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Top 10 Best Bacon Cookers and Buying Guide
Bacon has all the earmarks of the most consumed food around the world. According to Statista 18.14 million Americans consumed more than 5 pounds of bacon till date. That’s a pretty huge amount considering that each portion weighs just a few ounces.
A kind of salt-cured meat, bacon is commonly made from pork. However, many brands also use other sources such as beef and turkey. Regardless of the meat used, bacon contains generous amounts of omega 3 fatty acids. It is best to consume this delicacy in moderation with other healthy foods rich in protein and fiber.
The best bacon cooker has all the features required to make this delicacy much easier. These gadgets are designed to cook your bacon until each of the slices is crisp.
Cooking typically drains away excess fat and prevents the mess associated with oil sloshing out of the pan. A high-quality bacon cooker eliminates any chances of you slipping the meat slices or burning them accidentally.
Best Bacon Cookers
After spending time on research of the top-rated bacon cooker available on the most popular and successful online retail shops, we have settled on the following top 10 best bacon cookers you can choose from.
Hamilton Beach 3-in-1 MultiGrill Cooker
Hamilton Beach MultiGrill Cooker is our first pick because of its quality. Its 100-square inch nonstick cooking surface is capable of preparing various foods with the most preferred being bacon.
Its multi-grill design allows you to cook different kinds of food at the same time. The ability to adjust cooking temperatures gives you maximum control over the cooking process. Choose to cook at high or low heat.
The cooker will allow you to prepare your food to crisp perfection. You will not have to worry about messy splatter usually associated with cooking bacon on frying pans. The gadget features a kickstand that lets grease drain away as the meat readies. It opens flat to allow for combination griddle/grill cooking as well as the double cooking surface.
Due to its compact design and lightweight, the Hamilton Beach MultiGrill Cooker is suitable for both indoor and outdoor use. The device measures 13.9 inches x 7.2 inches x 16.9 inches and weighs just 10 pounds. Such measurements make the cooker portable and compact in size meaning it will not take too much space on your kitchen countertop.
One of the lovely things regarding this Hamilton Beach cooker is that its components are dishwasher safe. This eliminates the need for the ever tricky hand wash. You can easily remove the cooking plates and throw them into your dishwasher. The pull-out drip tray is also dishwasher safe.
Special Features
- 3-in-1 cooking capability (grill, griddle and bacon cooker)
- Sufficient 100-sqft non-stick cooking surface
- Removable cooking plate and pull-out tray are dishwasher-safe
- Adjustable temperature regulation
- Unique kickstand design to tilt up to drain away grease
Nordic Ware Microwave Bacon Tray and Food Defroster
Nordic Ware is a family-owned firm that has been in existence since 1946. That’s over 70 years of innovation and success. It is actually a household brand in the United States. Featuring a simplistic design, their Nordic War3 Bacon Tray and Food Defroster is our best bacon cooker for microwave.
This multipurpose device works as a bacon tray for cooking bacon on a microwave. It is also an excellent defroster of food in the microwave. It features a sloped design that drains away the excess grease as well as moisture leaving your bacon excellently crisp. The unit eliminates the messes associated with cooking bacon on open frying pans.
This cooker and defroster measure 1.3 inches x 10.2 inches x 12 inches. Such dimensions give you a large capacity tray of a rectangular shape that can accommodate many bacon slices at once.
The surface of the tray features ridges designed to keep food up and far away from the draining grease. This ensures that your bacon cooks to perfection.
A good quality cooker for bacon must be easy to clean. Nordic Ware Microwave cooker is not different. The entire thing is dishwasher safe.
It is crafted with a sturdy and robust material that is resistant to heat and chemicals from food. You do not have to worry about your safety as the tray is Melamine and BPA-free. It comes with a 5-year warranty.
Special Features
- Sufficient capacity and rectangular shape accommodates lots of bacon slices
- The tray is slanted in design for use in microwave
- Ridges in the tray keep food from draining grease
- Dishwasher safe
- Melamine and BPA-free construction material
OXO Good Grips Microwave Bacon Cooker
The Microwave Bacon Cooker from OXO Good Grips is a beautiful and colorful device that will give you crispier, tastier and healthier bacon is just a few seconds without terrible messes. This product was designed for busy chefs who wish to create healthy and delicious meals and snacks fast and without messes.
Made from premium quality materials, this Microwave bacon cooker will serve you for years. Thoughtful features like stay-cool handles, as well as simple adjustments, make this product one of a kind in the market. With such features, you can easily customize your cooking to meet the eating behaviors of your family and guests.
An adjustable kickstand allows fat to drain into a well-suited grease reservoir easily. The aim is to ensure you have crispier bacon each time you crave for a serving. The cooker has a detachable silicon lid design to keep hot grease from spattering out of the reservoir.
Effortlessly remove the lid for fast cleaning. The silicon cooking surface also is removable. The cooker is microwave and dishwasher safe. The construction material is also BPA-free.
The gadget measures 11.2 inches x 10.4 inches x 2 inches and weighs a paltry 1.1lbs. It is lightweight and compact in size. Even more interesting is that the unit folds flat to allow for compact storage. The product comes with OXO Better Guarantee. Return the product if it does not satisfy your specifications.
Special Features
- Cooks bacon in the microwave safely and quickly
- Easy to adjust kickstand drains grease for crisp and healthy bacon
- Easy to clean, removable silicone cooking surface
- Removable drain lid prevent grease spillage
- Folds easy for portability and compact storage
- Microwave-safe, BPA-free and dishwasher-safe
Makin’ Bacon Microwave Cooker
The original Makin’ Bacon Microwave Rack is a beautiful cooker that allows you to prepare delicious and crisp bacon and other meats. The design features three bars (racks) capable of holding up to 18 standard slices of bacon at once. You can make enough bacon for your family in just a single cooking episode.
A tray at the bottom of the cooker is there to hold any dripping grease (or fats) so that it does not cause a nasty mess inside the microwave. Let the grease to drip down as your bacon cooks. This translate into less fat inside the substance of the bacon and therefore a healthier snack. Fat reduction is by as much as 35 percent.
You can easily customize the placement of the bacon racks depending on the number of meat slices you intend to cook. To use the cooker, merely hang the slices you wish to prepare on the bars, cover them with a paper towel.
The towel functions to soak up the released fat and prevent sloshing. Each slice requires just about a minute to cook, and you will have perfectly crisp bacon to enjoy.
The entire cooker is dishwasher-safe eliminating the hassles of having to clean it by hand. The unit measures 9.2 inches x 8.8 inches x 1.6 inches and weighs about 2lbs. The lightweight means you will have no problems handling the bacon cooker when placing it in the center of the microwave.
Special Features
- Perfectly cooks bacon for about a minute
- Capable of reducing fat up to 35 percent
- Fat is caught up by a convenient tray
- Easy clean up as all parts are dishwasher safe
- Made from specially formulated heat-resistant plastic
Joie Piggy Microwave Bacon Tray
The Joie Piggy (also known cheekily as Joie Oink Oink) is a combo cooker that lets you prepare sweet bacon and delicious eggs. Measuring 9 inches by 8 inches, this microwave bacon try is large enough to allow you to make enough crispy meat slices or eggs for your whole family at once. It holds 4 to 5 slices of bacon.
It comes as a curved rectangle tray featuring slightly raised serpentine ridges. These ridges work to elevate the bacon to distribute heat uniformly.
Grease conveniently drips away for a crispier and healthier meal. For more significant results, the brand recommends that you cook from high for about a minute per slice of bacon.
The unit is fitted with short handles to help you remove the hot tray from your microwave. The shortness of the handle is counterproductive as the plate can become hot right from the microwave.
Although the ridges help to keep the bacon away from the grease as it cooks, the lack of grease receptacle may allow some oil spatter to mess your food. However, the tray has a lid to prevent the grease from splattering into the microwave.
Like other bacon cooker models in our review, this unit is dishwasher safe. This is great because the spattered grease can be difficult to clean by hand. It is made from BPA-free plastic which is easy to clean, reliable and durable.
Special Features
- Elevated ridges evenly distribute heat
- Easy use and clean (dishwasher-safe)
- Holds up to 4 or 5 slices of bacon as once
- Cooks bacon for just a minute
- A combo microwave cooker for bacon and eggs
- Made of BPA-free plastic
Progressive Prep Microwave Large Bacon Grill
If you have not managed to find the best bacon cooker for microwave, then try checking out this one from Progressive Prep. This large bacon grill can cook 7 to 9 strips of bacon or other meat to perfection at once. The grill works both fast and secure in your microwave allowing you to make your breakfast or snack fast.
Adjustable heat control means you can cook at low, medium or high heat without having to worry about the ability of the grill to handle the variations in temperature.
Therefore, you can adjust your cook time at will for chewy or crispy bacon depending on your personal liking. It can also act as a defroster. Thus you can move your snacks from the freezer to the microwave and finally to the table.
The cooker reduces fat by a large percentage for a healthy meal. It microwavable grills designed to keep the bacon being cooked elevated to let fat drip off. This leaves you with a healthy breakfast each time you have the cravings.
The gadget comes with a vented cover that prevents grease from splattering into the microwave for a messy cook. It also has recessed handles for effortless removal.
A versatile cooker, you can use the Progressive Prep microwave grill to cook frozen snacks such as pocket sandwiches, pizza rolls, sausage links, taquitos, and patties. The grill is safe for all these foods because it is made for BPA-free material. It is also dishwasher-safe.
Special Features
- Large capacity bacon cooker
- Significantly reduces fat for healthier breakfast
- Innovative design prevents grease splatter
- Multifunctional for cooking other foods
- BPA-free construction and dishwasher-safe
Progressive Microwave Small Bacon Grill
If you abide solo or your family is still small, then you can choose to buy this small bacon grill from Progressive. It is similar to its counterpart in the previous review in quality and design. The only difference is that it’s smaller in capacity than the large bacon grill in our quick earlier description.
The Prep Solutions Microwave Small Bacon Grill is engineered to cook 4-6 strips of bacon at once to perfection. It does this faster and more comfortable than many other models in the microwave. All you need to do is adjust your cook time as you deem necessary from chewy to crispy snack depending on your taste and preferences.
The interior of the microwavable grill is raised to allow the fat or grease to drip off leaving behind a healthy breakfast for you. The cover or lid is vented to reduce the chances of grease spatters thereby keeping your microwave clean. It also features a recessed handle to make it easy to load and remove the grill from the microwave.
You do not need to buy several other microwave cookers for your other cooking needs. This is because the Prep Solutions microwave cooker is multifunctional.
Use it to cook pizza rolls, sausage links, pocket sandwiches, taquitos, and patties. Cleaning and maintaining the gadget is effortless. All parts are dishwasher safe. High-quality BPA-free plastic is durable, heat-resistant and easy to clean.
Special Features
- Prepares chewy and crispy bacon
- Cooks 4-6 strips of bacon at a time
- Elevated cooking surface keeps the bacon off from the grease
- The vented cover prevents grease splatters
- A multifunctional microwave bacon cooker
- Dishwasher safe, BPA-free material
Emson Bacon Wave, Microwave Bacon Cooker
Emson Bacon wave is what you need to ensure you always enjoy crisp bacon every time the craving sets in. It is a molded BPA-Free microwave tray featuring three grooved rows.
That’s where you horizontally insert the bacon strips. To keep the bacon safely in place, the tray features two plastic skewers you need to insert at both ends.
Insert each skewer high enough through each of the slices so that the slice is elevated above the tray. According to the information in Bacon Wave’s packaging, the cooker can take up to 14 strips of bacon at once.
Such capacity is incontestable but having to insert the 14 stripes results is hugely time-consuming. It is even more difficult to weave the skewers so that they can hold the strips vertically.
As the bacon is cooking inside the microwave, shrinkage happens that pulls the slices of meat together to allow fat to drip into the tray underneath.
You will need to cover the stripes with a paper towel to absorb more grease and prevent the messy splatter. Thus very little fat remains unabsorbed and even more squeezed out on to the tray.
A unique feature of this cooker is stackable design. You can lay one cooker on top of the other allowing you to cook up to 28 slices of bacon. This feature is fantastic especially if you have to serve many people. Bacon Wave cooker is very easy to clean as all parts are dishwasher safe.
Special Features
- A molded microwave tray made from a BPA-free material
- Large capacity (14 stripes) and stackable
- Makes healthier bacon with less fat and cholesterol
- Cooks bacon uniformly
- Efficiently separates bacon from unwanted fat
Presto Bacon Microwave Cooker
If you like to go with modern stuff, then you might want to try the Presto Bacon Microwave Cooker. This affordable fete of engineering can help you make twelve pieces of bacon or other meat with a minimal mess on your stovetops, kitchen counter and certainly on your microwave oven.
Unlike the Bacon Wave, this cooker from Presto is incredibly easy to load. It presents a better and safer alternative to preparing bacon on skillet because most of the unhealthy fat drips away into the tray underneath.
The base of the tray is deep to take as much grease as possible. The result is delicious, perfectly crisp bacon that will make an unforgettable breakfast or snack.
The cooker is made of high-quality, BPA-free plastic that is also heat-resistant. The cooker fully immerses in water, and all the components are dishwasher safe.
This means easy cleaning, maintenance, and storage. The design has no tiny parts that are difficult to clean or parts that stain easily. This is just a single of the many reasons why a majority of people prefer Presto microwave cooker.
Its three cooking racks stand vertically on the tray. You need to insert the racks into the tray before you start cooking. You can then hang the bacon strips on the racks before loading the tray into the center of the microwave. The trays are removable for easy and compact storage.
Special Features
- Lets you cook tender and crunchy bacon slices
- Easily removable racks for easy cleaning and storage
- Reduces grease to eliminate cooking mess
- Made of BPA-free plastic
- Full submersible and dishwasher-safe
Lekue Microwave Bacon Maker
Sitting last on our top 10 bacon cooker reviews is the Lekue Microwave, Bacon Maker. This does not mean it is of lesser quality. In fact, it is one of the top-rated bacon cookers for the microwave.
It offers you a quick, easy and clean way to cook tasty and crunchy bacon on a microwave oven. The bacon maker can cook 6 slices to perfection in just 3 minutes.
Its design features several deep grooves to drain grease away from the bacon strips for healthier and less messy cooking. There is an integrated drain spout that lets you pour out or remove grease from the tray.
You can even interrupt the cooking process to remove the accumulated grease if it is too much without interfering with the outcome of the process.
Besides, a transparent lid or cover gives you the opportunity to view the cooking process and reduce the chances of messy splattering. Another great feature is the large comfortable handles that make the cooker easy to remove from the microwave when the bacon is ready. This limits any chances of burns associated with handling the hot tray.
Lekue bacon maker for the microwave is dishwasher safe. All parts are made from BPA-free material making it safe to be used with food materials. The unit measures 11.02 inches length x 9.8 inches width x2.3 inches height. It weighs just 9.4 ounces.
Special Features
- Works quickly (less than 5 minutes) and easily
- Equipped with a clear lid to let you see the cooking process
- Deep grooves drain grease away
- An integrated spout allows you to pour and remove fat
- Easy to clean and dishwasher safe
How to Choose the Best Bacon Cooker
We have already introduced our recommended brands of bacon cookers. This does not mean we expect everyone to find them ideal for their own needs and desires.
Therefore, it would not be strange if you disagree. However, nothing is lost because you can still use this buying guide to land a perfect choice.
Here are the most crucial issues to think about before you buy the best gadget that’s worth your investment:
Safety
Talking about bacon, you should know it not one of the healthiest foods you should eat. The reason is that bacon is rich in unhealthy fatty acids including cholesterol.
The conventional way to cook bacon is to use a frying pan. Such a method of frying does not reduce unwanted fat to any good percentage.
Besides, a cooking fat or oil can become extremely dangerous. Research and you will find information on the number of deaths and debilitations associated with grease and oil.
A good quality bacon cooker should be able to reduce unwanted fat to a high percentage making the meat healthy for consumption.
Capacity
It’s not one-size-fits-all when it comes to bacon cookers. These gadgets can handle from as little as 4 strips to as many as 18 or even more pieces of bacon. A few models are stackable allowing you to cook even more bacon at a time. With such, you can cook as many as 30 slices at a time.
One thing you need to keep in mind is that large capacity models always take longer to cook. But, the most important consideration should be the number of people you will feed.
Apparently, you cannot buy a cooker with a capacity of 14 slices when you live alone. Also, keep in mind that you should moderate the amount of bacon you eat a day as excess consumption can pose health risks.
Design and Construction
Any product including cooking trays should be strong and sturdy. This is a direct consequence of the construction and design.
Only a sturdy and robust cooker can handle the heat generated during the cooking process. Imagine a cooking tray breaking as you cook. It could be dangerous.
Another reason why you should consider design and construction is the safety of the material used. If plastic, ensure that it is BPA-free.
Melamine is another chemical that is dangerous and should not feature anywhere food-related material. Ensure, the cooker passes the quality control standards when it comes to construction materials.
Cooking Racks versus Grill
Here, you can choose one of two options. The first option is to go for a bacon grill. Such a device is always electricity-operated so that you won’t need the help of an oven or a microwave.
Alternatively, you can go for a bacon rack which is the most common type of bacon cooker. This simple kitchen appliance features a series of lots where you can hang the slices of bacon.
Being an assistive device, you will need a controllable heat source such as a microwave or oven. This fact makes them way cheaper than bacon grill. The former is more effective in reducing fat than the latter.
Dimensions
Before you pick a bacon cooker to buy especially the cooking tray, you must make ensure it fits your microwave. Therefore, you have to measure the inner dimensions of your oven or microwave. You can then buy a model that matches those dimensions.
Luckily, the rack-style cookers of bacon are often compact and sizable to fit microwaves just rightly. However, you have to be keen and smart if you wish to buy tray-style models. They usually feature square or rectangular shapes that might have issues turning in the turntable of your microwave.
The Gutter Design
The most important function of any bacon cooker is to get rid of as much fat and grease as possible. In your shopping expedition, choose a model that features elevated grooves to ensure the slices of bacon do not contact or sit in the accumulated fat.
High-quality models feature kickstands that raise the tray so to allow grease and fat to drain into the gutter. Some brands go further by designing trays with spouts to promote in the easy draining of grease. These are excellent choices.
Good to Know Tips
Now that you have what it takes to buy the best bacon cooker, we have a few tips that will help you with the appropriate use of the device. They are just good to know tips that will ensure you cook your meat to perfection.
Consider the Cooking Time
Bacon grills usually take longer to cook than racks. However, they do a better job with perfect results. Most of them are designed to stop when the food is ready automatically. Racks are different. It is upon you to tell when the bacon is ready.
Most microwaves are rated between 600 watts and 1200 watts. The higher the power of the microwave the quicker the cooking process will be. The instructions in most microwave bacon cookers recommend that you use 1000 watt microwave.
To get crispy and healthy bacon, you will need to give each slice about a minute cook time. If you have a lower-wattage microwave, you might need to add 10 to 15 seconds to that time to get the appropriate cooking time. For higher-powered models, subtract 10-15 seconds from the time.
The Use of Paper Towels
Paper towels are necessary only if your microwave bacon cooker has no lid. The aim is to prevent grease from splattering into the microwave causing a mess.
The paper towels are capable of absorbing lots of grease splatter. However, it is not necessary to line the interior of your microwave with paper towels as most models are designed to capture grease.
How to Cook Perfectly Crisp Bacon
There is no single proven way to ensure you always have the desired results. It is mostly trial and error. If you do not get it right the first time, do not worry. You may start by intentionally undercooking four slices of meat for about 3 minutes.
Afterward, you reprogram your microwave oven at half-a-minute increments while you check the cooking bacon until it becomes perfectly crisp. Be mindful that if the fatty areas of the bacon adopt a golden brown color, the meat will be crisp as it cools.
FAQ’s of Bacon Cooker
Q: What is a bacon cooker?
Ans: This is a simple kitchen appliance that is designed to help with cooking fat. Although they differ in type, design, and sizes; they feature the same basic technique.
They hold bacon as it heats allowing fats and grease to drip down from the bacon to a tray. Heat from microwave or grill cooks the bacon until it becomes crisp.
Q: What is the best bacon cooker?
Ans: Ultimately the choice is yours. However, you can use the information you have learned to make the right decision. You can also check out the brands we have recommended. The best brands include Hamilton Beach, OXO Good Grips, Nordic Ware, Joie Piggy, and Preston among others.
Q: Do I need oil to cook bacon
Ans: Yes and No depending on how you prepare your slices. If you are doing it on a frying pan, then you will need to use either vegetable oil or corn oil. However, you will not require oil if you are using either grill or rack cookers.
Q: Where can I buy the best bacon cooker?
Ans: You can just head out to the nearest well-equipped hardware store and buy the cooker you prefer. However, you will not have enough variety to choose from.
Besides, you may miss the many benefits associated with an online purchase. We highly recommend that you do your shopping online from the most popular and successful online stores such as Amazon.
Final Verdict
Although the information in these best bacon cooker reviews seems mouthful, it is precisely what you need if you must make the right decision. Only by relying on such information can you desist from making bad choices when it comes to buying products especially from online stores.
The bacon cookers in this review article are among the best currently in the market. The crucial factors to consider are safety, capacity, dimensions, performance as well as design and construction. Make sure you obtain the best value for your money by buying the best product.
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