Cooking homemade Bacon

[holehogg]

Yes, I do know it's not rocket science and everyone should be able to cook bacon.
There are few proteins that receive as much love as bacon so its deserving of the same treatment when preparing.
Cooking shop bought I find is a far easier than homemade.
I have had some mixed results when preparing homemade.

1) On my flattop I find if I don't watch it carefully it burns the edges all round and if I'm distracted it can brown the the cooking side in no time and seems to happen so quickly.
They are not burnt as in burnt but there is a hint of that "overdoneness" but still totally edible. I actually enjoy them this way but not everyone does.
It's not that I'm trying to crisp it up like store bought and I am aware homemade does not crisp up the same.
If I flip them every few seconds it is fine because I can eyeball when they just starting to brown. This is not conducive to doing anything else while preparing a large batch.

2) In a frying pan on a low'ish heat setting I don't need to continually flip, and I get more consistent results but it's not favourable to doing big batches.

3) The oven has given me my best end product but is more mission and takes longer to get done.

Questions

a) Is there an ideal slice thickness for homemade?
b) Does the cooking temperature play any significant role besides it just taking longer to cook. What I'm trying to fathom is high heat not ideal for homemade?
c) Am I just so much of an amateur that I can't even cook bacon?

[Ahumadora]

Do you add a lot of sugar to homemade bacon?

[holehogg]

Per recipes on free side.

[Polarbear777]

Thick cut. On aluminum foil coated sheet pans, about 50-60 minutes at 325-350. Have to pull when crispy enough. Ensures it won’t burn, can make a lot at once and almost no cleanup (save the grease for other uses, recycle the foil, put still clean sheet pans away).

the other easy option is overnight SV, finish in a pan. Starts out mostly rendered it takes less time in the pan. Since I vacuum seal and freeze homemade bacon, this is actually very little work- just have to toss the frozen bacon bag in the bath the night before.

[RonB]

I like crisp bacon, so I no longer make bacon. I do buy Wright's Bacon which is thick sliced. Cooking in the oven at 450* F cooks it quicker than at 350* F, (duh!), but it burns on the edges and ends. Cooking at 350* F does not burn the edges, but does take an hour or more. So I eventually settled on 375* F, and that does save a few minutes without burning the edges.

[jfmorris]

I love the bacon I've made using the recipes on AR, and so did my kids, but my wife doesn't like any of it, as she likes really crispy bacon. I've not cured bacon in a year I think because of that, and am just getting Wright's if available, or Smithfield if not. I've been using my pork bellies for pork belly burnt ends instead, which EVERYONE likes.

[FishTalesNC]

Similar issue. Wife and kid are polar opposites wrt bacon cooking, makes it difficult with homemade. I found Wright bacon in >1 flavor at Sam’s and the price is MUCH more reasonable than in the grocery store or Walmart. Cooked some this morning. Perfectly crisp, no burn, excellent flavor. Pretty darn salty tho (to be fair I’ve been trying hard to cut way back on salt and now everything tastes salty to me).

[Red Man]

I’ve found home made bacon works best on a foil lined sheet pan in a 350 degree oven. I flip it after about 30 minutes and it’s usually done about 15 minutes later.

[texastweeter]

add the bacon to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Put in a COLD oven, and set to 400° NONCONVECT. Let it cook through the preheat cycle. Depending on the bacon and your oven, it is usually done around the time it hits 400° or a few after. If not check every couple minutes until done. Crispy every time.

[jfmorris]

To be honest, if it takes 45-60 minutes to bake my bacon in an oven, that kills spontaneous morning breakfast cooks. I like to fry up my bacon in my Lodge 12” skillet, drain most of the grease for later use, then toss some eggs in the skillet to fry. With the nest emptying, and breakfast being for 2, that probably means less home cured bacon for me, so that the wife will eat the same bacon I am eating.

[jfmorris]

All this talk about bacon - wife was sick in bed with a migraine all day yesterday, and I was on my own. Dinner was 4 strips of thick Wright's hickory smoked bacon fried in the cast iron skillet, followed by 2 eggs, along with some toast. Mmmm.