Get the Bacon You Crave: How to Order Crispy, Crunchy Bacon at Restaurants

Crispy, crunchy bacon is the holy grail of breakfast meats. When done right, shatteringly crisp bacon transforms any meal into a magical experience. However, ordering bacon with just the right amount of crispiness can be hit or miss at restaurants. Flabby or unevenly cooked bacon is a common complaint among bacon lovers. Read on to learn insider tips for getting your bacon cooked exactly how you like it at restaurants.

The Quest for Crispy Bacon

Perfectly cooked bacon should be browned throughout with a satisfying crunch It should shatter when you bite into it, not bend or droop Chewy, limp bacon just doesn’t measure up. Crispy bacon fanatics have struggled to get restaurants to properly prepare this beloved food. Asking for “crispy” or “extra crispy” bacon often results in disappointment. Understanding how restaurants cook bacon helps explain why it’s so hard to get right, and what you can do to improve the odds.

How Restaurants Cook Bacon

In a restaurant kitchen, bacon goes through a high-heat cooking process that makes achieving crispy-but-not-burnt bacon tricky:

• Bacon is pre-cooked partway in big batches in the oven or on sheet pans. This par-cooked bacon is pliable, not crispy

• Orders come in, and the par-cooked bacon goes onto a hot grill or griddle to finish cooking. The high heat crisps the bacon quickly.

• If the bacon cooks too long, it burns. Not long enough, and it stays limp. There’s a narrow window for perfect crispness.

• The busy cook is multitasking, so bacon often gets neglected and comes out underdone.

Tips for Ordering Crispy Bacon at Restaurants

Because of how bacon is prepared in restaurants, getting it crispy but not burnt requires carefully crafted requests:

• Ask politely for “very well done,” “extra crispy,” or “crunchy” bacon. Say you don’t mind waiting extra time.

• Request thick-cut or slab bacon, which is harder to overcook.

• For breakfast, ask for “super crispy” bacon along with eggs and toast. The moisture from other items helps prevent burning.

• On a bacon cheeseburger or sandwich, request “crisp” or “crunchy” bacon instead of regular bacon.

• When bacon arrives undercooked, send it back and politely ask for it to be cooked longer until crispy. Offer to wait.

• Try restaurants known for excellent crispy bacon and tip well. Make special requests at your own risk.

• Ask if they can fry the bacon in a deep fryer, which crisps it evenly. Not all kitchens will accommodate this.

• As a last resort, bring your own bacon and ask for a discount on the dish. Some chefs may prepare customer-provided items.

Other Ways to Get Perfectly Crispy Bacon

If restaurants consistently fail on the crispy bacon front, take matters into your own hands:

• Cook bacon low and slow at home. Use heavy pans for even heat and cook over medium-low, flipping frequently.

• Bake bacon at 300-400°F on a wire rack over a pan until browned and rigid. The ambient heat dries it out evenly.

• Microwave between paper towels for 30 seconds at a time until crispy. The paper absorbs grease for crisper results.

• Fry thick bacon in a bit of oil over medium heat. The oil helps conduct gentler heat.

• Boil bacon briefly, 1-2 minutes, then transfer to paper towels to drain. The water steams it without crisping.

• Rub raw bacon with brown sugar before cooking. The sugar helps add flavor and crispness.

With the right techniques, you can satisfy your cravings for shatteringly crisp bacon in your own kitchen. Still, armed with insider tips, even bacon-mangling restaurants can be coaxed into crispy bacon success on occasion. Just remember to be polite, patient, and generous with your compliments and tips. Crispy bacon is worth fighting for.