The secret to crispy bacon

[WillTravelForFood]

Saw this on BonApp, thought we’d give it a try this week. And in our extremely limited test, it seems to have worked.

the secret: dredge the bacon lightLy in AP flour before cooking. Ideally it should sit for a few hours between dredging and cooking, but we didn’t have time to try

light dredge, into a cold oven at 400 degrees, about 20-30m later…. We had bacon that kept its shape better and seemed to crisp up more evenly than other cooks.

of course we were silly and didn’t include any sample undredged in our cook to act as a control variable. We will save that idea for next time.

will dredging in flour be something we will do every time? Remains to be seen. But initial results suggest it’s worthwhile.

[Panhead John]

Seems like a lot of unnecessary work. Mine comes out just fine and crispy in the frying pan. I actually prefer it not crispy all over, as bits of fat on the slice add to the flavor.

[MBMorgan]

Ditto +1

[Texas Larry]

One YouTuber calls that AFS—“acceptable floppy state”

[MBMorgan]

Texas Larry - Just a heads up that you need to be a bit careful around PJ. He might just take your phrasing (semi)literally and run with it ... and get himself banned.


... hmmmmm ... never mind ... keep up the good work, Larry! 🍺😎

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

I prefer doing bacon on my pellet grill, 200 is for 2 hours if I'm not in a hurry, usually this is for sandwiches and salads as we don't do breakfast very often. Wife likes hers crispy, so a quick 30 seconds in the nuker finishes the job. If I'm in a hurry I do 350-375 for about 20-30 minutes, this does get crispy even straight on the rack and "losing" the fat that drips off. Best part is, no press needed, it stays flat and all the grease efficiently drains to my grease drawer which is also full of pellet dust and in a handy loaf pan for stupid easy cleanup at a time of my choosing later in the week.

[barelfly]

Long live Chewy bacon!

If you are up for experimenting to compare/contrast, my buddy says sous vide bacon that is finished on the pan fry is the best he has ever had. But it has to be homemade or thick cut.

but, my wife does like crispy bacon, perhaps I’ll give that a try sometime.

Thanks for sharing!

[bbqLuv]

The two steps for the best bacon:
1--Microwave Bacon
2--When in doubt See step 1

[Andrrr]

I can’t believe there’s no PBR or Traeger involved?

[RichardCullip]

The two steps for the best bacon:
1--Microwave Bacon
2--When in doubt See step 1

That's how well do bacon. Quick, easy, not much mess or fuss.

[Murdy]

Interesting. Will have to give that a try. We already moved to doing ours in the oven as opposed to a frying pan.

[Dan Deter]

We moved to the oven. Then moved to me doing it out on the grill so the house didn't smell like bacon grease 7 hours later...

[bbqLuv]

Baking powder for crispy chicken skin, see where I am going with this.

[CHNeal]

In Nebraska we call “crispy” bacon burnt! Bacon should be chewy. If you can bite it cleanly on a BLT or burger its too done.

[Panhead John]

We call it that in Texas too!

[Finster]

Would you be willing to speak to my wife on this topic?

[Washblue]

Does anyone put water in the skillet with bacon?

[holehogg]

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/the-pit-mastery-program/porknography-ribs-pulled-pork-ham-etc/876688-disrespecting-bacon

Still do on occasions with thick slices but use a minimal amount of water. Use water whenever cooking chunky bacon bits for adding to Mac & Cheese or other things.

[Washblue]

I agree with your previous assertions…
Seems to not curl as bad…
Less spatter…
Good flavor with parts crisp and others with a soft chew…
Plus I can walk away and do other things during the first half of the cook… 👍🏻 holehogg

[DavidNorcross]

Cook that bacon SLOW on the griddle.....man it is like candy!

[Spinaker]

That profile pic is fantastic!

[FireMan]

I never scarf bacon down. I always eat it as if I am testing each slice, which I am. Testin it to see if it’s done right & it’s origin & year. Ya almost have ta eat bacon with yer eyes closed to git the right experience. Chewy with a measure of crispness is most desired & best of both worlds.

[Polarbear777]

I do large batches in the oven. At 325F. It takes an hour for the thicker stuff 45 for thinner. Slowly renders, doesn’t curl. Just check at the end often. When done it is crispy but gives immediately and melts in your mouth. Plus if you foil line (extra wide single sheet) the baking sheets, you can lift the foil and kink it and pour all the grease into a jar. You toss the foil and the sheet is clean. No mess.

[surfdog]

Yep. I’ve cooked my bacon in the oven for years. No muss, no fuss…and nobody needs to babysit. And collecting the drippings is a doddle.

[Bkhuna]

I went from skillet to oven now to air fryer. Chew in the middle, crispy (not hard or crumbly) on the outside. The key is thick cut bacon. Minimum 3/8 in. thick.

[WayneT]

I've experimented with bacon quite a bit and find two generally acceptable ways to get it consistently crispy.

1) Lay it flat on a cookie sheet lined with foil so that it fries in its own rendered fat. In our oven, it takes anywhere from 8 to 11 minutes per side depending on which brand we're cooking and how thick it is. Once done, put the pieces on paper towels and blot the grease from it.

2) Put it in the air fryer basket and cook for about 15 minutes per side, again, depending on brand and thickness. No need to blot grease off using this method.

On each method, we turn the pan halfway through the cook and in the air fryer, we may flip the bacon if it is curling badly.

If cooking Clint Cantwell 's candied praline bacon recipe, we pre-ccok the bacon half the required time, slather on the caramel mixture, top it with the praline pecans, then finish the cook to get it nice and crispy.

I'll have to give your suggested method a try. It makes perfect sense since the flour or (baking powder for wings) would help wick the moisture from the bacon.