Don't Make This Mistake When Using Your Oven To Cook Bacon

Cooking bacon in the oven is easy. You can set a tray inside and forget about it, saving yourself from the pain of hovering over a frying pan and splattering yourself in oil. Even if you've cooked bacon this way since high school, there are some tips you need to follow when cooking bacon in the oven, and avoiding overlapping the strips is one of them.

While some chefs position bacon like this to help them cook, it does more harm than good. Overlapping bacon makes the protein cook unevenly. Some of the strips will be covered, making them more difficult to heat and cook. Instead, those covered slices will steam instead of crisp, retaining water and staying limp. When you remove the tray from the oven, you might find the bacon has stuck together, too. 

If you choose to overlap bacon strips because you're cooking more than one pack of bacon, opt to use two pans instead of one. It might mean more dishes to clean after breakfast, but the additional effort is worth it. You can also use parchment paper to help cut down on grease. Bacon strips do shrink while cooking, but to prevent an uneven batch, place the bacon strips parallel to each other on the tray. They can be close together or barely touching, but overlapping is always a no-go.

While the position of your bacon strips on the pan matters, the temperature does, too. Another mistake that might be making your bacon cook unevenly is cooking a package right out of the fridge. Bacon fat stays cold for a longer period than meat. If you cook a package right after taking it out of the fridge, the strips will again cook unevenly. Let the strips come to room temperature before cooking the next time you make breakfast. To speed up the process, you can always add the bacon to the oven before it's fully preheated to help the strips come up to the right temperature.

A lot can go wrong when cooking bacon, but choosing to cook strips in the oven is a great way to set yourself up for success.This is the best and easiest way to cook bacon. The oven's circulating heat allows the strips to cook evenly on all sides while avoiding an oily mess. To keep the good vibes going, follow the above tip, and make sure to start with the best store-bought bacon.