The Best Way to Cook Turkey Bacon (It's Not in the Oven)
Package instructions are always either too vague or inconsistent. We knew we could do better.
When cooking turkey bacon, we found that the package instructions either were vague and inconsistent or called for preparing the strips in a dry (no fat) skillet, which yielded bacon that was tough and leathery. So we experimented with different approaches of cooking turkey bacon to come up with a foolproof method that produced the crisp, deeply browned results we were after.
Can You Cook Turkey Bacon Like Regular Bacon?
Because turkey bacon doesn't contain as much fat as pork bacon, you can't cook it the same way. We tried cooking the strips of turkey bacon on an aluminum foil–lined baking sheet in a 400-degree oven, a method we often use when cooking pork bacon, but the results were not good. The lean strips coupled with the dry heat of the oven, yield bacon that was dry and leathery.
Want Crispy Turkey Bacon? Add Fat When You Cook It
Compared to regular bacon, turkey bacon releases very little fat during cooking. Four strips of pork bacon will yield about 1 tablespoon of fat, while some turkey bacons didn't produce a single drop. Having some fat in the skillet will ensure the turkey bacon makes full, even contact with the heat and will yield crisper strips. But don’t worry— it won’t be greasy. We found that the amount of fat in the skillet after cooking was virtually the same amount that we started with.
How to Cook Turkey Bacon
The best way to cook turkey bacon is to fry it on the stovetop with some extra fat. With the following method, the browned, crisp-tender results rivaled pork bacon enough that by the end of testing, we made a couple of turkey bacon converts.
1. Preheat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in 12-inch skillet (traditional or nonstick) over medium heat until shimmering.
2. Place 4 strips in skillet and cook, turning strips every 2 to 3 minutes and adjusting heat as necessary, until bacon is deeply browned and crispy, 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Transfer strips to paper towel–lined plate and serve.
What Exactly Is Turkey Bacon?
Traditional pork bacon is made from pork belly, a fatty cut of meat that comes from the underside of a pig. An equivalent cut of meat just doesn't exist on a turkey. That's why turkey bacon is more like sausage than pork bacon, according to Jeffrey Sindelar, a meat specialist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison's Meat Laboratory.
There are two main styles: one that's made from finely ground meat and one that's made from meat chopped into larger chunks. Our tasting experts on our ATK Reviews team dove deep into the differences between these while researching the products in our turkey bacon tasting.
Can You Make Turkey Bacon Taste Like Pork Bacon?
None of the products we tasted in our turkey bacon testing could be mistaken for pork. The better products hit on the same flavors we associate with pork bacon—sweet, smoky, salty—and contributed the requisite savory component to sandwiches, but they lacked richness and crispy texture.
Despite the name, the two products are vastly different. If you want pork bacon, the best option is to cook pork bacon. But if you're going to cook turkey bacon, use the technique above for the best, crispiest results.
Our Turkey Bacon Taste Test
