# Baking bacon?



## inkjunkie (Aug 2, 2015)

20150802_081800.jpg



__ inkjunkie
__ Aug 2, 2015





Wife made some bacon this morning. It was from the Tenderquick/Brown Sugar batch. Cold smoked with Maple for 28 hours. She was grumbling about how it curled up and got a bit crispy on the edges. Thought I seen a few folks mention that they bake there bacon. Will this eliminate both the curling and crispy edges? If so, what temperature and time is needed? Safe to assume that the flavor is a bit different compared to frying it?


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## weev (Aug 2, 2015)

Yes baking will help it from curling most of all of the bacon you get in a restaurant is baked  time depends on the thickness and your preference but usually I have it at 350 for 20 to 30 min


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## pops6927 (Aug 9, 2015)

I bake mine at 375° for 14 minutes.


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## siege (Aug 9, 2015)

To get flat bacon from the skillet, just weight it down. You can buy a  bacon press on line, or use something you already have on hand. I have some fairly heavy egg rings I use. Placed on the bacon, it comes out nice and flat. As a bonus, you don't have to oil or butter the rings. Perfectly round eggs to put on a bagel, English muffin, or biscuit with a hint of pure pork goodness !


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## chef jimmyj (Aug 10, 2015)

Been baking bacon at 350/375 to desired doneness for years. Curling comes from quick cooking in the high heat of a pan. The Extra Crispy edge is from the sugar in the cure...JJ


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## mr t 59874 (Aug 10, 2015)

We bake our home cured bacon anywhere from 225°- 325° max.  It will have waves, but no curling or burnt sugars.

You may find the following interesting.

A bacon cooking study, "Effect of Frying and Other Cooking Conditions on Nitrosopyrrolidine Formation in Bacon" (Journal of Science, Vol. 39, pages 314-316), showed no evidence of nitrosamines in bacon fried at 210 °F for 10 minutes (raw), 210 °F for 15 minutes (medium well), 275 °F for 10 minutes (very light), or 275 °F for 30 minutes (medium well). But when bacon was fried at 350 °F for 6 minutes (medium well), 400 °F for 4 minutes (medium well), or 400 °F for 10 minutes (burned), some nitrosamines were found. Thus, well-done or burned bacon is potentially more hazardous than less well-done bacon. Also, bacon cooked by a microwave has less nitrosamine than fried bacon.


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## jcollins (Aug 10, 2015)

I really like to bake bacon if i am making a bunch of it just lay a sheet or two of HD Foil on a baking sheet makes clean up very easy but the pan needs a lip so the grease dont run to the bottom of the oven.. idk if my method works any better or worse than the ones above. but i put the bacon in as the oven preheats (just the way ive been told to do it) @350 or 375 gets done just how i like it chewy but not raw...


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## chef jimmyj (Aug 10, 2015)

There are a variety of articles on Nitrosamine and well done bacon. The bottom line of all but the most paranoid articles is, Consuming any Antioxident with the Bacon, OJ, Cranberry, Tomato or even Apple Juice eliminates or reduces any risk from the Nitrosamine. Have a glass of OJ and eat your bacon cooked any way you wish...JJ


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## mr t 59874 (Aug 10, 2015)

Thanks, JJ interesting.

The best I could find was the following article. http://www.healthambition.com/processed-meat-nitrosamines-cancer/   They do seemingly recommend using caution on the amount of consumption of nitrosamines and cooking at higher temps.  Think I'll be sticking to baking at the lower temps along with maybe a red beer.

Thanks again.

T


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## chef jimmyj (Aug 10, 2015)

Mr T 59874 said:


> Thanks, JJ interesting.
> 
> The best I could find was the following article. http://www.healthambition.com/processed-meat-nitrosamines-cancer/   They do seemingly recommend using caution on the amount of consumption of nitrosamines and cooking at higher temps.  Think I'll be sticking to baking at the lower temps along with maybe a red beer.
> 
> ...


Agreed...I don't suggest eating Bacon or Cured meats 3 meals a day will be safe as long as you drink OJ. Just that for the average Joe that has a nice Crispy Bacon and Egg breakfast on Sunday mornings, has only to have some OJ or take his Multi Vitamin with breakfast and he need not worry whether that crisp bacon will kill him...JJ


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## smokeystover (Oct 10, 2015)

I cook thick bacon in the oven often. I lay out the bacon strips on a cooling rack that just fits into a 1/4 sheet baking pan, put it in a cold oven, set the temperature to 400, hit the start button and wait about 20 minutes and start checking. Doneness will be achieved as much as 5 minutes later depending on how crisp you want it. As it cools, I blot the pieces with some paper towel and transfer them to a plate. The bacon will be quite flat and not too greasy. There will be a lot of good bacon drippings in the baking pan that can easily be poured into a container for later use. (Precious stuff.)

Starting in a cold oven is crucial as it allows the fat to start rendering early with respect to the lean's cooking and avoids a sudden temperature differential that would cause curling. (By the way, always start bacon in a cold skillet for similar reasons.)

We usually do a couple of pounds at a time and put it in the refrigerator. It's great to be able to fix a quick BLT in tomato season on a whim.

-WD


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## cueinco (Oct 10, 2015)

I haven't tried it, but the folks at America's Test kitchen claim that they put water over the bacon to start it in a fry pan. They claim it "plumps it up". 

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/fea...elieve-how-we-make-perfect-bacon?popular=true


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## daveomak (Oct 11, 2015)

Here's some bacon we recently baked.....















BAKED BACON.jpg



__ daveomak
__ Oct 11, 2015


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