Ingredients

   
450g bacon, standard or thick cut
120g water

Steps

  1. Heat oven to 400°F. Lay the bacon in a single layer on a rimmed half-sheet pan, strips touching but not overlapping. For sandwiches, cut the strips in half crosswise first.

  2. Pour in water until it just films the bottom of the pan, about 120g.

  3. Bake 15 minutes. The water boils off in this time and the bacon still looks pale and limp.

  4. Bake 8–15 minutes more, checking every 3–4 minutes once the edges brown. Total is 22–30 minutes for standard cut, 30–35 for thick cut.

  5. Pull the bacon one shade lighter than you want it — it crisps as it cools. Drain on paper towels 2 minutes. Pour the fat into a jar.

Notes

  • The water holds the pan at ~212°F until it evaporates, so the fat renders before the surface browns. That is what keeps the strips flat and stops the thin edges scorching while the middle is still soft.
  • Do not crowd the pan. Overlapped strips steam instead of crisping — two pans beat one packed pan.
  • No rack. Bacon frying in its own rendered fat browns more evenly than bacon suspended above it.
  • Half-strips lie flat on a sandwich and don’t pull out in one sheet when bitten. Cut before baking, not after.
  • Toast the bread for a BLT in the reserved fat. Strained and refrigerated, it keeps a month.
  • A cold start works: put the pan in as the oven preheats and begin checking at 20 minutes.