being prepared in most hotels and restaurants would make it virtually impossible to cook on the griddle or stove top.  When I was sous-chef in the main kitchen of Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa at Walt Disney World, we would routinely go through 80-100 pounds of bacon per day.  So much in fact that on the morning shift we had one cast member who would spend an eight hour shift doing nothing other than cooking bacon and slicing and portioning deli meats.  You better believe they weren’t standing over a griddle flipping rashers of bacon from side to side!

Whether you’re cooking bacon for your family, feeding brunch to an army, or making BLT’s for a crowd, the oven is perfect way to cook your bacon.

• First, it’s virtually mess free…except for the pan, but you’d have that with the stovetop method too.
• Second, it frees up both you and the stove top for other things that might need to be cooked.
• Third, it won’t need to be flipped and will turn out nice and flat.

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Bakin’ Bacon:

1.  Bring home the bacon… DO NOT fry it up in a pan.

2.  Preheat oven to 350F  (325F for convection ovens).

3.  Line a rimmed baking sheet such as a jelly-roll pan or half-sheet pan with parchment paper or with foil.

4.  Lay bacon out on the pan and place pan in oven.  Fold in half to form a “V”-shape if using for sandwiches…two pieces will fit perfectly on most standard bread and won’t hang off the ends.  Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until cooked to desired doneness.

Now for the REALLY GOOD STUFF….I call this “Bacon Crack”.  Consider yourself forewarned…IT IS ADDICTING!

 

Peppered Brown Sugar Bacon

The key to this is to use a really smoky-flavored bacon that’s cut thick.  The smoke flavor works well with the sugar and the “bite” of the black pepper. A co-worker of mine calls this “Candied Bacon”, a very fitting name indeed!   Be sure to make lots of this so there’s plenty to go around! It’s addictive and any extra that’s leftover is great on a BLT! Chances are there won’t be any left! 

Yield: 8 servings
1 lb. thick-sliced smoked bacon
1 cup light brown sugar
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place brown sugar in the center of a large plate. Break up any clumps so that it is evenly spread across the plate. Separate the pieces of bacon and lay on top of brown sugar. Press into sugar and then turn over to coat the other side. Fold into a “V” shape and place on a parchment lined pan. Grind black pepper evenly across bacon for a little “bite”. Bake for about 20 minutes or until crisp and nicely browned.

Remove from oven and let cool slightly to allow sugar to crystallize and harden.

This can be prepared earlier in the day and served at room temperature1

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