To Brunch Or Not To Brunch?
Add some bacon to your Father's Day spread.
For years, especially when the girls were little, brunch was my preferred way to get together with friends—back then, there was nothing better than getting in some quality socializing that was guaranteed to wrap up right before nap time! There is lots to love about brunch food, too, whether you lean toward egg dishes such as quiches, frittatas, and stratas, or if you crave sweet or savory baked goods. To me, however, the greatest thing about brunch fare is that it checks all the boxes when it comes to easy entertaining: most brunch dishes can be made ahead (and are generally portable); they can be scaled up or down depending on the size of the crowd; they lend themselves excellently to a potluck situation; and if your table space is limited, most brunch stuff can be eaten standing up.
While my occasions for making brunch have dwindled over time—these days I’m down to Christmas morning, New Year’s Day, and Father’s Day, with an odd opportunity here or there—I still love doing it. This weekend will be no exception. [Rob, maybe you want to stop reading here?] I usually make one of the following types of dishes: some kind of savory egg casserole or baked French toast, a pastry like a coffee cake or muffins, a fruit salad, and of course, bacon. If I play my cards right, I can get most of this stuff either cooked or prepared by the night before serving. Bacon, though, can be a vexing step in the process; who wants to stand over a spitting skillet when you could be enjoying time with your guests? A long time ago, my fairy godmother Ina Garten came to the rescue when she shared a genius method for making crispy bacon in the oven. Gotta say, considering the number of the bacon lovers in my family, this was a game-changer.
I’ve made oven bacon so much over time that I don’t even have a recipe for it, I just refer to some typed-up notes I stuck in one of my recipe binders many moons ago. But below is a more detailed rundown, try it this weekend!
Oven Bacon (adapted from Barefoot Contessa at Home by Ina Garten)
I usually make a pound of bacon at a time using the below instructions; you can use as much or as little as you need with this method.
Ina recommends Applewood smoked center-cut bacon; I use whatever kind looks good or is on sale. See my note about cooking time for thick-cut bacon.
The key to this method is to start with a cold oven, so don’t preheat. If your oven has hot/cold spots, you might want to rotate the sheet pan halfway through cooking time to ensure evenness.
Line a large sheet pan with aluminum foil. Lay the bacon on the pan and make sure the slices don’t touch, otherwise they’ll stick together. To make the bacon better fit on the sheet pan at hand, you can cut the slices in half.
Place the sheet pan in a cold oven, then turn the oven on to 400 degrees. Roast for about 15 minutes and then check; the bacon should be on its way to being browned and crisp by now. Bake for another 3-5 minutes until fully browned, checking often to catch things before they get too burnt. If you are using thick-cut bacon, your total cooking time will be between 23-25 minutes; check after 18 minutes to make sure nothing’s too brown or burnt.
Drain on a paper towel-lined plate and begin smacking everyone’s hands away when they swoop in to snatch a piece.