Bacon in the Oven

Bacon in the oven is a must for banquets.
Layed out on parchment, cooked for 12-15 minutes in a 350° convection oven.
I don't add anything to the bacon, just try to by a quality product.
But yes, sprinkling sugar is common, and we all know how good piggies taste with maple.

Lisa from Top Chef had a very interesting technique on cooking bacon in the oven, lined on parchment and basted with a miso glaze. The judges were thrilled by it.

I always think of bacon as the flavoring agent in dishes, not the other way around so I prefer mine as is without sugar etc. But anything is possible right?

Ditto Just Jim's way.

Years ago we used to make maple bacon in a skillet....cook the bacon, reduce maple syrup and then cook coating the bacon.....would it fly off the buffet. Caveat was that the pan was the biggest mess to clean.

There is granulated maple syrup available that may make an easier variation.
Brown sugar works too.....alittle chipotle and life is good. Our sweet spicy pecans have the same concept.

Cooking bacon on a sheet pan in the oven is good for both banquets/buffets and smaller scale restaurants (I've not been to a single place where bacon hasn't been cooked this way). Although we generally serve plain bacon (although we do use a peppered version for other items) adding glazes and spices and other accompaniments during cooking is a great idea as others have demonstrated.

True.
We used to par cook ours, then cross lay them out on a platter 4 across, stacking them high.
When we'd get an order we'd finish them on the flat top.
Fresh bacon in half the time, and without curling.

>There is granulated maple syrup available <

Is that different from maple sugar? How so?

When I worked in a little sandwich shop, I would cook our bacon in the convection oven. I put a resting rack (like you would use to cool cookies at home) in a sheet pan and laid the bacon on the rack. It kept the bacon from sitting in the grease, and made it easier for me to pour off the fat.

A few decades ago when I was working at The Winery here in Salt Lake, part of my morning routine was doing batches of bacon in the oven. When you're pushing out a dozen or two BLTs, Cobb and chefs salads during the lunch rush you don't have time to be fussing with bacon slices on the grill or in a skillet.

I sort of vaguely remember that we used the bacon grease from the sheet pans for something else, possibly coating potatoes with it before baking them for dinner. It has been a while, my memory, like my chin, is a bit fuzzy.

mjb.

On occassion I dredge the bacon slices in flour and then bake at 350. After ten minutes or so (when the underside has browned), turn the bacon and watch it like a hawk, it will go from brown to back in a flash.

It makes a very attractive, non-curled bacon slice that tastes great.

I will not comment on the aspect of eating flour browned in bacon fat, except to say it is **** good!

kyheirloomer,
from kingarthurflour.com
this could be just what you're looking for:
maple Sugar
Item 1293
Pure maple sugar adds a sweet touch to hot cereal

Pure maple sugar
Made from 100% maple syrup
Pours like granulated sugar
Tastes like heaven (or Vermont; some think they're interchangeable)
Wonderful on porridge, buttered toast, or in maple sugar shortbread
In 8-ounce bag, about 1 1/3 cups
i use it in baking and flavoring winter squash.
kathee

Thanks, Kathee. But I think you misunderstood.

I wasn't looking for maple sugar---I know what that is and where to get it.

I had never heard of granulated maple syrup before, and wanted to know if that was something different, or just a different name for the same thing.

I just did my bacon in the oven on Monday for cheeseburgers. I put rosemary and black pepper on it, and it was great. I find it the easiest way to clean up too. I love the fact it stays flat. Bacon is goooood!!

pretty sure they are the same KY

ordering 3 slabs of Nuetske bacon in the next few days....now lardons are the pinnacle of bacondom in my opinion.

Hi Shel,

I would agree with the others recommending parchment paper. On my electric oven I usually set the temperature to 375f or 400f and choose the middle rack.

For what we have available locally, I like Wright bacon. To date, I haven't tried to smoke & cure my own bacon...maybe someday. I also haven't used the internet to order a brand that isn't available to me locally. Maybe someday :)

yum...yum

dan

I've found that the parchment paper makes for easy cleanup of the pan. You should be fine as long as your rack fits inside the pan. This way it will keep the parchment paper in place.

When I'm done cooking the bacon I carefully lift each corner of the paper to trap all the grease...and in the garbage it goes.

:lips:I do like bacon...but I really hate the mess that it makes! :mad:




I haven't ordered any meats or cheese over the internet for just the reasons you gave. Maybe someday I'll give it a try.

The closest I've gotten to ordering meat over the internet was for some Spanish cooking chorizos from La Tienda. I was going to order the sausage and some bomba rice, but the same day shipping was just ridiculously high


! There's supposed to be a decent Spanish Deli in Chicago that I may try next time I make paella. Even with the cost of fuel these days, it still shouldn't be near as high as the same day shipping.

dan

Most volume commercial food service places buy Hormel brand thick cut bacon, its packed 15 Lbs per case and is packed in stack layers on parchment. Just good plain bacon, nothing on it nothing difficult. We save the fat for onion soup etc. no sugar, no powdered maple? Seems as thougth everyone trying to make an easy thing hard

I bake bacon anytime I need a large quantity. My baked beans recipe uses 1 pound of bacon per 48oz jar of cooked great northern beans so a big BBQ party takes 3-5 pounds at once.

No maple here either, but we do a simple cure to make our own bacon, some people find it a little strong for their taste but it's great for adding flavour to salads, sauces, etc...

Cure
1 part brown sugar
2 parts salt
juniper berries
black peppercorns
star anise

Grind the spices in a mortar, then mix with the salt and sugar. Apply a liberal coating to both sides of a bit of slab of pork belly or loin - the belly makes a pancetta style, whereas the loin can be sliced into rashers for eating.
Seal into a container and leave in the fridge, every 24 hours drain the container and refresh the dry rub...belly will be done in 4 days, loin in 5-6 depending on thickness.
Wash the remaining cure off and soak in brine for 4 hours to even the cure out a little, then dry the outside and chill until ready to use.

I never have seasoned the bacon I've cooked. But the idea of rosemary-seasoned bacon sounds great for some things. I know how much I like prosciutto flavored with juniper berries, and I think rosemary would do a similar thing to bacon. At any rate, I gotta try it!

I buy the Hormel laid out bacon for the rectory gig.....6 staff can go through a ton for sandwiches, it freezes well and needs no tending as it bakes.

But for catering I use slab Nuetske.

Personal use, I have a buddy cure the jowls and bellies of pigs I butcher....he's got a killer Chinese bacon, the maple & honey are ok just not as great as the Chinese version.....finished off the last 2" in fried rice last night and trimmed up the maple for potato casserole today.
Carbs R US weekend.

Didn't anyone try my post about lightly flouring bacon before baking?  Would love to hear comments.

I’m just a plain ole’ home maker; I cook my bacon on a half sheet pan lined with tin foil (parchment paper is more expensive) in an electric home oven. 

I don’t put a rack in it, just lay the strips down.  The reason being is that I really don’t want to clean that rack. 

Once the meat is cooked, I transfer it to a paper towel lined plate and put it on the table. 

After the pan has cooked, I pour some of the grease into a jar that I keep in the ‘frig for later use (fried or scrambled eggs, home fries, yum!). 

Then I carefully fold up the foil with any remaining oil and put it in a coffee can that I save under the sink for any cooking oils that are used up; deposit the lot in the trash. 

Piggy heaven!

Try using some scrunched up foil to raise the bacon up a bit over the foil lined pan.

Just about ervery food service outlet cooks bacon in oven. It comes sliced, either regular or heavy on stacked parchment paper  15 pounds per case. Just remove from case and place 2 parchments on a full sheet pan or 1 on a half sheet  and cook. Saves a lot of time and labor.

I always grill (broil) my bacon.  It has to Ayrshire smoked (or, at a push, Wiltshire) and sliced thinly.

My maternal great grandfather who was from Denmark, would call thinly sliced bacon “shadow bacon”.  He liked to buy the slabs and cut it himself.  He would make us kids BLT sammies with  fresh-straight-out-of-his-garden tomatoes and lettuces.  Man, I have no clue where he got his slabs from but boy howdy that was one the best sandwiches I think I have ever had.

I used to buy bacon ends at the market, because I'm mad cheap. You could get some really nice meaty bits to gnaw on that way.