Some experiments cooking bacon in the oven

[ChrisSmolinski]

Previously I've alway fried bacon in a pan. I've heard people rave about making it in the oven, so I decided to give it a try.

The generally recommended method is to place it on a rack over a sheet tray. So I did this for a few weeks.  It's certainly easier, less fussing with the bacon moving it around the pan. And it cooks more uniformly. Generally easier. But.... it tastes... weird. I can't put my finger on it, but it just does not taste right. I tried adjusting the oven temperature, same thing. Weird tasting bacon.

I looked around online and asked questions, looking for other methods. Some suggested air frying. We actually just got an air fryer this past week, so that was a possibility. Another was cooking right on the sheet tray. Some suggested that way, but on parchment paper, for easier cleanup.

This past weekend I decided to try cooking on parchment paper directly on the sheet pan. One morning I used convection baking, the other convection roasting.  Good news, the bacon tastes good again! Cleanup was easy with the parchment paper.

One difference I noticed between the two modes, even though the temperature was the same (Programmed 400F, so 375F with the fan on), it cooked twice as fast in convection roast vs convection bake mode. I believe convection roast uses the top heating element, vs the bottom element for convection bake mode.

[Josh]

Well go all the way and do microwave next.

[syfr]

EZ clean in the microwave.  Sammich it between a couple of layers of paper towels on a plate and spin till you're too hungry to wait.

Wipe plate of grease with the now-used paper towels, chunk 'em in the trash and enter BLT heaven.

[ChrisSmolinski]

This has become my go-to way to cook bacon. Plus it is easy to pour off the rendered fat and save for cooking eggs & other things. Bacon grease is too valuable a resource to throw away