The Trick Rachael Ray Uses When Baking Bacon

Rachael Ray is like your best neighbor who is always offering you tricks and tips to make cooking a little easier. Only Ray isn't our neighbor – we wish – she's a celebrity cook (but technically not a chef) who rose to fame on her popular Food Network show 30 Minute Meals. As a result, Ray has amassed a food empire that consists of more cookbooks than we can count on our fingers, a magazine, and her own line of cookware (via Food Network). She's pretty amazing. And when Ray shares a hack with the world, you better believe we all rush to try it. And if it also involves bacon, you know we're probably tripping over ourselves to get there. So, get ready to rush because the goddess of good eats shared one of the best ways to make bacon we've seen.

Bacon, while one of the most delightfully aromatic, savory, and crunchy meats we can eat, is one of our least favorite to make. The greasy mess it leaves all over our stovetops can make our stomachs drop to our feet. Translation: no one wants to clean up that cooking aftermath. But Ray's trick ensures you won't have to draw straws or play rock, paper, scissors to decide who gets the dirty job. It also doesn't require any special tools or gear that you probably don't already have in your cabinets or oven waiting to be used. What's Ray's trick?

Ray's hack for making bacon sans the splatters and stovetop mess is to use a slotted broiling pan and bake it in an oven (via Rachael Ray Show). Ray shared that she likes this method because, "When it comes out, it's evenly brown, perfectly flat and crisp. Plus all the fat drips away." How does it work?  Start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. While your oven is warming up, take your bacon out of its package and place the slices on the slotted broiler pan. 

If you don't have a slotted broiler pan, you can also use a wire cooling rack placed on top of a rimmed baking sheet. Pop it in the oven and let it cook for between 15 and 18 minutes. The result is crisp bacon – none of that soggy, floating in grease stuff – that will please a crowd. What we love about this method – on top of the great-tasting bacon and less messy cooking process – is that it doesn't require a lot of active cook time, which means we have more time to scramble eggs, make waffles, chop up vegetables, or search the internet for more great hacks.