Technique: Makin' Bacon

This blog was inspired by my good friend Karen, over at Off the (Meat) Hook. Karen writes a really excellent blog about all things carnivorous. Check it out if you have a minute.

Bacon. Bacon. Bacon. Possibly the most delicious of all meat. Salty, fatty, smoky. Pure goodness. Yet messy, and, for many people, hard to cook right. Here's a good technique from your friend Hal B.

Wrap a cookie sheet in foil. Strictly speaking, you don't have to do this, but it will save you a whole lot of cleaning up! If you have parchment paper, you can add a layer of that over the foil for more even cooking, but, no worries if you don't. After that, place a single layer of bacon. Cover the bottom of another pan with foil, place over the bacon, and weigh that pan down with bricks, rocks, bobble-heads, whatever. I know it seems like a bit of work- trust me, it's going to end up saving you a lot of time in the clean-up. Plus, the bacon will rock.

Put the whole hullabaloo into a 350 degree oven. Cook for 8 minutes, rotate, cook for another 8 minutes. Remove the bacon, pat down with paper towel, sit down, eat bacon. You can strain the rendered fat and use it for lots of tasty things, like cooking eggs to go with your bacon. Do it!

Note: Cooking time will depend on the thickness and quality of your bacon. I'd recommend a thicker cut, and try to avoid the over-processed Oscar Meyer type bacon. If it's undercooked after the cooking time, just take the top sheet off and cook another minute or two.