Don't pre-heat the oven!
Make sure the oven is cold when you put the bacon in.
- Line a baking sheet with foil. This will make cleanup easier later.
- Arrange bacon slices on the foil and place on the center rack of a cold oven. Close oven door. Turn oven on to 400°F. Walk away.
- Come back 17 to 20 minutes later. As soon as the bacon is golden brown, but not excessively crisp, it's done. The exact time will depend on the thickness of the bacon slices, and also on how quickly your oven reaches the target temperature.
- Remove the pan from the oven. Transfer the bacon to another sheet pan lined with paper towels to absorb the fat. You can pour the liquid fat into a heat-resistant container to save for other uses.
Tips:
Keep your eye on the bacon during the final few minutes of cooking to make sure that it doesn't burn. Also, remove the cooked bacon from the hot pan right away. The heat from the pan and the hot bacon fat will continue cooking the bacon.You can slightly undercook the bacon, then cool it and freeze it in a zipper bag. Then, to reheat, cook two slices in the microwave on medium power for 30 seconds or so.
Variation: Sprinkle bacon with brown sugar or freshly ground black pepper before baking.
Niman Ranch bacon. This is the real deal. Thick cut, smoky, and meaty, this stuff is made from happy, pesticide-free, free range pigs that lead productive, satisfying lives and died in the prime of their tastiness for you and me. Oh man, this stuff is good as is everything from Niman Ranch. Go get some today (Trader Joe's carries the stuff as do other good stores.)
Freezing a few slices of raw bacon for easy access is a great idea, but don’t freeze cooked bacon, it won’t taste right later.
