I Baked Bacon 4 Different Ways To Find Out Which Hack Turns Out the Crispiest Bacon Ever

Was anyone else raised in a household that would go through five pounds of bacon in two days? Let me preface this with saying that I was the only child during this time, so having multiple mouths to feed couldn’t even justify this usage. My mother just loved bacon, and it was always in the house. So naturally, I've become an expert at pan frying it, and even microwaving it. I didn’t start using the method of baking until I was in college, and thank goodness because it saves me so much time and energy. I also do not have to worry about bacon grease burning my skin. 

Although the oven is a convenient way to cook bacon, I was always told it would not be as crispy as frying it in a pan. The crispness of bacon is super important. You expect that texture when eating it with pancakes or even on a BLT. One deli I worked at took it to the next level and would deep fry the bacon for its famous BLT sandwiches. Well, move over deep fryer, because I am here to defend the use of an oven.

We've seen claims to the crispiest baked bacon thanks to hacks all over social media—like coating the bacon in flour, adding water to the baking pan, baking it on a rack, etc. So I decided to find out once and for all the absolute best way to get the crispiest bacon from the oven.

How I Tested the Best Method for Baking Bacon

I cooked four batches of bacon, each batch using a different baking method. The first is simply placing strips of bacon on a baking sheet. The next is placing the bacon on a baking rack. The third is adding some water to a pan and placing the bacon in the water during baking. The last was coating the bacon in flour before placing it on the baking sheet. Here's how they turned out.

The Best Way To Bake Bacon To Get It As Crispy As Possible

#4 Water In The Pan

The thought behind this method is that adding water to the pan will create steam in the oven that will help crisp the bacon. I added a bit of water to the sheet pan, just enough to coat the entire pan. I placed the bacon on the pan and baked it at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 to 25 minutes.

This was my least favorite method. The bacon did cook well and got crispy, but imagine placing a pan of water and bacon in an oven: It was nearly impossible to not make a mess. And it didn't result in bacon that was any crispier than the other methods I tried.

#3 Baking Sheet

Here you just simply place the bacon on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake it in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 to 25 minutes. 

This method also created some crispiness but, leaving the bacon in it's oil can create a chewier texture rather than leaving the bacon exclusively crispy.

#2 Baking Rack

With this method, you add a wire baking rack to a sheet pan and place the bacon directly on the rack and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. This allows the hot air to circulate around the bacon, which should in theory give the bacon a more even crispiness.

This method alleviated the bacon from rendering in it's own fat for too long. This made sure that it was crispy without being too grease-logged.

#1 Adding Flour

This method is the most recent bacon hack I've seen floating around social media. You take strips of bacon and place them on a baking sheet, then sprinkle all-purpose flour on top and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 to 25 minutes. 

I was surprised to find out how great this worked. The flour definitely helped to give the bacon a crispier texture and nicer color than the other methods I tried. Plus, it seems like the flour prevented the bacon from curling too much. The starch soaks up the grease from the bacon, helping it to stay rigid and maintain its shape.

Overall, I would say the flour method is the best way to get the crispiest oven-baked bacon and I'll definitely be using this hack again.