Chef Billy Parisi has shared his ‘best way’ to make bacon – and it doesn’t involve frying it in a pan. Work smarter, not harder.
Bacon takes centre stage in countless mouth-watering dishes, from the beloved BLT sarnie to a proper full English breakfast – yet many people still struggle to cook it to perfection.
Whilst frying in a pan with a splash of oil appears to be the go-to approach, classically trained chef Billy Parisi begs to differ. The culinary expert insisted that baking bacon is “hands down the best way” to achieve “delicious and crispy” results.
He maintained that “you will never make it any other way again” once you’ve given it a go. Billy revealed: “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.”
READ MORE: Stop boiling leeks and make them taste so much better with one chef’s easy tipREAD MORE: I made the famous three-ingredient pasta sauce recipe — it’s better after 1 change
This method works brilliantly for streaky bacon, though if you fancy using thick-cut rashers, simply tack on three to five minutes to your cooking duration. Preparing bacon in the oven could well be the ultimate technique for crafting this breakfast favourite.
Not only does it produce scrumptious, perfectly crisp strips that develop a lovely golden colour whilst maintaining their form rather than curling up in the pan, but it also creates far less chaos than the conventional hob approach.
The chef insisted there are two “important things” essential for baking bacon – greaseproof paper and a tray. Greaseproof paper won’t just help achieve that perfect crispness, but it’ll also aid the cooking process.
The two “best temperatures” for creating oven-baked bacon are 190C and 200C, ensuring your baking tray sits on the middle shelf whilst cooking. While it does take a good 25 minutes to bake in the oven, the chef insists that “it’s well worth it”.
READ MORE: Stop boiling cabbage when ‘game-changing’ method will ‘melt in your mouth’
He recommends cooking the bacon for 22 to 25 minutes at 190C, or for 18 to 22 minutes at 200C. With your baking tray lined with parchment paper, lay the bacon about half an inch apart from each other and bake for 22 to 25 minutes at 190C.
To “enhance the flavour” of the bacon, he suggests adding some cracked pepper on top before baking or drizzling a bit of maple syrup over it. Once cooked, don’t let the bacon sit in its own rendered fat, as it will turn soggy. Immediately remove it from the tray and place it on kitchen roll.