The Trick To Prevent Bacon From Shrinking
Waking up in the morning to the smell of bacon cooking, is the exact opposite experience of waking up to the jarring sound of an alarm clock. The intoxicating scent will put a smile on your face before you've even opened your eyes and you might feel as if you're floating to the kitchen, eager to put a few strips on your plate.
Everyone has their own favorite ways to cook with and consume bacon, from a classic BLT sandwich to this fancy bacon and onion jam. Bacon's innately luxurious flavor can elevate any meal, and it's delicious as a stand alone ingredient on a breakfast plate. While you might want to be mindful of the mistakes you can make while cooking bacon, the chief frustration when cooking it can be bacon's insistence on shrinking up while it cooks. If crinkled bacon isn't your jam or it doesn't suit your recipe, there is a tactic you can employ to keep that bacon crispy yet smooth.
Give it a quick rinse, then bake it
According to Picture the Recipe, the way to keep bacon from shrinking up while cooking it is to rinse it in cold water, pat it dry and then bake it in the oven. Rinsing with cold water removes a little bit of the fat from the bacon, which can help reduce shrinkage. However, Life Hacker notes that the cold-water-rinse is less important than baking it in the oven and that rinsing bacon can often lead to lessening its flavor.
Thankfully, laying bacon flat on a cooking sheet and cooking it at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 18 to 20 minutes is far more likely to reduce shrinkage than frying your bacon in a pan (via Southern Living). Most important thing of all, if you're eager to have bacon that doesn't shrink, it's best to buy bacon that is high quality, according to Baking Kneads. Bottom line, no matter what you do, bacon will shrink up a bit while cooking, but if it tastes great what's the harm?