We cook bacon every weekend as part of our Sunday brunch tradition. My husband makes the eggs and toast while I make the bacon and cut the fruit. (Coffee is on a timer and prepped the night before.) Since we have little kids, it’s hard to stand next to the stove and make sure the bacon is prepared perfectly. Plus, I’m never a fan of the fat splattering everywhere and making a greasy mess!
During my days in a professional restaurant kitchen 20 years ago, we always cooked bacon on a sheet pan in the oven. By baking it in the oven, you can prep a lot more at a time and you can put it on a timer without having to be near the stove. But just recently, a friend told me about a trick that not only makes the best bacon but also slashes the cooking time in half.
Of course, I had to try it.
The Best Trick for Cooking Bacon Starts With a Cold Oven
The simple hack? She starts the bacon in a cold oven instead of preheating first. To see if it really was faster and produced delicious bacon, I did a side-by-side test. Using my new favorite Applewood Smoked Bacon from North Country Smokehouse, I cooked bacon two ways.
- Starting in a cold oven. I placed 4 ounces of bacon on an aluminum foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Then I put it in the oven, punched in 425 degrees F, and set the timer for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, my bacon was still a little softer than I liked so I let it bake for 5 minutes more. This method is detailed in Joseph’s Best Easy Bacon Recipe.
- Baking in a preheated oven. Following this recipe for Oven-Cooked Bacon, I preheated the oven to 350 degrees F. I placed 4 ounces of bacon on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and baked for 15 minutes. I then flipped the bacon and continued cooking until it was my preferred crispiness, which took 5 minutes more.
In total, both tests actually cooked the bacon for 20 minutes. However, since method one started the bacon in a cold oven instead of a preheated oven, I saved 10 minutes to get the exact same result. I also found that both parchment and aluminum foil work equally well for cooking the bacon, though the fat solidified more on the foil, making it even easier to clean.
The Bottom Line
So next time you need to cook bacon, especially a large quantity, start it in a cold oven on an aluminum-foil lined pan. The magic happens without you having to lift a finger.
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