I Tried the Viral Method for Getting Crispy Bacon and I Can’t Believe I Didn’t Know About It Sooner

I’ve always loved bacon. I’m a fan of everything from the flavor to its versatility in cooking and beyond. Whether it’s on a breakfast plate, in a BLT sandwich, or on its own as a snack, I will always champion bacon like it is my own son. The sizzle alone, as it heats up on the pan in the morning, is like music to my ears — and the smell is enough to make anybody’s mouth salivate. But perhaps the best part is that first crispy bite, and just how good it feels to get bacon cooked just right. 

We’ve all gone through our struggles in the kitchen when attempting to cook bacon, and recently after stumbling upon a TikTok video by The Chopped Couple, I realized that I had been doing it wrong my entire life. The video details a simple hack for preparing perfectly crispy bacon for BLT sandwiches while avoiding all of the pesky curling in the process. The secret? Just add flour. 

Obviously, I had to give this a shot, and even though I didn’t have the ingredients for a BLT on hand, I did have the makings for a delicious BEC sandwich instead.

Try the method: Oven-Baked Bacon with Flour

Preheat your oven to 400°F and prepare a large baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper. Next, using whichever cut of bacon you prefer, line the baking sheet with the strips of bacon side by side until the sheet is full. Once everything is laid out, grab some all-purpose flour and sprinkle it over top of each strip of bacon. 

The way this works is the flour absorbs some of the extra grease, which helps the strips hold their shape. This prevents the bacon from curling up on itself, resulting in an extra-crispy texture without sacrificing the juiciness. Plus, you avoid all of the splattering on the stovetop, so it’s a win-win.

Once ready, slide that baking sheet into the oven and bake for up to 20 minutes, or until the bacon has reached your preferred level of crispiness. And finally, remove the baking sheet from the oven and lay each strip out on a paper towel to let cool before eating in whichever way your beautiful heart desires. 

I’m seriously not sure how I’ve lived through 35 years of my life without hearing about this method. I’ve definitely cooked bacon in the oven before, but the addition of flour has literally blown my mind. Now, I’m not saying that this is the best way to prepare bacon, but it truly is the easiest and cleanest way to get perfectly crispy bacon, every single time.

It also makes preparing the rest of your meal a breeze because the bacon isn’t out on the stovetop spraying grease all over your new shirt or burning your skin. Instead, it’s in the oven where it’s safe in all of its juicy glory. 

1. Believe in the power of flour. I went into this method skeptical, so I may have been a little stingy on the flour application. After seeing the results, I’ve come to the conclusion that in this case, less is not more. Instead, more is more. More flour equals more crispy juicy goodness. 
2. Load the sheet. Don’t be afraid to put your strips of bacon right up beside each other when arranging on the baking sheet. It’s OK for the strips to touch each other because they will shrink in size while in the oven anyways. And just like we’ve learned from the previous tip above, more is more. 
3. Keep an eye on the timer. A quick Google search will tell you to cook your bacon at 400°F for about 20 minutes, but you’ll want to remember that everyone’s oven is different. To avoid having overly crispy bacon, you might want to keep an eye on your bacon during those last five minutes to make sure you get it to correctly match your taste preferences. 

Try the method: Oven-Baked Bacon with Flour