No-Hassle Bacon and Eggs for a Crowd

EASIER

GLUTEN-FREE

Makes 8 servings

Ever tried to make fried eggs on the weekend? Ever stood at the stove for a really long time? Ever made your own breakfast when everyone else was already outside having fun? Here’s the simple solution: a sheet-pan breakfast of fried eggs. We like ours with a splash of vinegar, a little culinary extravagance that brings out the naturally sweet notes in the yolks. Have lots of buttered toast on hand.

12 ounces thinly sliced bacon

2 large green or red bell peppers, preferably tall ones (rather than squat)

8 large eggs

2 teaspoons white wine vinegar

Ground black pepper, to taste

1. Position the rack in the center of the oven; heat the oven to 400°F.

2. Lay the strips of bacon on a large lipped baking sheet. Bake until brown and crisp, 10 to 12 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, slice off both the stem end and the bottom of each bell pepper. Use a paring knife to slice out the core and membranes inside each pepper tube. Evenly slice the cored peppers into eight ½-inch-thick rings (reserve the extras for salads or sandwiches).

4. Use kitchen tongs to transfer the cooked bacon to a serving platter. Set the pepper rings on the baking sheet in the bacon fat. Crack an egg into each ring.

5. Bake until the eggs are set to your desired degree, about 4 minutes for runny yolks, up to 6 minutes for harder set ones.

6. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, sprinkle the vinegar over the eggs (about ¼ teaspoon per egg), and sprinkle with pepper. Use a metal spatula to transfer the eggs in their rings to serving plates. Serve with the bacon.

Test Kitchen Notes

• There’s no need to turn the bacon while it’s baking. Both sides will crisp in the bacon’s fat.

• The egg whites won’t run out from under the pepper rings if the baking sheet is flat, not warped. (A new baking sheet costs less than 20 bucks.)

• The baking sheet must be hot when you add the eggs. If it’s been out of the oven for a while after baking the bacon, slip it back in for a minute or two before proceeding.

• The recipe can be halved—or increased proportionally, depending on the size of the baking sheet.

• If desired, drain the bacon slices on a cutting board covered with paper towels.

• This recipe is gluten-free if you use certified gluten-free bacon. While the curing process does not routinely include gluten (some do use soy sauce), cross-contamination can be a factor in large processing facilities. Read labels carefully if this is a concern.

Voilà! You can skip the bell pepper rings here and use mason jar rings on the baking sheet. In fact, you can use those rings anytime you want to make perfectly round fried eggs: Just set them lipped side down on the baking sheet (or in a skillet), then crack the eggs directly into them. If you do use the bell pepper rings as the recipe states, they should be as evenly cut as possible. Set them on a cutting board to make sure they don’t rock with uneven edges.