Oven-Baked Crispy Bacon

I can’t believe that I’m writing a blog entry on baking bacon. It sounds ridiculous to me, but I really hope that someone out there will find it useful!

Unfortunately the US doesn’t sell the typical back-bacon that the UK is accustomed to. They only sell what Brits know as streaky bacon. In the UK, streaky bacon isn’t as popular as back-bacon, but when in the US, we have to make do. You can purchase imported back-bacon from Canada or the UK and there’s even a local farm here in Washington State that produces it. The UK import goes for around $12.00 for 454 g (1 lb), but is way too thick to get really crispy and isn’t smoked (like I like).

Anyhow, back to baking bacon. I’m pretty sure that most carnivores love bacon. It’s not the soggy, limp bacon that usually haunts most breakfast places that we love. It’s the crispy bacon where the fat has all bubbled up, making an aromatic piece of deliciousness.

I needed a batch to crumble in my pancakes, yes you read it right, to crumble IN my crepe-like pancakes… it’s a Dutch thing, and damn delicious too. The only thing I could get at the time was the streaky bacon, so I had to make do.

In the UK, I would grill my back-bacon, but I’d no real experience of cooking with streaky. I remember that during my stint at Whole Foods, we used to bake huge batches off for breakfast and the sandwich station. It’s a very simple procedure, even in a domestic oven.


OVEN-BAKED CRISPY BACON

Ingredients
Streaky bacon

Method
1. Line a baking tray (pan) with foil. Place a wire rack on top and lay out the bacon on top in a single layer.

2. Place the whole contraption into the center of a cold oven, turn the oven to heat at 200°C/400°F and leave for 20-25 minutes. Check on the bacon to check for even browning and turn the bacon over, allow for another 20-25 minutes cooking until the bacon is nice and crisp.

3. When the bacon is nice and crisp, remove from the wire rack and place onto a plate with a few layers of kitchen towel (paper towels). Use as required, enjoy!