Q: I love thick cut bacon and use it in recipes as well as enjoy it all by itself. The problem is I like it extra crispy and smoke up the kitchen when frying it. It seems that if I lower the heat it just doesn't cook like I want it. Is there any way I can have extra crispy bacon without having to open a window? Cameron C. Poe, Lexington, KY
A: The easiest way to cook bacon is to lay it all out on a baking sheet or in a few frying pans, then bake in the oven. While it takes a little longer than pan-frying does, you have the added advantages of smoke containment, as well as the ability to cook much more bacon at once. When it's the weekend morning, sometimes we don't even bother preheating the oven; we just turn it to 400 degrees F and put the bacon in. By the time the coffee is made and the eggs are scrambled, the bacon's ready to eat.
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