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Few things beat a leisurely morning with ample time to rustle up a delicious breakfast, and there’s something undeniably satisfying about the sound of bacon sizzling away in a pan. Yet while frying bacon remains the most popular cooking method, it can actually leave the rashers limp and soggy — and the truth is, you don’t need to use oil at all.

Bacon should naturally cook in its own fat, and adding oil causes the fatty white parts to cook at a considerably faster rate without rendering properly. More often than not, the white edges of the bacon begin to burn before the pink meat has fully cooked through, leaving you with strips that are simultaneously charred and rubbery. Lori Yates, a cook and founder of Foxes Love Lemons, has revealed that during her time at culinary school, bacon was never cooked in a pan — and that for a superior texture, the oven is the way to go.

She said: “Going to culinary school certainly introduced me to fancy kitchen techniques like making French pastries and hollandaise sauce.

“But it also introduced me to something so simple, so basic, so obvious, that I was left scratching my head as to why I hadn’t thought of it before: how to cook bacon in the oven.”

Oil tends to cook the fatty parts of bacon extremely rapidly, resulting in meat that emerges from the pan both burnt and overdone, while also causing the pan itself to become dangerously hot.

Both fat and oil cause grease to splatter everywhere and scorch the pan, leaving you with considerably more washing up once the bacon is cooked.

Cooking bacon in the oven is not only far simpler, but it envelops the bacon in heat from all sides, allowing the fat to render gradually and cook the meat without any additional oil.

Oven-cooked bacon turns out crispier and boasts a richer flavour as it isn’t smothered in oil, making it an effortless way to elevate a breakfast sandwich with minimal fuss.

How to properly cook bacon in the oven

To begin, preheat the oven to 190°C, then line a rimmed baking tray with greaseproof paper or tin foil.

Arrange the bacon in a single layer, ensuring the rashers do not overlap, otherwise they will not cook evenly.

Next, place in the oven for approximately 20 minutes. If you prefer chewy bacon, remove it from the oven once it has just browned, and for extra crispy bacon, leave it a further two to three minutes.

There is no need to turn the bacon over as it should cook evenly by itself, but keep an eye on it a few minutes before the cooking time is up, as bacon can quickly go from perfectly done to overdone.

Once the bacon is ready, place it on some kitchen paper to absorb any excess grease. The result should be crispy, golden and far more flavourful than the pan-fried alternative.