Then, cook for: 4-5 minutes for a perfectly cooked piece of bacon, 2-3 minutes for rubbery bacon, or 5-6 minutes for a crispy piece of bacon. Flip: flip the bacon over and let cook for around 4-5 more minutes or until firm to touch and darker in color. Be sure not to over cook your bacon or it might burn.
First, arrange the bacon in a single layer in a cast iron pan or other heavy skillet. Then cook the bacon over medium-high heat until browned on bottom, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip with tongs and cook until browned on the other side, about 2 minutes.
Place the pan in the preheated oven and cook for a total of 24 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through to account for any uneven heat in the oven. You do NOT need to flip the bacon slices as they cook.
Turn the heat to medium. Cook the bacon until the bottom is browned and crisp, about 4-6 minutes. Use tongs or a heatproof spatula to flip the bacon over and cook until the bacon is browned and crisp on both sides, about 3 to 5 more minutes. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain the excess grease.
The meaty parts have a light pink color, while the fat portions are white. When exposed to heat, bacon changes color from light pink to light brown that gradually darkens and gets a reddish hue. As soon as bacon's meat layers turn brown, you can consider it fully cooked.
Bacon is typically served crisp, but it's OK to take the bacon pieces out of the pan while they're still a little chewy if that's how you like them. But in most cases, well-cooked bacon turns golden brown with a crispy texture. Bacon is done when the edges start to curl from heat and moisture loss.
Bacon cooks best low and slow. Whether on the stove or in the oven, don't cook it at a temperature that's too high or you risk uneven cooking, or worse, burned bacon.
The biggest obstacle to frying bacon is the relationship between heat and fat. If you cook it low and slow for too long, too much fat may render off, resulting in tough, jerky-like strips. If you fry too fast, the fat may seize up and get gristly, or worse, the strips could burn.
While it might seem like the right thing to do, cooking your bacon at too high a temperature from the start can lead to over-cooked bacon with the fat not adequately rendered, leaving you with a slightly under-cooked and slightly burnt strip. Nobody wants that, so start it low and slow, and bring up the heat as needed.
Why Does Cooking Bacon in Water Work? The addition of water keeps the initial cooking temperature low and gentle, so the meat retains its moisture and stays tender as the fat renders. Plus, since the water helps render the fat, there will be significantly less splatter as your bacon finishes in the pan.
Cook on medium-low heat—you want to render a lot of the fat out of the bacon and this takes time. Don't rush it. Turn bacon occasionally with tongs so bacon cooks evenly. Since most pans don't heat evenly, you should move the bacon to a different part of the pan when flipping it.
Start With a Cold Pan
This will allow the fat to slowly render — or melt out of the bacon — which will help the bacon to start to crisp up. If you add bacon to a hot pan, the fat seizes and gets locked inside the bacon resulting in soggy slices.
You don't want overlapping pieces because they will create steam and prevent the bacon cooking evenly. You want crisp bacon, not limp bacon!
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay the bacon slices on the baking sheet. Cook the bacon for 10 to 20 minutes or until it's as crispy as you'd like.
According to Epicurious, par-cooking it in the oven is the preferred method of many restaurant owners. Once it's cooked, they layer the bacon slices on paper towels to absorb the fat and refrigerate. When you're ready to eat, simply re-heat the bacon on the stovetop to the desired crispness.
Mistake: Cooking bacon at too high of heat in the pan.
Too high of heat can result in rubbery bacon. How to fix it: Turn your stove to medium-low and start slowly rendering the bacon, says Restaurateur & Executive Chef Hannah Hopkins with Bésame Steamboat in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
Oven Baked Bacon is Effortless and Less Time-Consuming.
Making bacon in the oven is a great way to prep large batches of bacon for a large family breakfast. If you have a big oven, you can even place 2 baking sheets next to each other and bake about 24 bacon strips at the same time, in about 15-20 minutes.
If you cook bacon at too high of a temperature (over 400 degrees F), it'll crisp and burn more easily. If you cook it too low (around 350 degrees F), it'll take a lot longer than is necessary.