How to Know When Bacon Is Done? (All You Need to Know)

Bacon is one of the most popular products made out of pork meat, and it has become the synonym of breakfast for many. Because of that, many people are preparing their bacon in a hurry. Therefore, it may come in handy knowing: 

How to know when bacon is done? Usually, bacon is considered fully done when it is entirely brown, and most of the fat is fried out of it. Although some people prefer their bacon to be a little bit soft and chewy, fully done bacon is most often crisp.

This definitely isn’t everything we have to say about this topic, though, no, not at all. There is much more to be uncovered, so let’s not waste any more time and just jump right into it!

How long does it take to fully cook bacon?

Bacon is a product made out of salt-cured pork meat, which is without a doubt the favorite pork product out there. Most commonly, it is served for breakfast, but bacon is a popular choice every time of the day.

Bacon is usually fried so that it’ll be nicely crispy, and this is where the problem comes – after what time is the bacon done best?

Telling how long it takes to fully cook bacon is challenging because this will vary a lot by a specific type of bacon and the preparation method used. Generally, it’ll take about ten minutes, but this is indeed just a rough estimate. 

You just have to keep reading for more specific numbers, though, because we will be discussing them in a second when we’ll be talking about each preparation method specifically!

How can you tell that bacon is cooked?

But despite that, sticking to a concrete timestamp may not be the best thing to do at all, to be fair. In many cases, the best way to know when your bacon is done is by looking at it. So how can you do that?

Telling that your bacon is cooked isn’t much of a hard challenge – bacon is considered fully cooked when it completely changes the color from pink to brown, and when foamy, white layer of fat starts to appear on top of it.

Is it OK to eat undercooked bacon?

No, it is not OK to eat undercooked bacon. That’s because, just like with any other meat product, by doing so, you may very likely get sick.

With that being said, though, it is crucial to point out that the bacon you bought at your store most likely isn’t actually raw but instead fully smoked. The reason we still fry it is then often just to give it the delicious crisp.

Is it OK if bacon is a little pink?

In the last paragraph, we explained chances are reasonably high that your bacon has already undergone a smoking process that makes it not raw by itself. 

Because of that, in many cases, you don’t even have to worry about eating bacon that seems as though it’s raw entirely. Therefore, it most likely is OK if your bacon is a little pink. 

Nevertheless, some kinds of bacon should always be cooked thoroughly, but more about that will be explained in the following answer.

Is bacon already cooked?

As we’ve already touched above, store-bought bacon has always already gone through the smoking and curing process. This process often makes it already cooked and therefore able to be eaten just as it is.

When it indeed is already cooked and prepared to be eaten right away, it is usually stated on the package. Hence, additionally cooking the bacon is definitely recommended, although it is not needed in many cases.

What does undercooked bacon look like?

There are many different ways undercooked bacon may look, one of them being absolutely pink when talking about the utterly raw bacon.

The type of undercooked bacon you’ll come across most often, though, is a bit different because it is the one that was required just a bit more time to be cooked.

This undercooked bacon is, usually, already brown and looking nearly as though it is thoroughly done, with only a few pink and juicy spots.

Nonetheless, telling this kind of undercooked bacon from the fully done one may be challenging in some cases. Therefore, rather than checking the color, you should be looking for a white foamy layer of fat on top of the bacon. When it is there, the bacon is done!

How to know when bacon is done in the oven?

Although the most commonly used way to prepare bacon is surely frying it in a pan, it is plausible to cook it even in the oven. In order to do so, preheat the oven to 375 °F (190 °C).

Then, spread the bacon strips evenly on a baking tray and cook them for at least 12 minutes. This should be enough in most cases, but it may take even more than 20 minutes if the strips are extremely thick.

Hence, checking the bacon regularly and stopping the process when satisfied may be much wiser than just sticking to a recommended time. But how do you know the bacon is done?

Bacon in the oven is entirely done when it’s thoroughly brown, and a white layer of fat starts to appear on the top of it.

How to know when bacon is done on the stove?

This may be arguable, but we would say preparing bacon on the stove is the most popular way to do it. Nonetheless, many people still don’t know how to do it properly and let it there for far too long, or, in other cases, don’t give it enough time to be done.

This doesn’t have to be the case with you, though, because telling when bacon is done on the stove is pretty easy; the only thing you have to do is look at it (remembering that it’ll usually take something around 8-10 minutes for the bacon to be done may help, too).

Bacon that was thoroughly done on the stove will be entirely brown. Additionally, there will also be an excellent fat rendering on the top of it, which can indicate when it’s fully cooked.

How to know when bacon is done on the grill?

Since bacon is a common item at many barbecues (it can make a great addition to burgers and hot dogs, for instance), it isn’t that rare to prepare it on the grill. 

Doing so has a nice upside to it – checking the bacon is an effortless task when you’re preparing it on the grill because you have to look at it all the time anyway.

Therefore, the only thing you have to do is keep an eye on its color – the bacon is fully done when it starts to turn brown, and a foamy fat rendering appears on the top of it.

How to know when bacon is done in the microwave?

Although a lot of people would argue this (and we kind of agree with them), microwaving your bacon is an option. And it is, in fact, the fastest option available as well, because it takes only around five minutes for bacon to be done in the microwave.

This may vary a lot for each type of microwave, though, and checking on the bacon halfway through is surely recommended then – the bacon is done when it is brown and has a white layer of fat on the top of it.

Summary

Bacon is an extremely popular meat product prepared by smoking salt-cured pork. With that being said, though, this smoking process is complete only in some cases, and in others, the bacon can’t, therefore, be called cooked.

Well, at least until you cook it yourself (which, by the way, is the best you can always do, because otherwise, the bacon won’t be crispy) because making sure your bacon is fully done then is an easy task.

The only thing you have to do is look at it – the bacon is completely done when it is entirely brown and has a white, foamy layer of fat rendering on top of it.

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Image credits – Canva