The Simple Trick To Keep Bacon From Sticking To A Wire Rack
Few foods can cause a visceral reaction at the mere mention of their name the way bacon can. Just the thought of sweet, smoky, salty pork sends signals to the olfactory and cues the salivary glands. But cooking this beloved breakfast food has its hazards, and if you find when you are making crispy oven-baked bacon that it sticks to the metal of your wire rack, don't fret. There's a way to prevent this common problem. Simply lift each slice of bacon up with your tongs as it is cooking for a quick moment.
This seemingly innocuous step will shift your meat and allow some of the grease to cover the surface of the rungs of your rack so all that lovely rendered fat doesn't stick. But you have to use a wire rack and rimmed sheet pan because they are key when using this baking technique for two reasons. First, you want good air circulation so the whole slice of bacon cooks from above and below, and second, you need the rimmed sheet pan to collect the grease. So, when do you perform this Houdini magic with your tongs?
Time and texture
When you nudge your bacon depends on two things: the thickness of the bacon and if you like your bacon chewy or crunchy. When baking your bacon at a temperature of 400 degrees, be aware that chewy bacon has a shorter cook time and takes anywhere from 10 to 12 minutes to achieve your desired texture, while getting the crispiest, crunchy bacon can take up to 20 minutes of watchful patience. So, plan on performing your tongs trickery at your preferred cooking time midpoint, and set your oven timer accordingly so you don't forget.
Beyond the benefit of getting to enjoy every last morsel of your bacon, which is benefit enough for most, this trick will ensure you don't have to spend a lot of time scrubbing burnt pieces of this meat from your wire rack. Instead, you can use that extra time making your favorite BLTs or breakfast burritos and enjoying the fruits of your bacon efforts.