The perfume of properly cooked bacon will lure the most stubborn teenager from their room and puts a smile on everybody. Bacon is possible the ultimate comfort food and adding just a smidgeon of salty, crispy goodness to a salad or any other dish will elevate it from run-of-the-mill to a finger-licking delight – so much so that many establishments starting cooking their fries in pork fat.
While bacon is a fairly easy dish to cook, there are enough subtleties that an entire industry has evolved around just how to make the perfect, crispiest bacon slice with the least amount of fuss and in the healthiest manner possible. I have certainly sunk a minor fortune in a variety of gadgets designed to deliver just that, and yet I still cannot do any better than my good old oven, though lately, my air-fryer has thrown down the gauntlet.
Most cooks will be hard-pressed to decide between the oven-grill and the trusty frying pan. Grilling bacon can yield a tougher, more leathery rasher while the frying pan usually delivers a superbly crispy morsel at the cost of layering the kitchen in a fine layer of oil.
Bacon cookers make your bacon healthier and easier to cook. The choice is an electric bacon cooker or a microwave bacon cooker.
Bacon cookers are so easy to use and save so much effort cleaning up that once you have tried them, you will wonder what took you so long, especially if you cook for more than 2 people. By the way, have you visited our bacon quantity guide for a larger group?
Use this link to explore all your options… We have 3 highly recommended platforms for small to large families.
What is the difference between a microwave bacon cooker and an electric bacon cooker?
While these two gadgets generally produce the same end-product, there are some subtle differences between the two categories. For example:
- An electric bacon cooker comes with its own heat source while a microwave bacon cooker depends on an external heat source.
- Microwave cookers are limited by the size of the microwave itself and are much smaller, cooking fewer slices of bacon at a time. Electric bacon cookers are not tied to a microwave and depending on the model, can cook up to 20 strips of bacon at a time.
- Microwave bacon cookers are much, much cheaper than electric bacon cookers and are less prone to total failure.
- Electric bacon cookers are more durable than microwave bacon cookers and will not melt or warp as easily.
- The entire microwave bacon cooker can usually go in the dishwasher and can be used wet. Electric bacon cookers cannot be completly exposed to water and need to be dry before you plug them in.
- Electric bacon cookers can sometimes be used to cook different types of food. Microwave bacon cookers are designed to cook bacon on.
- Electric bacon cookers tend to give a healthier, less greasy, crispier bacon. icrowave bacon cookers cook less evenly and do not drain fat as well.
Microwave bacon cookers vs traditional approaches vs electric bacon cookers.
Microwave Bacon Cooker
Grill racks or microwave bacon cookers are simple plastic devices with rods for bacon strips to be hung on. Ideally, they will come with a drip tray and lid to prevent fat spatters and make cleaning easier. These systems are then placed into the microwave for a minute or two for the bacon to cook.
Microwave bacon cookers are passive devices in that they do not cook the bacon on their own. Rather, they work like your tray or frying pan, holding the bacon in place while the microwave cooks it.
This approach is as simple as warming a frozen dinner in the microwave and has the added advantage of not requiring the user to stand there watching the bacon as it cooks.
Advantages of microwave bacon cookers:
- Does not use much extra space in the kitchen
- Safe to use *
- Very cheap
- Reusable
- Very fast cooking – most bacon strips take a couple of minutes
- Bacon comes out crispy
- Dishwasher safe
- Come with lids to trap fat from bacon (good ones at least)
- Microwave stays clean
- bacon is crispier
- Bacon fat is extracted during the cooking and drips into a pan
- Makes bacon leaner
- makes cleaning up easier
* Always be careful though that the unit you use is BPA free and does not lose color when in use.
Challenges of microwave bacon cookers:
- Limited bacon-cooking space
- Harder to feed more than 4 people at a time
- Microwave size is a limiting issue
- Units can get very hot while in-use.
- Risk of burning your hands
- If there are no handles, you need gloves to handle unit
- Cheaper units do not tolerate heat very well and will start to melt after a while
- Bacon strips do not always cook evenly – strips further out may cook much faster than those at the center.
Top 3 items to consider when choosing a microwave bacon cooker:
- How big is it / how much bacon can it handle at once?
- How well built is it?
- Can it go in the dishwasher?
- Is it easy to clean?
- Can it be taken apart?
- How well does it cook bacon?
- Is the bacon crispy?
- Is the bacon greasy?
- Is the bacon evenly cooked?
Use this link to explore all your options… We have 3 highly recommended platforms for small to large families.
Electric Bacon Options:
Electric Bacon Cooker
This recent addition to the lineup of essential must-have kitchen gadgets is a cross between an electric skillet or grill and a microwave cooker, combining the best features of both at a small space premium. Imagine a device that reduces your stress while cooking bacon by 99% while yielding up to 6 strips of crispy, non-greasy delight with a minimum of fuss – suddenly BLTs for breakfast are oh-so-convenient.
A bacon cooker requires the bacon to be draped vertically or horizontally across a non-stick surface, with all of the drippings collected in a drip pan that can be easily removed and cleaned after use – I suggest that you store these drippings for future use as a flavor booster in other recipes. Most models have a lid that can be closed to trap any splatters and ensure that the tray and lid are dishwasher-proof – what more can you ask for?
Just like a toaster, great electric bacon cookers will come with a button or knob that can be adjusted to select the cooking temperature to suit your bacon strip size and personal preference.
What makes a great electric bacon cooker?
- The resulting bacon must be crispy and healthy – this is not negotiable.
- The fat should drip off the bacon, allowing it to first baste the bacon and then collect in a drip pan.
- The unit should have a lid to prevent the bacon fat from splattering all over the kitchen.
- Both the lid and drip tray should be dishwasher safe.
Advantages of electric bacon cookers:
- Precise cooking control.
- Easy to use.
- Does not require an oven to operate.
- Bacon comes out crispy and healthier.
- Bacon is not cooked in fat. The fat is allowed to drip off the bacon into a tray.
- Drip pan and lids can easily be removed and put in a dishwasher.
- Bacon is cooked evenly.
- The cooking surface is non-stick and very easy to clean
Challenges of electric bacon cookers:
- Takes up more space in the kitchen.
- More expensive than a microwave bacon cooker.
- Lids and drip plates can be hard to replace – choose wisely.
- Some models will just not cook the bacon well and require the bacon to be turned over half-way through.
- Grease is hot.. shoddy production values may result in drip trays that start to melt once exposed to very hot grease or a dishwasher.
Top 3 items to consider when choosing an electric bacon cooker:
- How big is it / how much bacon can it handle at once?
- How well built is it?
- Can it go in the dishwasher?
- Is it easy to clean?
- Can it be taken apart?
- How well does it cook bacon?
- Is the bacon crispy?
- Is the bacon greasy?
- Is the bacon evenly cooked?
Use this link to explore all your options… We have 3 highly recommended platforms for small to large families.
Air Fryers – the best of both worlds?
An air fryer can be used to do just about anything these days, it seems. The best part is that if you already have one, you have one less gadget to buy, if you do not have one, you finally have an excuse to buy one!
For 1-2 people, I would definitely recommend a good old air-fryer. This keeps the mess to a minimum and in about 6 minutes, with careful space management, one can grill a slide of homemade bread and a few rashers, ideal for a BLT in a hurry.
A smaller air fryer can hold about 5 rashers of back bacon or 7 rashers of streaky bacon quite comfortably… or 2 rashers of back bacon and a bun if you desire a crispy BLT.
Why are air fryers so great?
- The design allows for the bacon to be cooked from both sides at once.
- The wire basket allows the fat to drip off the rashers.
- The unit is self contained, thus will trap grease emitted during the cooking process.
- the basket is dishwasher safe.
Potential pitfalls:
- Takes up more space in the kitchen.
- More expensive than a microwave bacon cooker.
- The air fryer will become the most popular item in the kitchen – buy a 2nd basket.
Use this link to explore all your options… We have 3 highly recommended platforms for small to large families.
