How to Make Bacon in an Air Fryer - Recipes That Crock! (2024)

FAQs

Do you put foil in the air fryer when cooking bacon? ›

Don't Worry About Foil.

While you can line the basket with it if you like, I found the air fryer was very easy to clean even without it.

Bacon cooks best low and slow. Whether on the stove or in the oven, don't cook it at a temperature that's too high or you risk uneven cooking, or worse, burned bacon. It's not worth rushing, so plan accordingly.

It doesn't sit in grease.

Unlike bacon that is cooked on a sheet pan in the oven, or in a skillet on the stovetop, the air fryer allows the bacon grease to drip into the pan below as it cooks, so the bacon strips will be less greasy when they are done.

Air Fryer Bacon is extra crispy and so easy to make – no flipping required! Enjoy this breakfast classic with eggs, pancakes or French toast. I love using my air fryer to cook meals for my family.

The air fryer heats bacon evenly while draining excess fat for that great crispy texture. Plus, unlike stovetop or oven cooking, the air fryer requires no added fat. You can also save the rendered bacon grease for other cooking purposes.

Some folks suggest adding water to the air fryer drawer to help reduce any smoking, but adding water to hot oil (or in this case spitting bacon fat) is a safety hazard, as it can expand and cause hot oil to spray in all directions. The other "solution" is to remove the hot bacon grease after each batch.

Bacon doesn't normally blow around too much in an air fryer, but if you want to keep it from curling, you can place a small rack directly on top.

Why Does Cooking Bacon in Water Work? The addition of water keeps the initial cooking temperature low and gentle, so the meat retains its moisture and stays tender as the fat renders. Plus, since the water helps render the fat, there will be significantly less splatter as your bacon finishes in the pan.

The reason bacon from a diner consistently tastes better than homemade bacon is because it's pre-cooked. Surprisingly, this is the secret to achieving a comparable breakfast hit at home. And to get there, you just need a few additional steps.

When not to cook bacon? ›

The only smell you should detect from bacon is a faint smokiness. Slime: If your bacon is slimy, it's a sure sign that bacteria are present and spreading on the meat. Toss it out! Discoloration: Green, grey, or brown discoloration means that the bacon is no longer safe to eat.

Speaking previously to HuffPost, recipe developer Brenda Peralta, of FeastGood.com, urged people to think twice before rushing to throw a handful of rashers in the air fryer. According to the food expert, “bacon is a fatty food, and when it is cooked in an air fryer, the fat can drip down and cause smoke or splatter”.

Bacon tastes amazing, as always, but it's so easy to get it perfect in an air fryer. They're evenly cooked, tender or crisp. You can control how done they get. If you like it a bit on the tender side or the crisp side, either way it's going to be scrumptious.

In just nine minutes, you can have hot bacon ready to serve. The best part about the air fryer is that the grease collects underneath the basket in the drawer, so there's no grease splatters in the kitchen and the grease is a cinch to discard (simply tip the drawer to pour off).

Foil is safe to use in an air fryer so long as you follow three basic rules: never let foil touch the heating element; make sure the foil is weighted so it doesn't blow around the basket; and avoid contact with acidic ingredients, which can cause the foil to leach onto your food.

Cooking bacon in the oven gives you perfectly crispy slices without any flipping or fussing, and the cleanup is superspeedy. It's also the best way to make bacon for a crowd. You can cook the bacon directly on aluminum foil-lined baking sheets or on a wire rack set on top of the baking sheets.

Unlike pan frying bacon, there's no splattering with air fryer bacon. I also add just under 1 cup of water to the air fryer basket to keep smoking at bay and to prevent any chances of splattering. Plus, clean up is easier with the water in the air fryer preventing any grease from baking on.

Next, slice the bacon strips in half (or don't, this is optional) and arrange them in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Bacon shrinks a lot while it's cooking so any overlapping corners should naturally move around. Cook the bacon for 8-9 minutes (depending on the thickness of your bacon).