Cook Bacon in the Microwave

If you love crunchy, crispy bacon, you'll be glad to know that there is a quick way to cook bacon without making a greasy mess. Just be sure to cook enough of it though, because you'll want to go back for more!

Steps

Paper towel method

  1. Prepare a microwave-safe dish, preferably glass or Pyrex. Place several layers of paper towels over the dish. The paper towels will absorb all the bacon grease, leaving a mess-free kitchen, which means no dirty dishes to wash.
  2. Lay up to six uncooked bacon strips across the paper towels. Don't overlap them, or the bacon won't cook evenly.
  3. Place a layer of paper towels over the top of the bacon strips.[1] This will prevent splattering grease from creating a mess in your microwave.
  4. Cook the bacon. Heat the bacon in the microwave for approximately 3 minutes on the highest setting, or 30 seconds per slice. Note that the time may vary by microwave and according to the amount of bacon cooking.
  5. Drain the bacon. Remove the bacon from the plate and place on a paper towel to absorb any excess grease.
    • Allow it to sit for about 1 minute to cool.
    • Remove the bacon from the paper towels promptly or it will stick, leaving pieces of paper towel on the bacon.
  6. Eat the bacon. Bacon cooked this way is crispy and delicious, and it won't have as much fat as pan-fried bacon, so it's actually healthier. Enjoy the crisp bacon with your eggs or pancakes, in a toasted bacon and tomato sandwich, or as a snack.

Microwave Bowl Method

  1. Place a microwave-safe bowl on a microwave-safe plate. In this method, the bacon is draped over the side of the bowl. As it cooks, grease runs down into the bowl and onto the plate below for easy cleanup.
  2. Hang slices of bacon over the rim of the bowl. Place as many slices of bacon as you want around the rim of the bowl. If you don't want the bacon sticking together, keep gaps between the pieces; otherwise, don't worry about it.
  3. Cook the bacon. Place the bacon-draped bowl into the microwave. Cook the bacon on the highest setting for about 90 seconds per slice. If you're cooking a full pound of bacon, it may take up to 15 minutes.
    • To avoid splattering the microwave with grease, you can lightly cover the bacon with a few paper towels.
    • Rotate the microwave plate at 10 minutes. This will ensure even cooking of the bacon. Or, if you don't like your bacon crisp, take it out at this point. Be careful! The plate is hot and the hot grease has dripped onto it.
    • Keep checking the crispness to see if it's to your liking.
  4. Remove the bacon from the microwave. You may need to use an oven mitt, as the bowl and plate will be hot. Carefully take it from the microwave and put it down on a heat-safe surface. Use tongs to take the bacon slices off the bowl and lay them out flat on a paper towel.
    • If you let the bacon slices cool on the bowl, they will form a "U" shape for serving.
    • Be very careful not to spill the bacon grease as you remove the plate from the microwave.
  5. Save the grease. If you want, the grease can be saved for cooking. Either pour the grease into a storage container straight from the plate, or place it in the fridge (as shown here) and allow it to harden with cooling and scrape off. It makes fried eggs very tasty!
    • Dispose of the fat if you don't want to use it for cooking.
    • Be very careful handling the bowl and plate, as they're extremely hot.


Tips

  • Check on your bacon a few times so that it cooks correctly.
  • If you have a bacon setting on your microwave, use it.
  • For a true "no clean-up" cooking, follow the "paper towel" method, but instead of using a glass dish, use one or two paper plates instead (*paper*, not foam or plastic, it will melt) - to really keep things clean, place an upside-down paper plate over the paper towels creating a "shell" over the bacon. When done, remove the bacon, and toss the rest - just be careful as the grease will still be very hot.
  • Keep a close eye on the bacon as it cooks. It heats quickly and you may need to stop the microwave before the time is up.
  • Make sure the bowl you are using can resist hot temperatures otherwise it will break.
  • If left too long the bacon will get too crisp, but it is still delicious.
  • If the bacon seems too chewy, you haven't cooked it for long enough.
  • You can open the microwave to check on your bacon without worrying about 'letting the heat out'. When the microwave oven is turned on it will instantly get hot.
  • To make the bacon more crisp, cook for the initial period (usually 3 minutes), and then let it sit for several minutes to allow the grease to cool briefly. Then cook again for a minute or however long needed/desired - giving it a moment to "rest" keeps it from cooking too quickly and gives some of the grease time to absorb into the paper towels in between cooking sessions.

Warnings

  • Use oven mitts to handle hot plates. Use common sense when eating hot food.

Things You'll Need

  • Microwave-safe dish (or bowl and saucer for method two)
  • Paper towels
  • Microwave
  • Bacon

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.thekitchn.com/three-ways-to-cook-bacon-96372
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