What's Actually The Best Temperature To Bake Bacon In The Oven?

When it comes to cooking bacon, there are a few methods to choose from, including stovetop, oven, and even microwave. But on that Sunday morning when you're already flipping pancakes in a skillet on the stove, opting to throw the bacon in the oven is the easiest (and least messy) option. But what are the specifics of oven-baked bacon? If the heat is too high, the edges of the strips could burn; set it too low and the fat won't render out, making it hard to get that sought-after crisp. For the best crispy oven-baked bacon, always set the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Bacon is a fatty cut of meat; that's why it's so delicious. Although the fat adds to the flavor, you want most of it to render or essentially melt out while cooking so that you end up with crispy slices and not gummy ones. To achieve this, you want high heat, but not too high. A cooking time of 18-25 minutes is recommended, depending on your preferred level of crisp.

Needless to say, you'll bake bacon on a baking sheet if you choose to cook it that way. But you have some options here. You can line the sheet with paper towels, then place your bacon on a wire rack on top. The paper towels will soak up the grease, so you don't have to worry about burning yourself by spilling hot grease on your hand when you remove the tray from the oven. Be sure to use an oven-proof baking rack. Or, you can line the baking sheet with parchment paper and place the bacon right on top. This way, the bacon kind of fries in its own grease while cooking, so the whole strip gets really crispy.

Although using the oven is a hands-off method to cook bacon, there are a few things you should note. A common mistake when preparing oven-cooked bacon is placing different cuts of the meat on the same baking sheet; it almost guarantees unevenly cooked bacon. And a pro tip? Use bacon grease if you're looking to achieve a flavorful pie crust, so if you're using this method, save the grease. The best way to store bacon grease is in an air-tight glass or metal container kept in the fridge.