video : You're Doing It All Wrong
How to Cook Bacon with Scott Vermeire
By Meredith Arthur and Eric Slatkin
Fatty, soggy, and burnt are words you never want to hear applied to your bacon. Scott Vermeire of Prather Ranch Meat Co. offers a quick and easy primer on bacon perfection. He also addresses the very important question of flipping: when to do it, and how often.
I don't bother doing bacon in a pan anymore...
1 - You can not cook enough at one time
2 - It makes a mess and some bacon with too much water splatters incredibly
3 - The smell lingers in the house for hours (nice for the morning but wheres on you later in the day
Instead, I now cook bacon outside on the Weber Grill with only front/back burners on low, middle if off (about 350-375 degrees). I put the bacon on non stick cooling racks that fit easily into a baking sheet so the bacon is out of the fat. Your grill needs to be level. You will end up with evening cooked, crispy bacon in about 20-25 minutes and no mess to clean up, just pour off the fat and throw the sheet and rack in the dishwasher.
I love bacon, right or wrong... I usually cook it in the oven on low heat for a big batch. When I'm alone, I do it in a pan, and I use a small amount of oil, it is good to render the fat out of the bacon faster. It comes off when you pat the bacon dry with paper towels.
Bacon cooked in the oven is the way to go. It always comes out perfect. Nice and crisp without being burnt.
I agree with the oven. It makes cooking bacon so much easier and it always comes out crispy.
I always cook bacon in the oven. I line a baking sheet with foil (less mess) and bake it at about 400 degrees for about 15 minutes or so. No mess, super easy and done perfectly each and every time.
I use a cast iron pan. With the lid on, it's technically an oven in and of itself
I use the oven too at 400, always perfect. I usually flip once if I have the time. Then I save and strain all that lovely bacon fat. Sometime the birds get it via suet balls, but a little dab will do you in roasted potatos too.l
I always cook it on a sheet pan in the oven on 400 for about 15 minutes-its all about the spattering mess. Sometimes I cook it in a cast iron skillet if I just have a few slices. I actually like it a little under done and over done here and there and the curls are perfect for scooping up egg yolk or syrup. I may go back to the skillet!
microwave, babay
in the oven is the way to go. and just before it's done i brush on a fruit juice for a different taste. i think it's called lacquering. i've done orange and used it instead of a celery stalk in a Bloody Mary.
Microwave, wrapped in paper towels to soak up the fat. One minute/slice. Thick-sliced goes for one minute 20-seconds. Nothing -- nothing -- to clean up.
I use a LittonWare 10" x 12" microwave safe baking pan that I had for years. I line the bottom with two sheets of paper toweling place the bacon on top, place two more paper towels on top of bacon and cook on medium high power ( 7 or 8) for about one minute per slice. Gives excellent crispy bacon all the time as all the bacon fat gets absorbed by the paper towels. For different consistency of bacon (less crispy) adjust the power down but never cook more than one minute per slice or else you'll burn the bacon.
You will find that high volume restaurants cook their bacon in the oven. It produces an evenly cooked product.
foil lined sheet pan. . 400F. . .. line it up without overlapping too much. . place another sheet pan on top. .. weight it with a heavy cast iron pan. .. cook for 15 minutes. Remove top pan, finish cooking. .PERFECT straight pieces of evenly cooked bacon. Sprinkle with a tiny amount of brown sugar if you want that sweet savory flavor. .return to oven until sugar is dissolved and bubbling. . pull to drain on paper towels
Great job, Pastry Queen. Perfect bacon.
400 on a cake cooler in a cookie pan. 15-20 minutes tops. I usually go with THICK cut slab bacon. Perfect every time and you've got about a cup of fat for seasoning cast iron or brushing taters or makin corn bread.
It's called "bake-on" for a reason.
I enjoy my bacon lightly cooked and still soft. Dry and crispy bacon might be less fat, but it's not for me !
By the way, the word "bacon" has nothing to do with "bake-on"; it actually comes from the francique word "bakko", witch simply means "ham".
Good day !
Oh man. Just the thought of the bacon I buy at Prather Ranch gets my mouth watering. I buy it whenever I'm there at their store at the Ferry Plaza, and I feel like crying whenever they're sold out.
I guess others must love their bacon as well, because it was my monthly selection once from the bacon of the month club at www.thepignextdoor.com. What a happy, happy month that was. :-)
My preference, by the way, is in a cast iron pan. But I'm old school that way. I'd bathe in the thing if I could fit in it.
Oh man. Just the thought of the bacon I buy at Prather Ranch gets my mouth watering. I buy it whenever I'm there at their store at the Ferry Plaza, and I feel like crying whenever they're sold out.
I guess others must love their bacon as well, because it was my monthly selection once from the www.thepignextdoor.com bacon of the month club. What a happy, happy month that was. :-)
My preference, by the way, is in a cast iron pan. But I'm old school that way. I'd bathe in the thing if I could fit in it.
Sigh. Sorry about the double post. I was editing the link I managed to screw up in the first post.
Forty lashes with raw bacon!
That is sexy
"Pros" do not cook bacon in a pan. Can you imagine doing that for 100-1,000 people? LOL
Pros cook bacon in the oven on baking sheets. Simple, No mess and cooks evenly .
Are you kidding me??? I'm not spending 20 minutes to cook bacon
5 words - Niman Ranch Applewood Smoked Bacon. We find it at Trader Joe's (least expensive), Fresh Market and our local Publix. I would never ruin good bacon by microwaving it - just doesn't taste as good as baked in the oven. Really does turn out perfect every time!
If you cook bacon in the oven as so many have suggested, don't you get your oven splattered all over with grease making it a huge mess?
Cooking bacon in such a boring, austere manner leaves you with boring, austere bacon. I cook it on medium-high, and have an active philosophy. Constant supervision and movement of the bacon is key. Yes, you're going to get a mess on your stove top (skillful bacon practitioners know to minimize this with prudent use of a grease screen), and yes, you're going to get grease burs on your hands, but you end up with bacon that is not only delicious but fun to eat, because each piece is different.
My favorite way to cook bacon is in a George Foreman grill. It comes out delicious and crisp.
One of the only days we have bacon in our house is Xmas morning. We do 3 pans full, to feed about 15 people, and some like it chewy, medium well, and crispy, so we use the oven.
We started using parchment paper a couple of years ago and I don't know if I'll ever cook it another way! Oven at 400, and we just leave the more well done pans in longer and the whole strip of bacon is the same doneness. I also leave the bacon in the pans on the countertop for about 10 minutes before putting them in the oven. Probably overthinking, but it's kind of like putting cold meat on a grill I guess so I let it come to room temp. Am I crazy?
Doc, you are right on. You have the PERFECT way to cook bacon.
SarahEarDoc
On the parchment or under it? (or both?) All of these comments are great, while the hell didn't I think of bacon in the oven!
On the parchment paper.
Yes, definitely on the parchment. We've tried using foil before too, but some pieces always end up sticking to the foil and you have to pry them off.
We had three sons they are all grown and married now but we used to go through a couple of pounds of bacon on Sunday mornings. My wife couldn't take the time to really do it it properly. Now it is just the two of us and I cook the bacon on Sunday mornings. Oscar Mayer Thick Sliced (12-15 slices per pound) is delicious. I take my time frying it and we reheat what we don't eat on Sundays for the rest of the week until it runs out. I can't believe that something that is so bad for you can taste so good.
another voice for bacon in the oven. maybe chow is "doing it all wrong".
Hey bacon cookin' in the oven people..... how do you keep the grease from splattering all over the oven and covering the oven glass in grease?? sounds messy to me.
Another great way is in the toaster oven. This method can definitely translate to the big oven, but you need the right tray. The pan with the roasting rack (the one with holes in it) that usually comes with a toaster over is great. Put the bacon on the roasting rack and put about a 1/4 inch of water in the pan before placing the rack with the bacon over it.
Broil from the top, and the fat will drip into the water preventing smoking and spattering. The steam will also keep the bacon moist as it cooks. Flip halfway through cooking.
Mmmm, chewy bacon. Then dip in maple syrup while eating. *drool*
Bonus points for dredging the bacon in maple syrup before cooking!
Is there a Hugh Jass in here? Paging Mr. Hugh Jass..
I find bacon doesn't splatter in the oven as much as you think. If you have a problem with it, you could cover the pan with a loosely laid sheet of parchment.
Try it.
LOL!!!!!! Thanks Andy. I have waiting a LONG time for someone to do that.... "paging Hugh Jass". You made my day!
P.S. thanks for the assurance of the not so much splatter. I will give it a try.
Cheers!
Two words: oven and Nueske's
I am a bacon fan.. I LOVE BACON!! I say there really is no wrong way to cook it.. oven, microwave, toaster oven, grill, cast iron griddle or pan i even cook bacon on a stick when i go camping!! lets face it people.. its hard to ruin the perfect animal.
HOG!!
You haven't lived until you dredge your bacon slices in flour and then fry!! And the bacon gravy is heaven on a fresh skillet of hash browns!
deep-fried bacon, baby! and when the deep fryer has been flavored, you can make your french fried potatoes -- wow, are those ever good, the pork fat adding a nice twist of flavor, a gentle smokiness and the nuances of bacon we love so much -- in a french fry!
deep-fried bacon, baby! and when the deep fryer has been flavored, you can make your french fried potatoes -- wow, are those ever good, the pork fat adding a nice twist of flavor, a gentle smokiness and the nuances of bacon we love so much -- in a french fry!
oops -- sorry for double click on submit
1/2 sheet, oven at 400 degrees, 15-20 minutes--works every time, always flat, crispy, and a little greasy just like god intended.
I use sheet pan with rack. Keeps the bacon out of the grease.
who cooks bacon anymore?
Its 2008 and there is new bacon technology available...
http://www.jerky.com/product/BCF001.html
Hummm....that sounds about 85 bucks a pound. I think I will keep my regular OM bacon at 4 bucks a pound.
I cook it the way described in the video, which I figured out myself through trial and error. One thing I do sometimes is pour maple on it one minute before I take it out of the pan. It's absolutely heavenly.
Maple syrup that is.
Why isn't there an edit button on these things?
That jerky bacon looks horendous! No thank you!
Horendous?! What does your bacon look like? :)
It looks Num Yummy!! :)
Try brown sugar "cured" bacon. Sprinkle brown sugar on the slices of bacon, on parchment lined cooking tray, for as much time as you may have. Then bake in the oven as normal. Unbelievably good. This was a Charleston restaurant's trick that I manaeged to come by.
IMO, the brand of bacon is of utmost importance. I always buy what has been produced by local farmers. I'm fortunate the local grocery carries it. I have not enjoyed most national brands...too thin and not very lean. To cook - cast iron skillet and low heat! I like the variety of textures and shapes this method produces.
The only way to cook bacon is in the pan. I have 18 years of burned bacon memories thanks to mom and the oven. The only way to exorcise them was $50K in culinary education and the knowledge I will never burn my bacon in a pan again...
in the oven peeps. I baks evenly and slowly so you barely have to watch it. the thinner the bacon the lower you cook it. I generally go for 350 in a cast iron pan in the oven. It gets the bacon to the perfect nexus of crispy/flexy and the fat renders out perfectly
Best bacon I ever cooked was for a pancake breakfast. An old feller, Rusty, had me assigned as his helper. He had a huge (20" diameter) steel skillet from his horse packing days. We started about 1# at a time, me turning and rearranging. After about 3 or 4 batches, there was about 1/2" of rendered bacon fat in the pan, and in effect, the bacon was deep frying. It started to cook SO evenly and beautifully! I tried to empty out some of the fat and Rusty hollered NO! (what was I thinking, cooking over an open butane burner ring?!)
So I continued and cooked up about 40# of the most beautiful bacon ever. In a big steel frypan over med low heat in 1/2"+ bacon fat. I smelled like bacon for a week.
Hate to be a heretic, but after switching to turkey bacon awhile back (HERETIC!!!), I've found it cooks up tastiest in olive oil, flipping fairly frequently until nice and crispy. Less smoke too... I find nuked or oil-free turkey bacon unacceptably dry and mealy.
Bacon on the weber gas grill! 350 degrees middle burner off, thick cut slices sprinkled w/ Redneck Pepper or Essence/Cajun thats the way to go.
Hey toodie jane, that deep frying in its own fat method is pretty daggum good too,just watch for splatters if the bacons wet.
Why would you cook bacon? It's the sushi of pork, particularly when the fat still jiggles after its been freshly dressed.
Guess what? Hard cooked eggs can be cooked in the oven as well. This is the only way to go if you need a lot of eggs for egg salad or deviled eggs. Set the oven to 325, place the eggs directly on the rack set in the middle of the oven and bake 30 minutes. Just in case an egg breaks place a cookie sheet on a lower rack. Place in ice water when done and peel as soon as they are cool enough to handle then place peeled eggs back in water to continue cooling.
Being a bacon lover and having raised, butchered and brined my own, I am set in my ways. Yes, I use a heavy and very old, well-cured, cast iron pan, and low heat. I agree with Scott as to turning bacon frequently, but there have been times when my table overfloweth and I have had to crowd my bacon. I just have the bacon do a little "doe-see-doe" around the pan, trading places from middle to edge, and the overlapping effect is minimized. Somehow oven-done bacon just can't compete. Cheers!
Being a bacon lover and having raised, butchered and brined my own, I am set in my ways. Yes, I use a heavy and very old, well-cured, cast iron pan, and low heat. I agree with Scott as to turning bacon frequently, but there have been times when my table overfloweth and I have had to crowd my bacon. I just have the bacon do a little "doe-see-doe" around the pan, trading places from middle to edge, and the overlapping effect is minimized. Somehow oven-done bacon just can't compete. Cheers!
Yes sorry about the double click too...Ottova....c'mon now. There is trichinosis in pork, same as in bear meat! They are not fit for raw consumption....but surely, you jest!
Cheers!
and to whomever said about the "boring bacon" from the oven..you're after me own heart!
Across the Atlantic in sunny Scotland we have several diffeent cuts and cures of bacon. The stuff you're all talking about we call streaky bacon. Tasty stuff. But very fatty. And please don't suggest oven cooking and George Foreman grills.....good food must always be cooked right and that means in the pan. But the best is dry smoked back bacon - never seen it in the States. Fried and stuck in a roll with an egg cooked off in the resulting bacon fat, a twist of black pepper and yolk erupting al over the plate as you bite into it.. Messy, glorious food - and impossible to cook in an oven - praise be, my friends, praise be. And then porridge for the rest of the week to clear out the cholesterol.
i don't like perfectly-flat, homogenously-cooked bacon, personally. if there aren't any little variations in the texture and fat content and taste of the beast from bite to bite, where's the romance?
enameled heavy cast-iron skillet, medium high heat tweaked every couple of minutes or so, and constant attention. i enjoy cooking bacon that way as much as i enjoy eating it. and instead of a couple of minutes of fun, i get about half an hour.
and hey, the bacon generally turns out pretty nicely, too.
I learned to do it just as Scott Vermeire demonstrates. Never had a failure and I don't have to spend the extra money heating an oven for such a small job.
'Scuse me Countryclassic, but your info on trichinosis in pork is a generation or 2 out of date, which is why we can enjoy pink pork these days.
Here's a Q and A from Chow.com:
"Do I really have to cook pork until it’s not pink in the middle? How much should I worry about trichinosis?
Not much. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only five Americans were diagnosed with the disease in 2004, and most of them probably got it from eating wild game.
In the past, pigs were infected with trichina worms from eating raw meat scraps. Today, most eat grain-based pellet food, similar to dog chow. Organically raised pigs munch grass. It’s illegal to feed raw meat to pigs raised commercially. Hence, trichinosis has been virtually eliminated."
Of course it's true that restaurants cook their bacon in the oven, but that's just because of the quantity they use. It definitely gives a more dried out texture. And why do we have to sponge off the bacon with paper towels, as if the glistening fat was undesirable? go whole hog, leave the fat on, and fry some bread in the drippings for a treat like I bet the HugryScotsman does before his porridge penance!
I do it both ways. In the shop I make a lot at once for paninis, so it's a sheet pan and parchment, haven't found a need to turn it. At home it's the cast iron skillet, flipping a couple of times.
Bacpm is the gift that keeps giving. If you want to do something else with the grease, get yourself some tapioca maltodextrin. Strain the grease well and weigh it on a gram scale. Then weigh an equal amount of the tapioca. Throw both in a food processor and run it until it's completely powdery. Voila! Bacon powder.
Beware that the tapioca maltodextrin is almost weightless and a few grams of it is actually a pretty large amount volume-wise (and it flies all over the place). Thus I wouldn't recommend making more than 1/4 cup of bacon grease at a time.
While the resulting powder will keep for months, you do need a decent amount of it to taste it in recipes. It is mostly water-soluble, but will leave an oil slick on liquids like coffee. That said, three tablespoons will turn your cup of hot cocoa into bacon-chocolate bliss. Add a quarter cup to your quiche crust recipe for a smokier and tastier pastry. Mix some with aioli for a bacon-laced mayo. It's fairly useful and pretty easy to control the amount of bacon flavor in any given recipe.
I like the wrong way better it looks tastier
A very interesting video (btw, you should do more stuffs like that).
But there's two conditions to cook bacon the way you say.
1 - having a very large pan or a certain type of small bacon (this size is not common here in Canada for example ---> in supermarkets i mean).
2 - having fresh bacon and not those ones packed and totally socked in order to avoid cooking your bacon in a pool of a mix between water and oil.
Well you'll say that the solution is to dry and cut the bacon first.....
and you'll be right.
Russell the Bacon Man here says:
In the oven, or sometimes in the pan, and rarely on the grill. They all have their pros/cons.
- Oven gives consistent results for volume, but kinda boring
- The pan is quicker and ideal for crispy, but requires constant monitoring
- The grill (charcoal, not propane Hank) gives great flavor but is a hassle when going indirect (you just try doing it direct pal, see what happens)
Best bacon treaty-treat I had recently that literally brought tears of joy:
- bacon infused marshmallows.
Let me get this streight Russell the bacon man/joetech. Bacon on direct. What like 30 seconds a side, no vasaline?
This guy is "Doing it the wrong way". Toaster oven on rack with a pan to catch drippings. Cuts fat, comes out perfect.
Lucky for me, my kid hates bacon, so I only have to make it for two.
Sure, the oven works great and all, but it can't beat the flavor I get from my good ol' cast iron skillet. The same goes for the microwave, nonstick pans, the grill, and the toaster oven.
The bacon that comes off my cast iron, has a ton of flavor.
One key to cooking good bacon, that is not mentioned in the video, is that bacon still cooks well after it comes off the heat. Practice is the true key to making great bacon the way you, and those you make it for, enjoy it more.
The restaurant I worked at made their bacon on the griddle. It was a morning prep thing and the whole griddle would be covered in bacon...mmm yummy smells to welcome you to work. Of course, there wasn't an oven in the first place, but not all restaurants use ovens.
What? Bacon ISN'T supposed to be fatty?
WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!?!?!?!
What? Bacon ISN'T supposed to be fatty?
WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!?!?!?!
TWENTY MINUTES TO COOK BACON?!!!!!
Medium heat, keep turning. This ain't rocket scientist.
10 minutes. Tops.
Cat walked on the keyboard!
Rocket SCIENCE. That darn cat!
I have cooked in camps, in hotels, and restaurants all over Western Canada. Here is what really has worked well for me.
#1. Line a cookie sheet with Foil. Over this place parchment. Now it is VERY easy to clean.
#2. Place bacon on sheet.
#3. Put this into a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.
What you will have is lots of fat on the tray.(You can dump this away.) Take bacon out and place on paper towels. Store your bacon in a bag. . . In your fridge. When you want some, finish cooking it in a pan. Not saying that my method is A-1, however, I have been using it for 15 years and it has always received rave reviews.
Refried baked bacon? Oh dear (sigh...). Yes, James, it is easy to clean up, but the point is to make it delicious. This is standard diner cooking, done out of necessity. Just once, try it on the top of a stove when you are at home cooking for a good friend.
When you are at work you can go back to the other method, if you have to.
The only way to cook bacon is in the pan. I have 18 years of burned bacon memories thanks to mom and the oven. The only way to exorcise them was $50K in culinary education.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I'm not sure if I feel worse for your mom or you for getting short changed on your culinary education.
Restaurants use the ovens for two reasons. Speed and consistancy. The bacon comes out flat and evenly cooked every time. Like Docs said, try using a pan in a setting where you are serving hundreds of people. That's what culinary school is supposed to teach you.
The other way some restaurants operate is to blanch the bacon on a flat top griddle then they finish it as they need it. Some finish it on the flat top with a weight but most who use that system finish the bacon with a microwave. That's kind of a half baked system (pun intended) and IMO you can always tell because the bacon ends up rubbery.
When you use the oven for bacon you wind up with a lot less mess. The two tricks I have found for the oven method is to drain the fat halfway through then flip the bacon. The timing takes a little practice because you have to pull the bacon while it is still slightly pliable. The bacon gets firm as it sets for a minute.
Do it right and you can not tell the difference between oven bacon or pan bacon.
The only way to cook bacon is in the pan. I have 18 years of burned bacon memories thanks to mom and the oven. The only way to exorcise them was $50K in culinary education.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I'm not sure if I feel worse for your mom or you for getting short changed on your culinary education.
Restaurants use the ovens for two reasons. Speed and consistancy. The bacon comes out flat and evenly cooked every time. Like Docs said, try using a pan in a setting where you are serving hundreds of people. That's what culinary school is supposed to teach you.
The other way some restaurants operate is to blanch the bacon on a flat top griddle then they finish it as they need it. Some finish it on the flat top with a weight but most who use that system finish the bacon with a microwave. That's kind of a half baked system (pun intended) and IMO you can always tell because the bacon ends up rubbery.
When you use the oven for bacon you wind up with a lot less mess. The two tricks I have found for the oven method is to drain the fat halfway through then flip the bacon. The timing takes a little practice because you have to pull the bacon while it is still slightly pliable. The bacon gets firm as it sets for a minute.
Do it right and you can not tell the difference between oven bacon or pan bacon.
I'm new to this site and really enjoy reading the comments, I just have to weigh in on this one. I usually cook my bacon in the microwave these days (when I only need 1 or 2 servings). I see that most people think that microwaving results in boring, tasteless bacon. This isn't the case if you do it properly. Try doing it the way I do. I never put paper towels under the bacon, that dries it out terribly. If you put the bacon directly on the plate and cover with one paper towel, it comes out great. The fat renders well and the bacon basically fries in it's own fat (much like it will in a pan). The paper towel on top keeps the microwave clean. If you put more than one paper towel on top they can settle too heavily on the plate and soak up the grease, resulting in dried out bacon (much like bacon cooked on top of paper towels). I usually stop half way through the cooking time and rearrange the slices, putting the outside pieces on the inside (and vice versa) and continue cooking. I have even found that this method works best on a paper plate too (the type that are soak-proof), since some plates can get really hot after a couple of batches. The one minute per slice rule needs to be adjusted for bacon thickness, desired doneness and microwave wattage, but its a good place to start, just check it frequently until you figure out how your microwave performs. Now, I will say that if I'm cooking for a crowd, I use my large electric skillet. I can lay paper towels around it (for easy clean up) and monitor large batches while preparing other items on my stovetop. I'm not so good at multitasking and am likely to forget about what's in my oven especially when there are hungry peolple milling about in my kitchen asking when the food will be done. Also, if I'm cooking bacon, chances are pretty good that I'll need my oven for biscuits! Come on all you microwave haters, try it this way just once!:)
Wow, that was quite a lot of explaining for simply microwaving bacon. Sorry, next time I shall edit for brevity!:)
Mmm bacon, strip bacon, back bacon, peamal bacon, its all good. For chistmass there is somany showing up that my motherinlaw just cooks the extra thick bacon in the oven. At home it's in the old cast iron frying pan (I think the iron does somthing). The best bacon you can get is from your butcher, just ask for them to cut it 1/4' thick and go home and have fun.
If that was to much cut some up and start to cook it in the bottem of a pot and start to mack some soup, good for warming you up in the winter and anytime.
Have fun and enjoy, going to have some now ^^
I am going to go ahead and call myself "mister microwave bacon age" I have been doing this since college and i must say its the easiest, fastest, and most clean way to make excellent crispy, tasty bacon. I usually go one minute per slice, with paper towel on top. But some microwaves vary so you can always stop and take a peep. But overall this never fails and its always crispy and flovorably delicious. Dont use recycled napkins because i find they stick to the bacon and you cant get them off. Have fun and happy bacon.
I bet this guy eats a lot of bacon.
Oh man...that is gross!
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I always cook bacon in a 14" cast-iron skillet with a cast-iron bacon press to keep it from curling and to promote a beautiful, even texture. (The rendered lard also enhances the finish on your skillet.)
Incidentally, all cooking methods that produce brown bacon burn it approximately the same percentage of the time -- that percentage in which you don't watch the pan or the oven or whatever.
Ive always cooked my bacon in the oven because almost every single chef on food network says its the best way. And i could not agree more. As for the splatter effect i never had a problem because i put my bacon on a draining rack on top of a regular cookie sheet or pizza pan so the grease drains away. If you put the bacon on the pan directly while baking then yes you may get splatter. This guy makes seance but I will NEVER cook bacon in a pan again.