I'm Cooking Bacon Wrong! And a Newfangled Way to Hard Boil Eggs!

After all these years of cooking bacon, I've learned that I'm making a big mistake! Plus, there's a super easy way to cook just a few slices without all the mess and cleanup.

I've been cooking my bacon in the oven for a long time. Nothing new about that. But what I didn't know is that the oven should be cold when you slide in the bacon. Apparently, as the temperature increases, it begins to render the fat. So for your education (and mine!) I tried it out.

You do need to use a pan with a lip so the grease won't spill over. And using the biggest pan you have is also a good idea. I lined the pan with a piece of parchment paper. Here's how it looked raw.

I set the temperature to 400 degrees and set the timer for 20 minutes. Now, please note that the time may vary depending on how long it takes your oven to heat up. My oven preheats for about 8 minutes and then it cooked for 20 minutes, a total of almost half an hour.

And here's how it looked when I took it out. It was still a little bit flexible but cooked through completely. I suspect it might have crisped more if I had left it in a few more minutes.

But let's say you only need three or four slices of bacon. No one wants to get the pan dirty for that. Right? So use the microwave. No fancy equipment is needed and the slices come out so straight you won't believe it.

Place the bacon on top of two paper towels. Don't crowd it. Then place two more paper towels on top.

Microwave on high for 3 minutes. This is how they looked when I took them out. It's worth noting that the paper towels greedily drank almost all the grease. And it was so crisp that it snapped! Of course, I taste tested it for you. It would have been fabulous in a sandwich or crumbled in a dish.

Here's the comparison of the two methods for you. The two slices on the left were microwaved and the three slices on the right were baked in the oven. They came from the same package of bacon. There were two main differences. The microwaved bacon was super crispy. The oven-baked bacon had much more grease on it.

For years I have been putting a rack in the pan and placing the bacon on the rack to bake. The hassle, of course, is washing the rack. But it might be worth doing so the grease can drip down.

In a nutshell:

Microwave 3-4 slices of bacon:
Place 2 sheets of paper towels on a plate. Place the bacon on top. Cover it with 2 more paper towels. Microwave on high for 3 minutes.

Bake a large quantity of bacon:
Line a lipped baking tray with parchment paper. (You may use a rack here if you wish.) Place the bacon slices on top. Do not crowd. Place in a COLD oven. Set oven to 400 degrees. Bake for preheat time plus 20 minutes.

About those eggs . . .

I promised a newfangled way to cook hard-boiled eggs. And just in time for Easter! The Instant Pot. No kidding. This is the easiest way ever to cook hard-boiled eggs.

Pour 1/2 cup water in the Instant Pot and place the rack inside, feet down.
Add 1 to 12 eggs.
Place the top on it and set the vent so that it is sealed.
Set to pressure cook for 6 minutes.
Prepare a bowl of ice water.
Allow to sit for 5 minutes after the pressure cooker turns off.
Turn the vent so excess steam comes out.
Open and place the eggs in the ice water.

Tada! They peel perfectly and took almost no time to cook. I cooked large eggs. If you have extra large eggs, you may want to cook them for 7 minutes.

Ready for deviled eggs, salad, or to pop into a lunch box!

Coming April 30th