Can You Microwave Bacon?

When you stock bacon from your butcher, you may wonder how to prepare it quickly and produce the best results.

Microwaving may be the first thing you think about at this point. But can you microwave bacon?

Not all foodstuffs are microwavable, making the question important to answer and answer it right.

In this short article, we will find out if you can microwave bacon and the steps to follow to help you make an informed decision. Please read on to add to your kitchen knowledge.

Microwaving Bacon: A Step-By-Step Guide

If you love crunchy, crispy bacon, you’ll be glad to know there is a quick way to cook bacon without making a greasy mess. Ensure you prepare enough, though because you’ll be craving more if you aren’t satisfied with the quantity.

There are two main methods to cook bacon in the microwave: the paper towel method and the microwave bowl method. Each method is ideal for making super-delicious bacon that leaves you licking your fingers!

We’ll look at the two methods separately to help you choose the one that suits your interest.

Method #1: Cooking Bacon in the Microwave Through Paper Towel Method:

Get a microwave-safe dish ready

This should be a glass or a Pyrex container that’s microwave-safe. Place your dish on the table, then place some paper towels over it.

The paper towels will absorb all the grease from your bacon, leaving a dirty-free kitchen. You’ll have no worries about dirty dishes to wash after nuking.

Lay up to six raw bacon strips across the paper towels.

Don’t place them on top of each other. Rather, lay them up across the paper towels to allow even cooking.

Place a paper towel layer over the bacon strips.

This is critical in preventing splattering grease from creating a mess in your microwave. Ensure you cover your bacon completely with these paper towels to minimize the likelihood of a mess.

Cook your bacon.

It’s now time to cook your bacon in the microwave. Nuke it for about 3 minutes on the highest heat setting, or 30 seconds per slice.

Adjust the cooking time based on the number of bacon you’re cooking, as that may impact the cooking speed. The time your microwave will take may also vary from what mine takes to cook bacon.

Be a little keen to know whether you should add time or not.

Drain your bacon.

When your bacon is ready, get it from your microwave, then transfer it from the plate to a paper towel. The paper towel helps drain excess grease that may still be on your bacon.

Let your bacon sit for at least one minute to cool.

After cooling, remove your bacon from the paper towels to prevent it from sticking, and leave some pieces of paper towels on the bacon.

Enjoy your bacon.

Your bacon is now crispy and delicious. You’ll also notice that it has less fat than pan-fried bacon, so it’s healthier.

Eat your bacon with your eggs, or pancakes, in a toasted bacon and a tomato sandwich, or as a snack.

Method #2: Cooking Bacon in the Microwave Through Microwave Bowl Method

Place a microwave-safe bowl on a microwave-safe plate.

This method involves dropping your bacon over the side of the bowl.

As your bacon cooks, grease flows down into the bowl and onto the plate below to minimize the mess in your microwave.

Hang bacon pieces over the rim of your bowl.

You can place as many slices of bacon as you want around the rim of the bowl. But keep gaps between slices to prevent the bacon from sticking together.

Cook your bacon.

Carry your bacon-wrapped bowl into your microwave. Cook your bacon on the highest heat setting for 90 seconds per slice.

If you’re cooking a whole pound of bacon, it may take you up to 15 minutes.

Consider the following tips too:

Lightly cover your bacon with paper towels to avoid splattering the microwave with grease.
Rotate your microwave plate for 10 minutes to ensure the smooth cooking of your bacon. Take it out at this point if you don’t like it crisp. But be careful when doing it because the plate is hot, and grease has dipped into it.
Keep checking the crispness until it gets to your preferred state.

Take your bacon out of the microwave.

Remember, the bowl and plate are extremely hot. It’s therefore necessary to use an oven mitt. Take it carefully from the microwave-safe place.

Use tongs to take pieces of your bacon off the bowl and lay them out flat on a paper towel.

Here are additional tips to consider:

Let your bacon slices cool in the bowl to form a “U” shape for serving.
Remove your plate with extra caution not to spill the grease in the microwave.

Save the grease.

Saving the grease is a good way to preserve it for future use. If you want, you can save the grease during the cooking process of bacon in the microwave.

You can do it by:

Pouring the excess grease into a storage container straight from the plate.
Put it in the fridge for cooling, then scrape it off later.

Saved grease makes fried eggs very tasty!

But you may dispose of the fat if you don’t intend to use it for cooking. While doing this, remember to handle the bowl and plate carefully because they’re extremely hot.

What are the Pros and Cons of Microwaving Bacon?

Before deciding to cook your bacon in the microwave, it’s imperative to analyze the pros and cons of the procedure. In fact, taking a keen look into the pros and cons helps determine whether a method is worth your effort.

Pros:

Cooking the bacon in layers of paper towels helps to absorb all the fat, resulting in little or no mess in your microwave.
The cooking only takes a few minutes.
There’s less persistence of the lingering grease smell since your bacon cooks for less time, and the towels absorb the grease in it.

Despite these advantages, this method has its share of downfalls:

Cons:

It’s not the most eco-friendly method because it involves using a lot of paper towels. For this reason, you may consider purchasing a microwave bacon cooker. The cooker is made with biodegradable and natural wheat straw material that’s BPA-free, making it ideal for baking bacon, sausage, and veggie burgers.
Lack of consistent checking may lead to overcooking.
There’s no way to save any of the rendered bacon fat for future use.

Can You Microwave Bacon without Paper Towels?

Yes. You can cook bacon in the microwave without paper towels. You just need to cut open a natural brown paper grocery bag, spread it with the inside side up, and drain your bacon there.

Here is a quick guide to microwaving bacon without paper towels:

Lay your bacon strips side by side in a glass baking dish. Letting them overlap a bit is okay because they’ll shrink during cooking.
Place the dish into the microwave oven and set the power level at the half-power setting. While some microwaves are marked from 1-10, others are marked from 1-100%.
Nuke for 3 minutes at half power. The results may vary based on the thickness of your bacon and the power of your microwave.
Keep cooking at the half power setting for 90-second increments until your bacon starts browning. Remove the strips that may cook faster than the others from the dish. After removing, keep cooking at the half power setting in 60-second increments until your bacon is brown and crispy.
Remove your bacon from the fat with tongs. You can save your grease or discard it if you don’t want to.
Drain your bacon. Use the natural brown paper grocery bag to drain your bacon since you’re not using paper towels.

FAQs

How Can I Clean My Microwave After Spilling Grease When Cooking Bacon?

Spilling grease when cooking bacon in the microwave is likely to happen. That’s why you should be prepared to clean your microwave of spilled grease after microwaving bacon.

You just have to mix dish soap with warm water, and then you can scrub off the mess with a dish rag. You can then use another dry dish rag to dry your microwave.

Can You Defrost Bacon in The Microwave?

Yes, you can defrost bacon in the microwave. Defrosting is essential because frozen bacon takes longer and won’t cook evenly when you use it directly from the freezer.

If you try cooking frozen bacon, then the slices won’t cook evenly, and you won’t have a chance to get the bacon crispy.

Microwaving is the best way you can defrost bacon because the device distributes heat evenly, ensuring uniform thawing in all slices.

Bottom Line

It’s now clear that you can microwave bacon. This method produces tasty and crispy bacon within a short time, and hardly spreads grease to your microwave, easing cleaning up.

It’s however important to try the given methods and find out which works best for you.