Bacon is the star of the show in many delicious recipes, like the classic BLT sandwich and a full English breakfast; however, a lot of people still haven’t mastered how to cook it properly. While on the pan with some oil seems to be the most common method, classically trained chef Billy Parisi argues otherwise.
The chef said that baking bacon is “hands down the best way” to make it “delicious and crispy”. He claimed that “you will never make it any other way again” after trying it out. Billy added: “I’ve pan-fried, grilled, even deep-fried it, but to this day I’ve never found a better way to prepare it than this.” This recipe is made for streaky bacon, but if you want to use thick-cut bacon, add three to five minutes to your baking time.
Cooking bacon in the oven might just be the best way to make the breakfast staple.
Not only does it create delicious, perfectly crispy strips of bacon that brown up nicely while staying in their shape instead of shrivelling up in the pan, but it also makes way less mess than the traditional stovetop method.
The chef claimed that there are two “important things” you need for baking bacon – parchment paper and a tray. Parchment paper will not only help crisp up the bacon, but it will also assist in the cooking time.
The two “best temperatures” to make oven-baked bacon are 190C and 200C and make sure your baking tray is in the middle rack of the oven when cooking it.
While it does take up to 25 minutes to bake it in the oven, the chef claimed that “it’s well worth it”. Cook the bacon for 22 to 25 minutes at 190C, or for 18 to 22 minutes at 200C.
With your baking tray lined with parchment paper, place the bacon about half an inch apart from one another and bake for 22 to 25 minutes at 190C.
If you want to “enhance the flavour” of the bacon, the chef said to add some cracked pepper to the top of the bacon before baking or drizzle a little maple syrup on it.
Once cooked, don’t let the bacon sit in its own rendered fat, as it will become soggy. Immediately remove it from the tray and place it on paper towels.