Crispy Air Fryer Bacon Recipe - Evolving Table (2024)

FAQs

How long does it take to air fry bacon in an air fryer? ›

However, a small amount of oil is usually necessary to achieve a crispy texture. A drizzle or a quick oil spray is all you need for restaurant-quality fries and golden brown fried chicken, while other foods don't need any oil, like pizza or leftovers you might reheat.

I've gone as low as 350, but any lower than that and the wait becomes too long. J. Kenji López-Alt recommends 425 degrees, which he says takes 20 minutes for crispy bacon, but he doesn't recommend going much higher than that.

Place bacon in air fryer

If you're using an oven-style air fryer, you'll want to put the bacon on an air-fry basket (basically a mesh rack) with either a solid pan or a piece of aluminum foil folded up on the edges underneath to catch any bacon grease drippings.

Here's why: Bacon doesn't require any excess oil or butter to cook because it's so full of fat. So when hot air is circulated around the bacon, your air fryer will fill up with rendered bacon fat, which will then burn and maybe even release smoke from your machine.

Make Sure Your Food Is Dry

Especially if you're frying a recipe with a marinade, make sure you pat your food dry before putting it in the fryer. The drier your food is when it goes in, the crispier it'll be when it comes out.

Overcrowding your baskets or shelves blocks the convection movement of the heated air that the machines are designed to create, and you will end up with food that is cooked unevenly, not crispy all the way around, or will take much longer to cook than the recipes call for.

Bacon-Cooking Method: Baking on Parchment Paper

About This Method: Martha Stewart's technique promises a “spatter-free” way to get “perfectly crispy bacon.” You simply line one or two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper, arrange the bacon on top, and bake at 400°F until it is crisped to your liking.

As with other meats, allow some room between strips, about an inch, when placing bacon in the pan. Crowding creates steam and prevents the bacon from cooking evenly, giving you limp bacon instead of crispy strips. Cook in batches if needed.

Bacon should be cooked at 400°F.

Medium-thick bacon slices will need 18 to 20 minutes to reach the perfect level of crispiness. But check the bacon at 10 minutes, and adjust your cooking time to your preferred degree of doneness.

How do you know when crispy bacon is done? ›

Just like with many other types of meat, uncooked bacon will be light pink with white strips of fat. When it's ready to eat, those rosy hues will have darkened to a reddish-brown color, and the fat will morph into a tan or golden shade. The other obvious giveaway that your bacon is done is its texture.

You take strips of bacon and place them on a baking sheet, then sprinkle all-purpose flour on top and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 to 25 minutes. I was surprised to find out how great this worked. The flour definitely helped to give the bacon a crispier texture and nicer color than the other methods I tried.

Use parchment paper: To make cleanup easier, consider lining the air fryer basket with parchment paper. This will prevent the bacon from sticking to the basket and make it easier to remove when it's done.

What happens to the grease from bacon in an air fryer? It drains! Unlike stovetop or oven-cooked bacon, the air fryer allows the bacon grease to drip into the pan, leaving you with crispier, healthier bacon.