How to cook bacon completely hands-free with your choice of tender or crisp texture without standing over a hot stove or grill.

There is no getting around it … cooking the vast majority of meals yourself requires creativity in the scheduling department from the time required to ingredient shop, food prep, cooking, and finally…clean-up!

Time is…without a doubt…the biggest challenge to overcome when you ditch takeout and processed foods opting instead to cook your meals from scratch with whole food ingredients.

As a result, when I come across a technique that saves a few minutes of standing over the stove so you can do something else in the meantime, I share it in case it is something that could really help you too.

While I normally pan-fry sugar-free bacon on the stovetop if I only need a few strips, my method goes hands-free if I plan to cook a pound or more at one time.

Why Not to use the Oven Broiler

My previous attempt to cook an entire package of bacon at one time without frequent flipping of the rashers was by using the oven broiler.

This worked ok, but I still had to remove the bacon from the oven and flip it at least once to keep the side exposed to the broiler from burning.

It also required constant monitoring, because the bacon curled up on the ends and burned quite easily if you left it in the oven for only a minute or two too long.

Another issue with broiling bacon….the nutrient-dense bacon fat splatters all over the oven.

This leaves less for you to use in other dishes such as this potato and bacon soup.

The mess also increases the needed frequency of oven cleaning.

Best Oven Setting for Cooking Bacon

My husband actually stumbled across the best method for cooking bacon hands-free in the oven.

Use the pizza setting!

Only a guy would figure this type of thing out, am I right? 😂

If you have an oven that is reasonably new (ours is about 6 years old), you should have a setting for “pizza”.

This setting is similar to the “toast” function in a countertop convection oven, which I actually use to “toast fish” for perfect results every time!

The pizza mode in a standard oven heats up both the top and bottom elements at the same time, but not as hot as the broiler.

Thus, if you put a pan of uncooked bacon in the oven that is preheated to the “pizza” setting, it cooks the entire lot in a few minutes to either a tender or crispy texture, depending on your family’s preference.

Give it a try the next time you cook bacon and let me know how it works for you!

How to Cook Bacon Hands-free

How to cook bacon hands-free with your choice of tender or crisp texture without standing over a hot stove or grill.

Ingredients

• 3/4 – 1
  pound
  bacon
  preferably pastured

Instructions

1. Preheat oven on “pizza” mode.

2. Arrange bacon strips on a large stainless steel pan.

3. When the oven is hot, place the pan on the top rack slightly above the middle of the oven.

4. Set timer for 12 minutes.

5. When the timer goes off, remove pan from oven. It should be perfectly cooked to a tender texture.

6. If you wish for crispy bacon, when the timer goes off, leave the pan in the oven but turn off the heat. Let the bacon slowly crisp up for the next 10 minutes before removing the pan from the oven.

Nutrition Facts

How to Cook Bacon Hands-free

Amount Per Serving (2 strips)

Calories 107
Calories from Fat 72

% Daily Value*

Fat 8g12%

Saturated Fat 2.7g14%

Polyunsaturated Fat 1.4g

Monounsaturated Fat 3.6g

Cholesterol 23mg8%

Sodium 387mg16%

Potassium 115mg3%

Protein 8g16%

Iron 0.2mg1%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.