OXO wanted to find a way to make the crispiest bacon without all the fuss. After testing over 1,500 strips of bacon (we didn’t discriminate; we tested classic smoked bacon, thick-cut bacon, homemade bacon, turkey bacon, and Canadian bacon), we found that the key to crispiness is cooking the fat, but this can also lead to sogginess. So, how do you get the crispiest, tastiest bacon ever? Create an incline.
Cooking bacon on an inclined surface allows the fat to heat up, crisp up, and drip off. The run-off oil prevents the bacon from getting soggy because it’s not sitting in its own grease for a long period of time.
With the Microwave Bacon Crisper(Opens in a new window), you can achieve that perfect crisp in just a few minutes (and without the grease splatters). Here’s how it’s done:
1. Place up to 6 strips of bacon on the Crisper's surface. The Crisper has two orientations, inclined and flat. The flat orientation is ideal for less fatty bacon, like turkey bacon. The bacon should be horizontal on the Cripser, perpendicular to the grill lines.
2. Put a paper towel on top of the bacon. This helps with splattering, but also allows the bacon to cook more evenly since the paper towel absorbs some of the excess oil.
3. Cook the bacon in the microwave for 30-60 seconds per slice of bacon. Check on it part way through, and don’t go longer than 45 seconds per slice without checking. The reason we have this range is because some people like their bacon a little chewy, while others like it almost-burnt. Try out different times until you’ve reached bacon perfection.
5. When the bacon looks like it’s got a nice crisp to it, remove it from the microwave. (It's almost bacon time!)
Where Does All the Grease Go?
The covered grease reservoir collects the grease that runs off the bacon. We like to pour it into a Silicone Measuring Cup(Opens in a new window) while it cools since silicone has a high-heat resistance(Opens in a new window) and can withstand the hot grease. (And then freeze it and use scoops of the fat for cooking brussel sprouts or sauteing greens later, because why not?)
The Bacon Tester (Who Doesn't Even Eat Bacon)
Testing out a Microwave Bacon Crisper is probably a dream for many, but ironically, OXO product manager Ilana had never eaten bacon before, and still hasn’t! It took her about 72 slices to realize what the optimal crispiness is, not by tasting it but by touching, snapping, and checking the pliability—and then we tested 1,500 more just to be sure. It meant one shirt ruined by bacon grease, "you smell like bacon" comments from strangers in the elevator hours after testing, and countless showers immediately after work. With all that, Ilana was able to verify the formula for ideal bacon crispiness with the help of some bacon-hungry people around the office, and we’re proud to say not one piece of bacon was wasted throughout this process.