How to Order Bacon at a Restaurant for Perfectly Cooked, Crispy Results

No meat has as many devoted fans as bacon does. People all over the world are passionate about the pork product because it has a very savory taste, is very salty, and crisps up perfectly. The fact that bacon is still so popular with customers doesn’t come as a surprise when you consider how many dishes restaurants serve with it. The National Pork Board (via Meat & Poultry) says that about 20% of all restaurants in the United States serve bacon in some form, and that number doesn’t seem like it will go down any time soon.

But since bacon is so easy to find in stores, why would we pay someone to make it for us? Why not save your bacon-eating for home and order something you wouldn’t normally eat in a restaurant instead? Because restaurant bacon is so freaking delicious, that’s why. There are a lot of creative ways that restaurant chefs can cook bacon that we would never think of. They also have access to types of bacon that are harder to find in groceries. Well let you in on some insider tips that will help you figure out why bacon tastes so good in restaurants.

As a bacon lover, getting just the right crispiness when dining out can be a challenge. Chewy, limp bacon is disappointingly common at restaurants. But with the right approach, you can increase your chances of being served shatteringly crisp, flavorful bacon worthy of your cravings.

Why Bacon Gets Ruined at Restaurants

To understand how to get better bacon it helps to know how restaurants typically cook it

Bacon is prepped in big batches – either baked in the oven or pan-fried. This parcooks the bacon, but leaves it pliable and fatty.
When orders come in, the parcooked bacon is finished on a hot grill or griddle These high heats are meant for quick searing, not slow crisping
With other orders stacking up, bacon often gets neglected on the hot cook surface and ends up underdone and limp. Or worse, it burns from sitting too long. There’s a very narrow window for perfect crispness.
Thinner bacon crisps up fastest, but also burns easiest. Thick butcher-cut bacon holds up better, but takes longer to crisp.
Simply asking for “crispy bacon” yields inconsistent results since cooks are pressured for speed, not finesse.

So how can you overcome these obstacles to get crunchy bacon bliss? Read on for tips.

How to Order Crispy Bacon at Restaurants

With the right approach, you can coax even bacon-mangling restaurants into serving properly crisped bacon more often:

Ask politely for “very crispy,” or “well done” bacon. Say you don’t mind waiting a little longer for it to cook. This clues cooks you want crispy, not burnt.
For breakfast, request “extra crispy” bacon with eggs and toast. The moisture from other items helps prevent burning.
On a burger or sandwich, ask for “crispy” bacon instead of regular bacon. Short cook times compliment sandwich assembly.
Seek out thick-cut or slab bacon. The heft makes it harder to overcook and butter burn.
Request a deep fry finish if available. A brief swim in hot oil crisps bacon all over without burning. But not all kitchens will accommodate this.
If bacon arrives underdone, politely ask for it to be cooked longer until crisp. Offer to wait while they redo it.
Tip generously when cooked right, and compliment the kitchen. Positive feedback encourages extra effort next time.
Keep trying new restaurants until you find ones that nail the crispy bacon every time.
As a last resort, bring your own bacon and ask for a discount on the dish. Some chefs may prepare customer-provided ingredients.

Other Ways to Get Perfect Crispy Bacon

If you can’t get restaurants to deliver, it’s best to take bacon cooking into your own hands:

Cook slow and low in a heavy pan over medium-low heat. Be patient and flip frequently for even crisping.
Bake on a wire rack in a 375°F oven until browned and rigid. The ambient air dries bacon thoroughly.
Microwave between paper towels in 30 second bursts. The towels wick away grease for crisper results.
Pan fry thick bacon in a bit of oil. The oil helps conduct gentle, constant heat.
Boil briefly then dry on paper towels. The water steams the bacon and renders fat before crisping.
Coat raw bacon in brown sugar before cooking. The molasses accelerates browning.

Tips for Eating Crispy Bacon Politely at Restaurants

Crisp bacon may be irresistible, but mind your manners while indulging:

Allow bacon to cool slightly before eating to avoid burnt fingers and tongues.
Cut or break bacon into bite-sized pieces with your cutlery. Eat smaller pieces with your fingers.
Crumbs are inevitable with crisp bacon. Use your napkin to tidy up frequently.
Avoid talking with your mouth full. Crispy bacon noise can wait until after chewing and swallowing.
Cut remaining bacon on your plate into pieces before excusing yourself from the table.
Never use your fingers to pick up and eat the last remaining long strip of bacon. Always cut it.
Bacon grease on your fingers is usually ok at casual eateries. But wipe fingers before touching anything else.
At upscale restaurants, avoid eating any bacon with fingers. Use a knife and fork for the entire piece.

With the right etiquette, you can avoid disapproving glares while relishing every delicious crisp and crumble.

Bacon Doneness Reference Guide

Here’s a visual guide to what properly cooked bacon should look like:

Undercooked bacon is bright pink, slimy, limp, and fatty.
Ideal crispy bacon is mahogany brown throughout, dry to the touch, and stiff as a board.
Perfectly baked bacon is golden brown but with a little pink left inside and lightly pliable, not stiff.
Overcooked bacon is charred very dark brown or blackened in spots and may taste burnt.

Why Getting Crispy Bacon Right Matters

For true bacon enthusiasts, getting crispy yet perfectly cooked bacon is no mere preference – it’s an obsession. Here’s why it’s worth pursuing:

Ultra crispy bacon becomes almost like a savory seasoning, distributing bacon essence throughout each bite.
The satisfying crunch factor stimulates your senses and kicks any dish up a notch.
Uniform crispiness means every bite contains the same bacon joy, not random chewy pieces.
Brings out the subtle smokehouse nuances instead of just greasy saltiness.
Allows the bacon to fully brown and caramelize for incredibly deep, complex bacon flavor.
Maximizes the textural contrast between crisp bacon and other soft components.
Minimizes the need for undesirable chewing of fatty, rubbery bacon.

For serious bacon junkies, nothing short of shatteringly crisp strips will do. With persistence and understanding of how restaurants cook, you can cut through the pork fat and achieve bacon bliss when dining out. Don’t be shy about kindly requesting – and re-requesting if needed – crispy bacon cooked to perfection. Your taste buds will thank you.

how to order bacon at a restaurant

It all starts with quality bacon

In restaurants, bacon is one of the best things about food because the chefs are looking at it much more carefully than you are. Chefs know that price and use-by date don’t tell you everything you need to know about the quality of their bacon. They also look at things like how it was cured and what spices were used, as well as the diet and welfare of the animals that were used. All of these things can have a big effect on the quality.

Chefs dont just look at bacon and decide its okay, either; they use all their senses. “When you get the package of bacon, you have to smell it. If it smells like bacon — you know what Im talking about? — but not overly smoky, then you have a good product,” Vickys Diner owner Vasiliki “Vicky” Limberis tells MyRecipes. As Limberis points out, the smell of the bacon has a big impact on its overall flavor. “Ive worked some places where you smell the bacon and it smells like nothing. And then when its cooked, it tastes like nothing, too. So sad.” While you cant exactly peel open packages in your supermarket and check their scent, it can be useful to buy your bacon from a butcher. There, youll be able to check it out a bit more rigorously and ask more questions about where its from.

Chefs often use a grill press

A hallmark of well-cooked bacon is an even brownness and crispiness across each slice. Unless youre standing over your skillet constantly pressing each piece down with your spatula, that can be hard to achieve — particularly because bacon has a knack for curling once it hits the heat, pulling part of the meat away from the hot surface. This is why restaurant chefs often employ a grill press to cook their bacon. Todd Ginsburg, the chef behind the deli concept The General Muir, tells Thrillist that he places these metal presses over each slice of bacon while hes cooking, and doing so develops a consistent color and keeps each piece flat.

Using a grill press is also a fantastic way to reduce bacon splatter. The fat can’t come out at you because of the press. Instead, it has to go out on either side of the bacon. The flatness you achieve with a grill press isnt just aesthetic, easier. When you cut bacon into pieces or chop it up, flat bacon is much easier to work with because it slices more evenly. This is true whether the bacon is whole or chopped. To make bacon, you don’t need a grill press. Just put your bacon on something heavy, flat, and heatproof. Just be sure to wrap the object tightly in foil first, and don’t use anything that you don’t mind getting a little fat.