Does Cooking Bacon in the Oven Splatter?

Bacon is a breakfast staple in many households. The salty, savory meat pairs perfectly with eggs, pancakes, waffles, and more. However, cooking bacon on the stovetop can be messy and splattery. Grease pops everywhere, coating your stovetop, backsplash, and clothes in little grease spots. Oven-baking bacon is growing in popularity as an alternative. But does cooking bacon in the oven splatter like stovetop cooking does?

Why Bake Bacon in the Oven?

There are a few key benefits to cooking your bacon in the oven rather than the stovetop

• No splatter. When bacon is cooked in the oven, it does not pop or splatter grease. The thick oven walls contain all the grease so you avoid a messy cleanup.

• Even cooking. Bacon cooked in the oven is less likely to burn. The hot air surrounds each slice evenly, resulting in uniform doneness.

• Cooks more at once A rimmed baking sheet fits far more bacon than a skillet Making breakfast for a crowd? Bake a couple pans of bacon in the oven.

• Frees up stovetop space. With the bacon in the oven you can use all your stove burners for cooking eggs pancakes, etc.

How to Bake Bacon to Avoid Splatter

Follow these steps for splatter-free oven bacon:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. The rim prevents grease from spilling over.

• Arrange bacon slices in a single layer on the sheet, making sure not to overlap. Overlap can prevent even cooking.

• Bake for 8-12 minutes, then flip each slice. Return to oven for another 8-12 minutes, until crispy. Watch closely so it doesn’t burn.

• Transfer cooked bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to absorb grease.

Tips to Prevent Oven Bacon Splatter

• Use a rimmed baking sheet. The raised edges prevent grease from bubbling over onto the bottom of your oven.

• Don’t overcrowd. Allow space between each slice or the bacon will steam instead of crisping.

• Line with foil or parchment. This makes cleanup much easier and contains grease.

• Adjust cook time as needed. Ovens vary, so keep an eye on doneness.

• Let it cool before removing. Grease is less likely to spill if cooled slightly.

Does Oven Bacon Splatter At All?

While oven bacon is far less messy than stovetop, it can still splatter a minimal amount in certain scenarios:

• If slices are crowded too closely together, the bubbling grease has nowhere to go and may boil over the edges.

• really cheap, thin bacon tends to pop more than higher quality thick bacon.

• Opening the oven door midway through cooking can cause some splattering as steam releases.

• Bacon placed directly on the oven rack (no sheet pan) allows more grease to hit oven surfaces.

Overall, when using the proper baking pan and technique, oven splatter is minimal to none. The worst mess is generally some grease pooled on the lined baking sheet.

Should You Use a Cooling Rack?

Some recipes suggest placing a wire cooling rack inside the baking sheet, then laying bacon on the rack. In theory, this allows grease to drip down between wires rather than pooling around bacon. However, testing shows the rack is unnecessary for avoiding splatter. Plus, it reduces pan space, makes flipping bacon tricky, and does not improve crispness or taste.

Is Oven Bacon Healthier?

Unfortunately, no – bacon cooked in the oven retains the same amount of fat and calories as stovetop bacon. However, using a rack inside the pan allows some grease to drain away, resulting in slightly less fatty bacon. Just keep in mind it’s still a high fat food.

Oven Bacon Tips from Reddit

The cooking forum Reddit has lots of useful input from home cooks who frequently bake bacon. Here are some of their top oven bacon tips:

• “I cook thick bacon at 375F – thinner bacon at 400F. Lower temp = less curling.”

• “20 minutes at 375F, rotating pan at 10 min. Perfect every time.”

• “I put a couple sheets of paper towel under the bacon to soak up extra grease.”

• “Try seasoning the bacon before baking – brown sugar, maple, pepper…takes it to the next level.”

• “Add a couple tbs water to the pan – makes it come out flat, not curled.”

Is It Worth Making Oven Bacon?

For most home cooks, yes – baking bacon in the oven is an easy way to get perfect results every time. The minor effort of lining a pan prevents a mountain of messy cleanup later. No more scrambling to protect clothing and surfaces from popping grease!

Oven-cooked bacon tastes identical to stovetop and makes an effortless, splatter-free breakfast. Once you try baking crispy, evenly-cooked bacon with no messy cleanup, the stovetop method may be retired forever. Give it a shot next time – you may never go back!