E check the back of the bacon package. I believe the instructions for baking it are on it.

Thanks Shaun, but not there. It's an "preservative freee" brand called Wellshire from Whole Foods. DH says it's fantastic and I wanted to bring it to a family brunch tomorrow.
I did find some instructions online, but one site says start it in a cold oven and the other says in a preheated oven. I'm confused!

compumom,

I have had really good luck with the following instructions. (I try record credit when someone posts a recipe, so I think this may be a compilation of information from multiple sites. If this is woodie's recipe or someone else here, I apologize for not giving credit and I will correct my file ASAP.)

Oven Baked Bacon
Perfect crispy bacon without all the mess--The simplest, most foolproof way to do it is to bake it in the oven.

Time Required: 20 minutes

Here's How:
Line a baking sheet with foil. This will make cleanup easier later.
-- Arrange bacon slices on the foil and place on the center rack of a cold oven. Close oven door. Turn oven on to 400°F. Walk away. (Per epicurious site the strips can be crowded together or slightly overlapping.)
-- Bake 10-15 minutes for thin-cut,17 to 22 minutes for thick. As soon as the bacon is golden brown, but not excessively crisp, it's done. The exact time will depend on the thickness of the bacon slices, and also on how quickly your oven reaches the target temperature.
-- Remove the pan from the oven. Transfer the bacon to another sheet pan lined with paper towels to absorb the fat. You can pour the liquid fat into a heat-resistant container to save for other uses. I like to pour it through a strainer lined with cheesecloth to filter out any crunchy bits.

Tips:
-- Don't pre-heat the oven! Make sure the oven is cold when you put the bacon in.
-- Keep your eye on the bacon during the final few minutes of cooking to make sure that it doesn't burn. Also, remove the cooked bacon from the hot pan right away. The heat from the pan and the hot bacon fat will continue cooking the bacon.
-- You can slightly under cook the bacon, then cool it and freeze it in a zipper bag. Then, to reheat, cook two slices in the microwave on medium power for 30 seconds or so--high will burn the bacon.
-- Variation: Dredge bacon in flour or corn meal before baking.
-- Variation: Sprinkle bacon with brown sugar or freshly ground black pepper before baking.

I just stick it on my big bar pan from Pampered chef (jelly roll pan) and put in the oven on 400 or 425...and let go til crisp..I have no clue how long..LOL

Empress has some very usual info above!

I have extra large baking pans which my cooling rack fits in perfectly. I set the rack in the pan, then put the bacon on the rack. That way it isn't sitting in the grease (and doesn't seem to splatter as much). It also cooks a little quicker. We buy thick cut, so I don't know if it would work as well for thin slices; they might cook too fast.

OH! You got the *good* bacon! I do know that Oscar Meyer Bacon has the oven/baking instructions on the back. When I've baked it, I've preheated.

This oven-baked bacon recipe is in this month's issue of Bon Appetit. The picture is so delicious. I can't wait to try it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Brown Sugar Glazed Bacon - Bon Appetit

In the oven is the only way I make bacon anymore!

I preheat the oven to 400, wrap a wire cooling rack in foil and place it on a jelly roll pan. Lay the strips on the foil covered rack and pop in the oven until crisp. Usuaally takes about 20-30 minutes, depending on how crisp you like it.

Linda

1. I don't pre-heat the oven.

2. I set the temperature at 350 degrees.

3. I put the bacon on a rack.

4. I put a deep cookie sheet with water under the bacon to catch any grease and drippings. This way you don't smoke up the whole house and set off your smoke alarm. The bacon comes out crispy and not greasy.

dcarch

I line a deep cookie sheet with about 10 layers of newspaper, cover that with paper towel, lay the bacon on that and cook until crisp...at 325 degrees....doesn't matter if you pre heat the oven or not....bacon has no leavening in it and isn't going to rise no matter how you bake it...
Takes about half an hour....doesn't smoke and the papers absorb the grease.
Linda C

Thanks for all of the replies. I'll let you know how they turn out!

I don't make bacon that often and had never thought to use the oven until someone posted about it here recently. I found it much easier, and less messy, than microwaving. It did set the smoke alarm off, though, so next time I'll try using a rack.

Sue

Doesn't it stink up your oven? I can't stand making it in the microwave because I smell bacon everytime I open the mw for three days later.

I just cooked bacon in the oven recently and it was very easy and turned out great. I like the looks of LindaC's way of cooking. I just did a search and found Emeril's recipe and had used that. I don't think there's a right or wrong way but I like the idea of the paper to absorb the grease and cooking at the lower temp. It will spatter some grease inside your oven and on the glass though.

It doesn't stink up the oven any more than frying it stinks up the rest of the house. (Personally, I like the smell of bacon.) If anything, it confines the smell more.

I cook a couple pounds at a time (slightly undercooked), then freeze it. When you want a couple pieces, just pull them out of the freezer and give them a very few seconds in the microwave.

I have found that using my method of water in the cookie sheet, you can collect the best bacon fat. Just pour the water in a container and put it in the frig.

dcarch

I'm back and here's my take on it.

I was challenged. My pans weren't quite large enough to fit the racks comfortably. I began from a cold oven and won't do that again. It took longer to cook than the pan I set into the hot oven and didn't crisp as well. I had to set the racks precariously on to the pan which had been lined with paper towels. That worked reasonably well. The racks cleaned up much easier than I expected.
What did happen was the bacon didn't crisp up enough for our family's tastes. So I ended up nuking some of it in my trusty Nordic Ware bacon pan. Also it drained off a lot more of the fat than the oven cooking- possibly because it cooked more thoroughly.

Sue, I know the MW does smell for awhile, but if you leave the door open to air out or wipe it down afterward with water and baking soda, it will clear out.

One variable that could explain the difference was that I used an uncured bacon that had a "black forest" coating.Who knows. Everyone enjoyed the bacon and it was a good option for making a large amount. For the two of us I'll continue to nuke it, but use this method when making a larger quantity.

Thanks for weighing in, the immediate feedback was terrific!

Susytwo, I can tell you about the Bon-Apetit bacon recipe. It is better than delicious!

Ellen, Thanks for providing the details of you experience.

dcarch, I showed my DH you picture. His comment was "that's all for one person?". I told him he totally missed the point.