Old Maid's Christmas

If you plan to serve bacon to a crowd, the best way to cook it is in your oven. Preheat the oven to 400F. Take a large baking sheet (mine’s a jelly roll pan – 12x17”) and line it with foil. If you like extra-crispy bacon, or if you want to crumble it later, say, over soup or a salad, put a cooling rack atop the foil. Fill the pan (or rack) with a single layer of thick-sliced bacon. Bake about 20 minutes, checking frequently. Remove when it’s ALMOST as done as you like; it will keep cooking a moment or two after it’s out of the oven. Let the bacon grease in the foil cool completely, then place it in the rubbish bin. Never pour bacon grease down the drain. Serve in a warm paper towel-lined slow cooker. Be sure to make a lot more bacon than you think you need. No matter what else you’re serving, the bacon will always disappear first.