What do bacon and flowers have in common? Well, nothing, really. But before I show how to bake bacon in the oven I just have to share what is blooming in my garden this week. Last week was lilacs and now we have some purple iris. We have lived in our house for thirteen years and I have divided and moved the iris several times over the years. Now we have dozens and dozens of these purple and blue flowers all over.

Iris are exquisite.

Iris

iris closeup

We also have some False Blue Indigo behind the garage overlooking the vegetable garden.

False Blue Indigo

And the Columbine have emerged and bloom proudly in the shady part of the back yard.

Columbine

Along with our flowers are three raised beds where we planted a square foot garden. The strawberries are in their own free form part of one bed. I spied some fruit forming under the bright green leaves. So exciting!

strawberries

Strawberries in hands

Total non-sequitur alert!

How To Bake Bacon In the Oven

 

Prior to going paleo I really did not cook bacon very often. Bacon was a forbidden food and thus there was no need to learn to cook it since I ate “healthy”. Well, times have changed haven’t they? I firmly believe it is possible for bacon to be part of a healthful diet but with some caveats. And I admit to having grown weary of the constant references to bacon on social media. How many bacon memes do we need? You like bacon. You LOVE bacon. Well, that’s great for you. I like it too. But I really don’t need to hear about it ad nauseum. But maybe that’s just me.

Well this one’s okay…

eitheryoulikebaconsmoke_fullpic

Bacon is a part of my diet but it’s not an everyday food. If you are eating bacon on a regular basis you really should try to buy from a source that is organic, humanely raised, free of GMO feed, antibiotics and hormones. When I buy conventionally produced bacon I only buy the nitrate/nitrite free variety. (Applegate Farms is one brand we buy.)

Baking Bacon in the Oven

Step 1 – Buy high quality bacon! Here’s an online source if you can’t find it locally.

Step 2 – Lay the bacon out on either 1) a sheet pan covered in aluminum foil or 2) a wire rack placed over a sheet pan covered in aluminum foil (optional for the foil as I discovered when I realized I was out of foil and it only made the cleanup slightly more of a process.)

How to bake bacon in the oven paleo

Step 3 – Place the pan in a COLD OVEN. Do NOT preheat the oven.

How to Bake Bacon in the Oven

Step 4 – Turn the oven on to 400 degrees F and set your timer to 20 minutes.

how to bake bacon in the oven

Step 5 – Check the bacon after 20 minutes to see if it is done. The doneness will depend on how thick the bacon is cut and your personal preference. Ours took 25 minutes to get to this very crispy (perfect IMHO!) state.

how to bake bacon in the oven

Step 6 – Enjoy your baked bacon!

I love how the wire rack allows the bacon to get crispy and not sit in its own fat. Speaking of fat, if your bacon is of high quality I highly recommend you save the drippings for future use. You can pour it directly into a glass container to be placed in the refrigerator or strain it through cheesecloth to ensure you get out all the little bacon bits.

Well, that’s it. That’s how we bake bacon in the oven. It is very simple and a much cleaner process than frying it on the stovetop.

Thanks for stopping by!

Let me know what you think. Do you eat bacon often? Do you ensure it is organic, etc… or do you throw caution to the wind and enjoy it no matter what?

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