How to Grill Bacon
Light the grill., Oil the grill grate., Place the bacon onto the cool side., Turn the bacon during cooking., Remove the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Light the grill.
As with any sort of charcoal grilling, before you get started grilling your bacon, you'll need to get your charcoal to just the right heat for grilling.
Before lighting them, however, make sure to offset the coals by piling them in one side of the grill, leaving the other coal-free.
This will create a hot side of the grill and a cool side when the coals are lit.
When you're ready, light the grill.
Note that if you aren't using match-light charcoal, this may require lighter fluid.
After lighting, leave the lid off and wait for the coals to burn to perfection.
Coals are typically ready for grilling after they develop a grey, ashy exterior and emit a warm orange glow.
This can take 20 minutes or longer. -
Step 2: Oil the grill grate.
When you're ready to cook your bacon, quickly paint the grill with a small amount of neutral vegetable oil.
There are several ways to do this, but the easiest way is usually either by using a grill brush or by grabbing a bunched-up paper towel in a pair of tongs, dipping it in the oil, and quickly rubbing it across the grate.
Because bacon is naturally quite fatty, you don't need much oil to prevent it from sticking to the grill during cooking.
If you don't have oil, you can probably get away with either quickly rubbing one fatty piece of bacon across the grate or else just ignoring this step entirely.
Note, however, that some sticking may occur in this case. , Using a pair of tongs to protect your hands, place the strips of bacon on the cool side of the grill (the side with no coals underneath).
As the bacon cooks, the fat will naturally render and drip down into the grill.
If you cook the bacon over the coals, this can lead to massive flare-ups as the bacon fat ignites.To avoid the danger of burns, fire, or burnt bacon, cook using only indirect heat.
The bacon fat will still drip down into the grill, but since there are no coals underneath, flare-ups will be minimal.
Try to lay most or all of your bacon strips across the bars of the grate, rather than parallel to the bars.
This makes it less likely for the thin bacon to slip through the cracks of the grill into the ashy area underneath. , As the bacon cooks, it will naturally begin to shrink, darken, and toughen up.
To ensure booth sides get thoroughly cooked, be sure to turn the bacon as it cooks, beginning about when these effects of cooking become visible on the bottom side of the bacon.
Aim to turn the bacon at least every 5 minutes or so, replacing the lid of the grill between each turn.
Cooking times will vary widely depending on the temperature of the grill, the thickness of the bacon strips, and your preference for crispiness, so be sure to check the bacon often.
The total cooking time should be no more than 20 minutes or so.
If you prefer "softer" bacon, yours may be ready in as little as 7-10 minutes.
For other cuts of meat, there is a long-raging debate in the culinary community about whether excessive turning ruins the meat.
This is a non-issue for bacon, which most agree benefits from a fair amount of turning., When the bacon is done, it should have an appearance ranging from red to dark brown (depending on how crispy you like it) and a delicious aroma.
Remove the bacon from the grill strip-by-strip and place it onto a plate lined with several layers of paper towels.
Allow the paper towels to absorb some of the excess fat, then serve the bacon as desired! As with turning during cooking, bacon proves the exception to other meats in terms of allowing it to rest before serving.
While many other cuts of meat are noticeably moister and more flavorful after resting for 10-15 minutes following cooking, bacon is ready to eat as soon as it's cool enough not to burn your mouth! -
Step 3: Place the bacon onto the cool side.
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Step 4: Turn the bacon during cooking.
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Step 5: Remove the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate.
Detailed Guide
As with any sort of charcoal grilling, before you get started grilling your bacon, you'll need to get your charcoal to just the right heat for grilling.
Before lighting them, however, make sure to offset the coals by piling them in one side of the grill, leaving the other coal-free.
This will create a hot side of the grill and a cool side when the coals are lit.
When you're ready, light the grill.
Note that if you aren't using match-light charcoal, this may require lighter fluid.
After lighting, leave the lid off and wait for the coals to burn to perfection.
Coals are typically ready for grilling after they develop a grey, ashy exterior and emit a warm orange glow.
This can take 20 minutes or longer.
When you're ready to cook your bacon, quickly paint the grill with a small amount of neutral vegetable oil.
There are several ways to do this, but the easiest way is usually either by using a grill brush or by grabbing a bunched-up paper towel in a pair of tongs, dipping it in the oil, and quickly rubbing it across the grate.
Because bacon is naturally quite fatty, you don't need much oil to prevent it from sticking to the grill during cooking.
If you don't have oil, you can probably get away with either quickly rubbing one fatty piece of bacon across the grate or else just ignoring this step entirely.
Note, however, that some sticking may occur in this case. , Using a pair of tongs to protect your hands, place the strips of bacon on the cool side of the grill (the side with no coals underneath).
As the bacon cooks, the fat will naturally render and drip down into the grill.
If you cook the bacon over the coals, this can lead to massive flare-ups as the bacon fat ignites.To avoid the danger of burns, fire, or burnt bacon, cook using only indirect heat.
The bacon fat will still drip down into the grill, but since there are no coals underneath, flare-ups will be minimal.
Try to lay most or all of your bacon strips across the bars of the grate, rather than parallel to the bars.
This makes it less likely for the thin bacon to slip through the cracks of the grill into the ashy area underneath. , As the bacon cooks, it will naturally begin to shrink, darken, and toughen up.
To ensure booth sides get thoroughly cooked, be sure to turn the bacon as it cooks, beginning about when these effects of cooking become visible on the bottom side of the bacon.
Aim to turn the bacon at least every 5 minutes or so, replacing the lid of the grill between each turn.
Cooking times will vary widely depending on the temperature of the grill, the thickness of the bacon strips, and your preference for crispiness, so be sure to check the bacon often.
The total cooking time should be no more than 20 minutes or so.
If you prefer "softer" bacon, yours may be ready in as little as 7-10 minutes.
For other cuts of meat, there is a long-raging debate in the culinary community about whether excessive turning ruins the meat.
This is a non-issue for bacon, which most agree benefits from a fair amount of turning., When the bacon is done, it should have an appearance ranging from red to dark brown (depending on how crispy you like it) and a delicious aroma.
Remove the bacon from the grill strip-by-strip and place it onto a plate lined with several layers of paper towels.
Allow the paper towels to absorb some of the excess fat, then serve the bacon as desired! As with turning during cooking, bacon proves the exception to other meats in terms of allowing it to rest before serving.
While many other cuts of meat are noticeably moister and more flavorful after resting for 10-15 minutes following cooking, bacon is ready to eat as soon as it's cool enough not to burn your mouth!
About the Author
Laura Sullivan
Dedicated to helping readers learn new skills in organization and beyond.
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