The classic American method for perfectly crisp smoked bacon strips in the air fryer, with no added fat, even cooking, and neatly ruffled edges.
Ingredients
- 600 g thick-cut smoked American bacon
Method
- Take the bacon out of the refrigerator just long enough to separate the strips without tearing them. Keep them cold: they are easier to handle and shrink more evenly during cooking.
- Preheat the air fryer to 180 °C (355 °F) for 3 minutes if your model allows. The basket should be hot and dry, with no added fat.
- Arrange the bacon strips in a single layer in the basket without overlapping. They can touch slightly, as they will shrink while cooking, but air must be able to circulate around the edges.
- Cook at 180 °C (355 °F) for 8 to 12 minutes, depending on thickness. Halfway through cooking, open the basket: the slices should start to ripple, the fat should sizzle gently, and the edges should begin to curl. Flip or rearrange the slices if any spots are browning faster than others.
- Continue cooking until the bacon is a rich mahogany brown, glistening with rendered fat, with firm, crisp edges. It should still feel slightly pliable in the center while in the basket: it will crisp up as it cools.
- Immediately transfer the bacon to paper towels without stacking. Let rest for 2 minutes: excess surface grease drains off, the crispness sets, and the edges become pleasantly brittle.
- Carefully pour off the rendered fat from the bottom drawer before starting another batch. Repeat with the remaining bacon, always in a single layer, to ensure clean, crisp results.
- Serve immediately while hot. The bacon should snap at the ends while retaining a slight, melt-in-your-mouth chew in the center.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 360 kcal
- Protein
- 37.5 g
- Carbohydrate
- 0 g
- Fat
- 22.5 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
