I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with cooking bacon. I love most things about this magic meat: its enticing aroma, its beautiful marbling, and, naturally, its salty, savory flavor that enhances everything from collard greens to scallops. But for a slightly obsessive kitchen neatnik (“clean as you go” isn’t a suggestion, it’s the law in my house), bacon is a pain to cook. After frying up a few meager slices, it feels like the whole kitchen could use a scrub.
After trying several methods to avoid the grease splatter situation, I finally landed on one that cut down on splattering and yielded perfectly chewy-crisp slices to boot: add some water to the pan.
Why Cooking Bacon With Water Works
Have you ever cooked bacon in a pan only to have it start to burn before it’s fully cooked and crisp? Cooking bacon in a little water helps the fat render before the bacon burns. It also cuts down on the splattering that occurs when moisture in the bacon reacts violently with the rendered fat in the pan. With this method, the fat is rendered and the bacon is cooked through by the time the water evaporates, needing just a few more minutes to brown and crisp.
One additional benefit to cooking bacon this way is that it also leaches out a little bit of the salt. So if your bacon is over-salty to your tastes, adding a bit of water to the pan will solve that. And for my salt lovers out there, don’t worry! It doesn’t strip out flavor or so much salt that you’re left with bland bacon.
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How To Cook Bacon With Water
Pouring water into a pan of sizzling bacon might win you a Darwin Award (which you could accept only after slathering your forearms with burn cream). The trick to this method is adding water at the very beginning, along with the bacon slices, while the pan is still cold. The bacon shouldn’t be swimming in water—only add a quarter cup or so.
Then, turn the heat to medium and bide your time. Once the water has evaporated and the bacon is crisp on one side, flip it to brown and crisp the other side. Finally, transfer your beautiful bacon to a paper towel to drain. It will crisp up a bit more as it cools.
When To Use This Method
This isn’t always how I prepare bacon—when I want to cook up a whole pound of the stuff I use the oven method for ease. This trick works best for small quantities of bacon, but it’s my go-to for breakfasts for two and the steady stream of BLTs I eat for lunch all summer long. And as for my stovetop? It’s still not the cleanest (who among us?), but it’s not the bacon’s fault.
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