You're Cooking Bacon Wrong. Step Away From the Skillet and Try This Instead

Thought bacon couldn't get any better? I found a way to make those crispy strips without splattering the kitchen with hot, smelly grease. Cooking bacon isn't the cleanest task to do on your stovetop, but we all grin and bear it because, y'know, it's bacon. 

Some Reddit users agree that a splatter guard could help -- and it's true that getting one might stop you from getting popped by grease. But even still, it's difficult to cook a large amount of bacon unless you have a griddle or an oversized cooking pan.

My trick to avoiding a greasy stove and messy pans is not the microwave or air fryer, but something even better. The oven will forever be my all-time favorite way to make this savory meat. I dodge the mess it makes on the stovetop, and if you line your baking sheet with aluminum foil all you have to do is trash it once the bacon is done. No mess, no stress.

Below, you'll find the simple steps needed to cook perfect bacon in the oven. When it's done, I've outlined nine genius ways to use leftover bacon fat.

How to cook perfect bacon in the oven

Here are my tips for cooking perfectly crisp bacon in the oven. Spoiler alert: There aren't many steps, and none of them take very long.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. I would avoid air fryer mode if your oven has it since the fast-moving air is more likely to blow grease around the inside. We're aiming for a mess-free scenario. 

Line a baking tray with aluminum foil, or use a nonstick sheet pan for a more eco-friendly approach. If you're going the foil route, make sure the edges ride up the sides of the tray so the grease doesn't spill over the sides and down onto the tray. 

If you're using nonstick bakeware, I prefer a ceramic sheet pan or tray but Teflon works well, too.

Arrange bacon on the tray. The strips shouldn't overlap, but it's fine if they touch since they'll shrink down significantly while cooking. If you prefer super crispy bacon with a bit less grease, you can arrange the slices on a wire rack above the tray for the fat to drip down below.

Cook for eight to 10 minutes. Be sure to keep one eye on the bacon as some ovens run hotter than others. If you like your bacon crispy and well done, give it another few minutes. Remember, bacon does a lot of its crisping after it comes out and cools. 

Drain the bacon on a sheet or two of paper towels. After a few minutes, you're ready to serve those crispy strips with eggs, in a BLT or crumbled to fancy up boxed mac and cheese. 

The best part? After cooking bacon in the oven, all you're left with is a small ball of foil to heave effortlessly into the trash.

A few countertop ovens for cooking bacon

For bacon, I love using a smaller countertop convection model. A large oven works just as well but takes longer to preheat and, dang it, we want bacon now. 

The Ninja Double Oven and Breville's Smart Oven Air are two multifunction ovens that work well. Both are large enough that bacon grease won't splatter on the ceiling, but are small and powerful enough to preheat quickly and cook bacon to a crisp in under 10 minutes. (We've also got tips for how to clean your cast iron skillet and how to make boxed mac and cheese taste so much better.) 

Can you make bacon in an air fryer?

Absolutely. Easy air fryers are perfect for making bacon in a very similar manner to oven bacon. Here's a step-by-step guide to making bacon in an air fryer. 

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