3 days Ago By Angela Patrone
Bacon is great to cook for breakfast, but the mess it creates can be a nightmare to clean up. Fortunately, Chef Billy Parisi , a cooking expert with over 25 years of experience, has revealed that the secret to making bacon “delicious and crispy” is to ditch the frying pan and use the oven instead. Chef Billy said: “I’ve made more bacon than I care to remember stemming all the way back to my restaurant days.
I've pan-fried, grilled, even deep-fried it, but to this day I've never found a better way to prepare it than this.” He added: “The absolute best way to cook bacon is in the oven. It perfectly browns it up while staying way longer in shape than when it shrivels up pan-frying it.
” While cooking bacon in the oven may seem obvious, baking it rather than frying is not only easy, but it also enhances the flavour and texture. When cooked in a pan, the fat tends to cook more quickly than the meat, resulting in charred edges and undercooked centres. In contrast, oven-cooking ensures the bacon is cooked evenly, making it crispy without curling up.
Both the fat and natural sugars in bacon cook more slowly in the oven, resulting in caramelisation and a richer, sweeter, and more savoury flavour than frying. For this cooking bacon cooking tip, you’ll need a baking tray, paper towels, and some grease-proof paper. The paper not only catches excess grease but also contributes to perfectly crispy bacon.
The baking paper has a dual function when cooking bacon; it allows fat to pool underneath while keeping the bacon lifted for a non-soggy, crisp finish. Chef Billy explained: “[Baking paper] will assist in the browning of the bacon as well as with the amount of time it takes to brown.” Start by lining the tray with baking paper, lay out the bacon strips avoiding overlap, and place the tray in the centre of a preheated oven.
Bake at 190C or 200C for optimal crispiness. At 190C, your bacon should be ready in 22 to 25 minutes and at 200C aim for 18 to 22 minutes. Finally, once the bacon is done, use a paper towel to dab away any extra grease.
The chef urged: "Don't let the bacon sit in its own rendered fat as it will become soggy.” Immediately remove it from the pan and place it on paper towels to drain. The bacon will then be ready to enjoy, whether on a buttery bacon roll or as part of a hearty English breakfast.
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