January 16, 2008

Microwave Bacon Rocks!

I'm a crunchy bacon person, and I'm telling you, there is probably no better way to cook brainlessly easy, perfectly crisp and crunchy bacon, than to cook it in the microwave. I don't consider myself a microwave cook, I don't use the microwave for anything really, other than to reheat food- oh, and melt chocolate. I do use it for that. But I absolutely love it for bacon!
When you use a skillet, there are always places that are softer than others. Baking bacon in an oven is a fairly standard way to make large quantities of bacon, and actually, if you want to keep the bacon grease, I would recommend it. It's super simple, you put your bacon strips on a half-sheet pan, and bake it in the oven until the desired doneness is achieved. However, for breakfast bacon quick, easy and relatively mess free in the morning, the microwave is the way to go.
I use a microwave plate thingie that I don't even know how I ended up with it, but it works beautifully. I've also used a regular plate with satisfactory results, so no specialty equipment is required. So here is a step-by-step to make perfect microwave bacon.

Step 1: Choose your plate

Step 2: Place a paper towel, then bacon on the plate

It doesn't matter if your bacon overlaps a bit, as shown here in the photo. Too much overlapping and they might start to stick together, but this is fine.

Step 3: Fold the edges of the paper towel up and over

The biggest hazard, in my opinion, of cooking bacon in the microwave is the potential for bacon grease dripping all over your turntable. However, folding the edges of the paper towel up and over, as shown, doesn't allow the greasy paper towel to touch the turntable at all, and so voila! No greasy mess.

Step 4: Place a paper towel over the bacon and tuck under the edges

You want the top paper towel to be tucked under the bacon and lower paper towel as the weight will keep it in place, and again, no hanging edges or grease mess.

Step 5: Cook by increments. This is after 2 minutes

If your microwave is über powerful, you might want to cook by 1 minute intervals. Some people like to eat their bacon in this limp, floppy format. However, if this gives you the heebies, press on!

After 4 minutes


After 6 minutes

For me, this is almost perfect. One more minute I think...

After 7 minutes

Ah, crunchy bacon perfection. Let the bacon sit for a minute- it gets crunchier as it sets, and if the paper has stuck to it for any reason, it will come off as it cools. Remove the bacon and throw out the paper towels. That's all there is to it! The best part is, you get bacon quickly, and no messy microwave. Enjoy!

No comments: