Common Mistakes When Preparing Bacon (and How to Avoid Them)

Oh, bacon. When prepared properly, it’s oh so fatty and flavorful, juicy and crispy, wonderfully salty and insanely delicious paired with something sweet (pancakes with bacon and syrup = life). It may seem simple to fix, but believe me, you can get it seriously wrong.

What can go wrong? Well, quite a lot. Here I’ve listed the most common mistakes for you:

Mistake 1: you’re using the wrong pan

A non-stick pan? Totally unnecessary. Bacon already releases so much fat of its own that you don’t need a non-stick coating. An aluminum pan, then? No, not that either. They’re often thin and heat up very quickly, causing the bacon to burn in no time. A cast-iron pan is what you want to use. It distributes the heat evenly, and the bacon fat creates a nice “non-stick layer” for next time. Nice! Win-win. Don’t have a cast-iron pan? Set the heat to low to medium and move your pan regularly so your bacon cooks evenly all over.

Mistake 2: you start with a hot pan

Preheating your pan? DO. NOT. DO. IT. Your bacon will immediately shrink and trap all the solidified fat inside. Precisely what you don’t want. Instead, place your bacon in a cold pan and let it gradually heat up. As the pan warms, the bacon fat liquefies, which is exactly what then makes it so deliciously crispy.

Mistake 3: you don’t cook it long enough

Okay, this is somewhat dependent on personal taste. Some people simply like their bacon well done and crispy, while others prefer it a little juicier. But if you’re on team crispy, make sure you take enough time—as described in tip 2.

Mistake 4: you add too much salt

Rookie mistake: forgetting how salty bacon already is and adding extra salt. There goes your meatloaf and baked beans. Like taking a sip of seawater: not fun. So go easy on the salt; you can always add more later.

Mistake 5: you put it in the microwave

Yes, I’ve been guilty of this myself, but honestly: it’s simply an insult to the pig. Your bacon will turn out like rubber. Such a waste. If you’ve run out of space on the stovetop, bake it in the oven at 200 degrees. It takes a little longer, but tastes much better.

Also read:

• Do: Save Bacon Fat
• Recipe: Sugar Bread French Toast with Bacon
• Bacon Backstage: What Do Artists Eat on the Road?