How To Cook Bacon On The Grill

Delicious, crispy, salty, and smoky. There is no doubt that bacon is one of the foods that almost everyone enjoys. As part of the food group, bacon deserves its own subsection. We think it does anyway!

Apparently Americans cannot get enough bacon. On average, Americans consume about 18 pounds of bacon each year. It is perfect for adding to sandwiches, salads, burgers, and other meals, as well as serving as a snack on its own.

Cooking bacon on the stovetop is the usual method most people use. Getting rid of the extra fat after cooking can be messy with hot oil being splashed at you while you cook.

However, have you ever thought about grilling your bacon instead? You can cook your bacon on a cast iron griddle using a grill, which is one of the best methods. You can grill bacon on your barbecue grill in the backyard or wherever you feel is best.

The purpose of this guide is to help you ensure that you grill your bacon to the best of your ability and deliver the most flavorful bacon ever.

As a result of reading this, you will no longer want to fry your bacon because you will notice the difference after you have tasted it.

Can You Even Grill Bacon?

First things first, is it safe to grill bacon? It’s a fair question. After all, grease and flames typically are not a safe combination.

The short answer is yes, it’s safe to grill bacon – but you need to pay attention. You shouldn’t have bacon grease drip directly onto a flame.

That means your grill either needs to have flame guards, you need to use a two heat zone grilling set up, or you need to cook your bacon in a pan or on some foil with the edges raised.

Grilling Bacon Step By Step

Before you begin the steps on how to grill your bacon, you will need to choose the cut of bacon that you prefer. The purpose of this is to make sure you are aware of what it is you are going to be cooking with.

Are you cooking your bacon directly on the grill grates or inside of a cast iron? Or are you wrapping them around some jalapeño poppers? This will affect which cut you should choose, but more on that below.

Furthermore, another important factor to consider is whether it will be smoked or whether it will be unsmoked. Depending on how long you cook your bacon for and which method you use, this might affect how the bacon tastes.

As every individual has a different taste, it is important for you to know what you want to practice with and how you want to use it.

• Step One: You can start by placing your cast iron on the grill. For the best results, you will want to do this before your grill is fully heated up. This will ensure that your cast iron is thoroughly preheated and ready to use. It is a great tip to do this every time you decide to grill your bacon and it saves time in the grilling process. 
• Step Two: Set the grill to 400ºF and let it heat up until it reaches that temperature. It is highly recommended that you cook bacon at a temperature of about 400ºF so that it gets crispy and evenly cooked. The best bacon is one that is cooked crispy so keep it at this temperature if you want to achieve just that. 
• Step Three: It is very important to spread the bacon out on the griddle once it has reached the desired temperature. We recommend that the bacon should cook for approximately 7 to 10 minutes once the grill lid is closed. This keeps the heat in and bacon cooking in the perfect conditions, plus you don’t need to deal with the mess.
• Step Four: If you want to flip the bacon, you will have to open the grill, do it with tongs, and stay on top of it during cooking. Allow the bacon to cook for 3 to 5 minutes more, depending on the crispness you like. Flipping the bacon allows it to cook much more evenly and captures all the flavors you need for your perfect piece of bacon.
• Step Five: When you believe it is time for your bacon to be taken out and it appears that it is crispy, you should line a plate with some paper towels. After the bacon has been removed from the griddle, it should be placed on the lined plate. At this point, your bacon is ready for you to devour. There is no right or wrong way to serve this bacon. It can be put on a burger, inside of some breakfast tacos, or whatever else your heart desires.

Which Cut Of Bacon Is Best For Grilling?

As long as you take a few things into consideration, all types and cuts of bacon can be suitable for grilling.

If you taste them all, you will be able to decide for yourself which one is the best. Ultimately, it all boils down to what you personally prefer.

The first type of bacon is the standard kind that is an all-purpose food that is sliced very thinly and is available in small quantities. The cooking process will be extremely fast, and you want to keep an eye on it closely so that it does not take long to cook. Thin sliced bacon is great as a wrapper for things like poppers.

Center-cut bacon is another type and it’s a leaner cut than other types of bacon because it’s cut very close to the bone in the pork belly. It’s about 30% leaner than other types of bacon. The cooking time will also need to be shortened due to the lower fat content and shorter strips.

The final type of bacon is the thick cut bacon, which is about twice as thick as standard bacon, which allows it to keep its shape better. Thick cut bacon is especially ideal if you’re going to grill your bacon directly on the grates.

Besides being perfect for grilling, it can be cooked a little longer without getting burned. This is an extremely meaty type of bacon that we would recommend on it’s own due to the size and thickness.

Grilling vs Frying Bacon – Which Is Better?

Bacon tastes good both ways, so this is the ultimate debate. Nevertheless, we like to think that the bacon cooked on the grill adds an extra bit of flavour.

Is grilling bacon a good idea? Definitely. The smoky flavor of the bacon is heightened by smoke from the grill. In addition, the grill cooks food more evenly and quickly, which prevents unattractive half-crispy and half-soft results from frying

The bacon is cooked in its own fat when it is cooked on the stovetop, whereas it is cooked on the grill and the fat drips off. So you don’t need to feel guilty about eating a little more of it.

This means you can stop feeling guilty about eating so much of this tasty food because you will not feel bad.

Fatty substances in bacon can cause burns when fried. This is because the bacon sits in the fat and it is burning hot as a result of its sitting in the fat.

It is dangerous when this sort of thing happens. Flare-ups really should not occur if you are grilling bacon the right way.

Final Thoughts

Bacon is one of the most versatile foods which can be eaten at any time of the day, and it can be used as an extra addition to many other meals as well.

If you’ve read this guide to the end, we hope that after reading you will be able to successfully grill your own bacon and get it to the desired crispiness without much trouble.

The only thing left for you to do today is step away from the frying pan and fire up the grill so you can make the best bacon you’ve ever had.

Note: If you own a pellet grill, check out our ultimate guide to smoking bacon on the pellet smoker next!