I Tried the Viral Method for Getting Crispy Bacon and I Can’t Believe I Didn’t Know About It Sooner

I’ve always loved bacon. I’m a fan of everything from the flavor to its versatility, whether it’s on a breakfast plate, in a BLT sandwich, or on its own as a snack. I’ve gone through my own struggles in the kitchen attempting to cook truly crispy bacon, but recently I came upon a TikTok video by The Chopped Couple that detailed a simple hack for preparing perfectly crispy bacon while avoiding all of the pesky curling in the process. The secret? Just add flour. 

I gave it a shot, and even though I didn’t have the ingredients for a BLT on hand, I did have the makings for a delicious BEC sandwich instead.

Try the method: Oven-Baked Bacon with Flour

Preheat your oven to 400°F and prepare a large baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper. Next, using whichever cut of bacon you prefer, line the baking sheet with the strips of bacon side by side until the sheet is full. Once everything is laid out, grab some all-purpose flour and sprinkle it over top of each strip of bacon. 

The way this works is the flour absorbs some of the extra grease, which helps the strips hold their shape. This prevents the bacon from curling up on itself, resulting in an extra-crispy texture without sacrificing the juiciness. Plus, you avoid all of the splattering on the stovetop, so it’s a win-win.

Once ready, slide that baking sheet into the oven and bake for up to 20 minutes, or until the bacon has reached your preferred level of crispiness. And finally, remove the baking sheet from the oven and lay each strip out on a paper towel to let cool before eating in whichever way your beautiful heart desires. 

I’ve definitely cooked bacon in the oven before, but the addition of flour may be one of the easiest and cleanest ways to get perfectly crispy bacon, every single time. It makes preparing the rest of your meal a breeze because the bacon isn’t out on the stovetop spraying grease all over your new shirt or burning your skin. Instead, it’s in the oven where it’s safe in all of its juicy glory. 

1. Believe in the power of flour. I went into this method skeptical, so I may have been a little stingy on the flour application. After seeing the results, I’ve come to the conclusion that in this case, less is not more. Instead, more is more. More flour equals more crispy juicy goodness. 
2. Load the sheet. Don’t be afraid to put your strips of bacon right up beside each other when arranging on the baking sheet. It’s OK for the strips to touch each other because they will shrink in size while in the oven anyways. And just like we’ve learned from the previous tip above, more is more. 
3. Keep an eye on the timer. A quick Google search will tell you to cook your bacon at 400°F for about 20 minutes, but you’ll want to remember that everyone’s oven is different. To avoid having overly crispy bacon, you might want to keep an eye on your bacon during those last five minutes to make sure you get it to correctly match your taste preferences. 

Try the method: Oven-Baked Bacon with Flour

This article originally published on The Kitchn. Read it there: I Tried the Viral Method for Getting Crispy Bacon and I Can’t Believe I Didn’t Know About It Sooner