How To Cook Bacon in the Oven

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Let's face it -- cooking bacon on the stove-top is a messy proposition. It spits and spatters, cooks unevenly, and shrivels up in a fetal position by the time you're done. 

Baking your bacon in the oven is a viable alternative, in fact its a preferred option in restaurants and bed and breakfast inns everywhere. And it's easy! Oh so easy! Let me walk you through step by step.

1. Cover your baking sheet with foil. This will help make clean up easy. To make it even easier, spray the top of the foil with non-stick spray.

2. Lay the slices side by side, but not touching along the pan. One pound of bacon fits a standard cookie/baking sheet.

3. Place the baking sheet in a 400F preheated oven. 

4. This is the hard part. Leave it be. Don't peek. Don't take it out early. Just let it cook, for 18-20 minutes. (If your bacon is thicker it may take a couple of minutes longer).

5. Remove the pan from the oven, and place the bacon on a platter lined with paper towels. Do not allow it to sit in its own grease and continue to cook. Cover the cooked bacon with a couple of more paper towels to absorb the bacon grease on top.

* some people like to put a baking rack on their baking sheet, so the bacon cooks above its own grease. That is strictly up to you. 

* also optional is the seasoning of your bacon prior to baking. You may sprinkle it with pepper, drizzle it with maple syrup, or add a little brown sugar to the top of the slices.

Once the bacon has drained and cooled it'll be ready to be served, or crumbled for use in recipes, toppings etc.