The Perfect Crispy Bacon

1. Rinse well

Fat is good, but too much fat is not. Right off the bat, rinse your bacon well with hot water to remove all the congealed excess. Give it a little shake in the sink to remove excess water, then pat dry. 

2. Select your cooking method

Oven: This is quite simply the best way to cook bacon: no spattering, no burning, and minimal shrinkage.

Line a sheet pan with a large sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil, then place a roasting rack or wire cooling rack on top. Lay out your bacon out on the rack, and don’t worry about leaving any spaces in between, or even overlapping a little bit if you need the room. The bacon shrinks as it cooks, so there’s no need to worry. 

Roast at 400°F degrees for at least 15 minutes before checking—the exact cooking time will vary depending on how crispy you want your bacon to get. Once it’s done, carefully remove it from the oven and, using tongs, flip the strips over to allow any grease that may have pooled on top to drip off. 

The Boiling Water : Arrange your bacon strips in the widest pan you have in your kitchen. Pour enough cold water over the bacon to just cover and place over high heat. 

As the water comes to a boil it will slowly render excess fat from the bacon. Allow it to completely boil off, then reduce heat to medium and fry the bacon in its own grease, flipping often to make sure it cooks evenly. 

3. Drain properly

If you’ve roasted your bacon there’s no need to worry about this, as all the fat dripped off in the oven. If you’ve cooked it in a pan, you’ll need to wipe off the extra grease.

Line a large plate with at least three layers of paper towels—any less will just absorb the bare minimum of fat and keep the bulk of it all over your bacon.

Remove the bacon with tongs and let drip dry into the pan for a second, then put right on the paper towels. Once all the bacon is out, put a few more paper towels on top and gently press down using the bottom of a glass.