Oven-Baked Bacon for Full GAPS

Oven-baked bacon lets you cook a full pound at once, without standing over a skillet while it splatters. Bake it at 350°F for 25 minutes, then set the slices aside and save the rendered fat for another meal.

With six kids and a second-shift schedule, I look for small ways to make the busy parts of the day easier. A sheet pan can handle the bacon while I finish the rest of breakfast. The jar of cooking fat is a useful extra, not another thing to make from scratch.

Full GAPS Bacon

This recipe is for Full GAPS and uses properly prepared, additive-free uncured bacon made with salt only. For that ingredient, use our home-cured salt-only bacon recipe. It starts with fresh pork belly and plain salt, and it stays unsmoked. The cure takes ten days; once it is ready, this sheet-pan method cooks a pound and saves the rendered fat.

Do not swap in bacon with sugar, nitrate or nitrite curing agents, smoke flavor, or other additives. The ingredient matters. If you are using the linked homemade bacon, rinse and dry it after curing, then keep it raw and cold until you are ready to bake it.

Ingredients

• 1 pound salt-only uncured bacon, raw and cold

One pound makes about 16 pieces. Homemade bacon strips can vary in thickness, so the final number may be a little different.

Equipment

You need one rimmed stainless-steel baking sheet, tongs, a plate lined with paper towels or a wire rack set over a plate, and a clean heat-safe glass jar for the bacon fat. A rimmed pan holds the rendered fat as it collects. The strips shrink as they cook, so slight overlap at the start is fine.

How to Bake Bacon

1. Heat the oven. Preheat it to 350°F. Set the rack in the center of the oven.
2. Arrange the slices. Lay the bacon across the rimmed sheet pan. The slices may overlap slightly along their edges. They shrink by about 20 percent as they cook, so avoid stacking one strip on top of another.
3. Bake for 25 minutes. The bacon should be cooked through, with browned edges and visible rendered fat in the pan. The kitchen will smell savory as the fat renders. If a slice still looks raw or glossy in the center when the timer ends, return the pan to the oven briefly and check again. Thin pieces will become crisp sooner than thicker ones.
4. Drain the bacon. Use tongs to move the slices to the paper-towel-lined plate or rack. Let them sit for a minute so excess fat can drip away. They will firm slightly as they cool.
5. Save the rendered fat. Let the pan cool until the grease is no longer sizzling but still liquid. Carefully pour it into the clean glass jar. Set the jar aside until the fat cools, then cover and refrigerate it.

Keep the pan level when you remove it from the oven. The melted fat can slosh, especially if the pan is crowded. If you are making two pounds, use two sheet pans or bake in batches so the slices can still lie in a single layer with only slight overlap.

The bacon firms as it cools. The fat becomes opaque and solid in the refrigerator, then melts again in a warm skillet. For another way to use it, see our bacon-fat mayonnaise with egg yolks.

Serving and Storage

Serve the bacon with eggs or alongside another breakfast. If you want a second bacon breakfast, our bacon and egg cups use the same salt-only bacon in a separate recipe.

Refrigerate leftover cooked bacon in a covered container and use it within four to five days, or freeze it for up to one month. Keep the rendered fat covered in the refrigerator.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use ordinary store-bought bacon?

For this Full GAPS version, use the salt-only, additive-free bacon linked above. Check the ingredients rather than relying on a package label such as “uncured.” The linked method shows the exact pork-and-salt preparation.

Can the slices touch?

They can overlap a little at the edges. They shrink as the fat renders. Keep them in one layer rather than piling them up.

Why save the grease?

The pan will hold rendered bacon fat after the slices come out. Let it cool slightly while it is still liquid, then pour it into a clean jar. Use the chilled fat for cooking or try the linked bacon-fat mayonnaise.

Can I bake a double batch on one pan?

Use two pans or bake in batches if two pounds will not fit in a single layer with only slight overlap. A crowded pan can keep the bacon from cooking evenly.

Plan Ahead for Breakfast

If you are trying to fit longer food preparations and everyday meals into the same week, the planned Weekly Kitchen Rhythm Planner is designed for that kind of planning. It will be listed with the upcoming resources in the Courses section of the WFLI Shop.