This Is The Best Temperature For Cooking Bacon In The Oven

You can cook bacon in a huge variety of ways, and everyone has their favorite preparation method. Some do it the old-fashioned way, and fry it up in a cast iron pan, while others stick bacon in the microwave for a quick cook. But for others, popping it in the oven is the best way to make it.

When cooking bacon in the oven, the biggest decision to make is what temperature to cook it at. Selecting a perfect temperature isn't an exact science — since you have to contend with different bacon types and textural preferences – but the best temperatures do tend to fall in the same range: 325 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

This is the ideal temperature range for oven-baked bacon, primarily because it gives the fat time to render out in the heat, and the meat time to properly cook. Plus, with this range, you have the freedom to watch over the bacon, and then pull it out when it's as crispy as you'd like it to be.

While the temperature range of 325 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal for cooking bacon in the oven, you can still cook your bacon a few different ways within this range. If you prefer chewy bacon, you'll want to use temperatures on the lower end of the range, so less fat renders. Conversely, using temperatures on the higher end of that range makes the fat render faster, creating crispy bacon.

Other tips for roasting bacon in this range include letting your bacon come up to room temperature before baking it. This helps the fat and meat cook at a more equal rate, making for a more balanced piece of bacon. You can also buck tradition and put your bacon in the oven while you're preheating it to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. This makes things extra crispy, since the slow warm-up renders out more fat than usual. Then, the high heat that follows torches the remaining meat, helping it develop a wonderful crunch.

Another thing to consider is what your bacon will cook on. If it rests flat against parchment paper, or you roast your bacon on aluminum foil, the fat that renders out will surround your bacon. This means the bacon will fry in its own grease, increasing the speed at which it cooks, and making it crispier. If you want things softer, you can bake it on a rack (with a baking sheet underneath) so the fat drips away.