It’s a well known fact that my husband loves bacon. Over the years he’s been given everything from bacon-flavoured lip balm to bacon-scented air fresheners.
He has a pair of bacon-themed boxers and bacon socks. You get the idea.
It’s not surprising that he often sends me bacon-centred videos he’s found on Instagram or YouTube. Not long ago, he sent me one of Canadian chef, author, and nutritionist Rose Reisman. She had a tip for cooking perfectly crispy bacon every time.
Bakin’ Bacon with a Special Touch
At least a decade ago, I started cooking bacon in the oven. Once in a while I’ll fry it on the stove top but circumstances have to be ideal. For starters, I need to be free to hover over it. Clear the schedule! Alert the authorities! The bacon must be baby-sat. Even then, despite careful attention you can end up with half crisp/half wiggly bacon.
Laying it out over parchment paper or tinfoil on a sheet pan, baked at 375 for 20-30 minutes is better. But Rose’s tip assures it will crisp up.
Take a bit of flour and rub it across the bacon strip. It should get absorbed by the bacon. You don’t want clumps of flour on it so you don’t need much. Just make sure you get every bit of every strip. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes.
Derek loves it cooked this way. I’m not sure whether it holds more fat because there’s still lots of runoff. But it works. The bacon turns out uniformly crispy.
This Cook’s Preference
I don’t eat bacon very often but I don’t love this method for me. White flour and I have never been friends so I’m hesitant to eat even a tiny bit. But if that doesn’t matter to you, take Derek’s word for it. Rose’s way works! The woman has written 20 cookbooks, after all. Here’s the original how-to video from Rose:
Air fryer for me. Crisps it beautifully every time and doesn’t sit in its own fat.
Nice!!
Being a vegetarian, I don’t eat bacon. However, my husband is like Derek…he loves the stuff.
I’ve tried the oven method, but I didn’t like the lingering bacon smell in there afterwards. I swore that the next thing I baked tasted like bacon, lol. Also, I’d have to wipe down all the splatters, and that’s no fun.
I’ve been doing the flour trick for decades and it works best for me. Hardly a splatter, and the bacon stays crispy. It also holds it’s shape, so hubby is happy to see what appears to be a whole plate full of slices instead of a smaller looking mound of curled up strips.
I follow Rose Reisman on social media…she definitely knows what she’s talking about when it comes to food.
Decades! Wow. That’s great. As a vegetarian, you’d definitely notice the lingering odour, like an ex-smoker can peg a smoker at a hundred paces. My fan helps but there’s definitely some hangover when I cook it. And Derek feels the way your husband does about the size of the strips! I also find I can make a ton of it and freeze cooked strips and they don’t fall apart.