Flat, Even Strips: How to Pick the Best Bacon Press

Bacon curls because the meat and fat shrink at different rates, and the parts that lift off the pan stop cooking while the rest carries on. The result is a strip that is burnt in one spot and floppy in the next. A bacon press is the plain answer: a weight on a handle that holds the strip against the hot metal so it browns from end to end.

It is a simple tool, but the good ones differ more than you would think in length, weight, face and handle. This guide compares eight presses that are sold for bacon, from cast iron pigs to restaurant steak weights, and explains how to use one without steaming your breakfast.

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Quick verdict: which bacon press to buy

Below are the five standouts side by side, then all eight presses in detail.

Five bacon presses side by side

Our five standout presses, one for each kind of cook, with the size and weight each maker or listing states. All eight presses are reviewed in full below.

Product images from Amazon. Weights and sizes are as stated by each maker or listing; several listings publish no weight, so check before you buy.

Our picks for the best bacon press

Each of these eight is sold with bacon in mind: bacon is named in the listing’s title or in what the maker says the press is for. They do not repeat the presses in our guides to the best cast iron grill press or the best grill press for smash burgers, which are written for broader jobs. Each pick says who it suits and one honest reason to skip it.

How to choose a bacon press

A press has no moving parts, so the choice comes down to a few plain things.

Length of the face

Bacon is long and narrow, and the press should be too. A rectangular face such as the 9 x 4.5-inch Vollrath or the 8.25 x 4.25-inch New Star lines up with the strips. A round press suits a round pan but covers less. Pig-shaped presses sit in between, and both on this list are around 8 to 9.5 inches long.

Weight

You are not trying to crush anything. Mr. Cast Iron’s advice is to set the press down and let gravity do the work, and its guide says a heavy, flat object works best because it keeps contact with the pan. The two commercial weights here are 2.5 pounds and the New Star iron is about 2 pounds; several home presses publish no figure at all, which is worth knowing if you are comparing them.

Material

Cast iron is the traditional choice: heavy for its size and able to take a seasoning, as long as you dry and oil it. Chrome-plated steel and cast aluminum spare you the seasoning, and aluminum is lighter to lift, but it also has less weight to hold the strips down.

Flat, ridged or grooved face

Flat faces give even contact. Ridges and grooves leave marks, and the maker of the ridged Mr. Bar-B-Q says the ridges help grease drain. Think about cleaning as well: bacon fat gets into every channel, so a grooved face needs a brush.

Handle

Wood is the most common handle here, and listings say it stays cooler. The Lodge uses a loop handle, per a retailer listing, and the Pit Boss has a soft-touch grip. Whatever the handle, the body of the press will be very hot, so keep a mitt close by and have somewhere safe to set it down.

Your cooking surface

Measure the inside of your skillet, and remember that the press has to lie flat. In a small pan, a 7-inch round is the realistic choice. Long presses suit griddles, including a cast iron griddle set across two burners.

Using a press without steaming the bacon

The advice from people who write about this is not identical, so here are both approaches. In The Takeout, Chris Mattera of North Country Smokehouse suggests a single layer of bacon in a cold pan with the press on top from the start, without preheating the press. He takes it off about halfway through, so that moisture can escape and the strips crisp up.

Mr. Cast Iron starts with a pan over medium to medium-high heat and adds the press once the strips begin to curl, then puts it back straight after the flip. Both agree on the main point: the press is there to hold the bacon flat, not to squash it. Turn the heat down if the strips brown too quickly.

A few sensible habits go with either method. Bacon spits, and a press does not stop all of it, so a splatter screen is still useful for the part of the cook when the press is off. Pour off extra fat carefully, and never set a hot press on a counter or a plastic board.

How we picked these eight presses

We have not cooked with these presses. We started from Amazon’s current data for each one, kept only in-stock listings, and required bacon to be named in the title or in the maker’s stated uses, so that burger smashers with no connection to bacon stayed out. We then favored makers with a visible record: Lodge, Norpro, Vollrath, Pit Boss, Mr. Bar-B-Q, New Star and Update International.

Small Amazon-only brands were left out, even where the listing looked good, because this tool rests on your food and we did not want a pick to depend on a listing alone. Tempered glass presses were left out for the same reason: the brands selling them are small. We looked for independent bacon press reviews and found very little beyond the mention of the Norpro in The Takeout, so most of this guide rests on what the makers and listings say. Where a listing leaves out a size, weight or care step, we say so. We also checked the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recall database for these brands and found no recall of these presses.

Bacon press questions, answered

Do you need a bacon press?

No. A heavy pan set on top of the strips does much the same job, and cooking bacon on a baking sheet in the oven is another way around curling. A press is useful if you often cook bacon on the stove or griddle and want a dedicated tool that takes up little space.

Should you preheat a bacon press?

It depends on the method. The Takeout’s source says not to, because the press is there to hold the bacon down, not to cook it from both sides. For a sear on a steak or a sandwich, a hot press makes more sense. For bacon, starting cold is the gentler choice.

Can you use a cast iron bacon press on a griddle?

Yes, and that is where long presses are most useful. Lift it with care so you do not drag it across the surface. The Pit Boss is sold with griddles in mind, and the Lodge and Norpro listings mention the grill as well as the stove.

How do you clean a bacon press?

Cast iron should be washed by hand, dried at once and wiped with a little oil; do not leave it to soak. Grooved faces need a stiff brush. Wood handles do not belong in a dishwasher. Follow the maker’s instructions where they are given, and note that several listings here do not give any.

What else can a bacon press do?

Most of these double as steak weights or sandwich presses. Norpro suggests quesadillas and hash browns, and a press does good work on a torta, or on the bacon for breakfast tacos on a hot griddle.

Our final pick for flat, even bacon

For most cooks, the Lodge Cast Iron Pig Press is the one to buy: it is long enough for several strips, seasoned at the factory and made by a foundry with a long record. Choose the Norpro if you want a wood handle, the Vollrath if you would rather not season iron, and the Pit Boss if your bacon cooks on an outdoor flat-top.

For heavier all-purpose presses for steaks and tortas, see our best cast iron grill press guide. For the griddle side of things, our outdoor griddle accessories guide covers the rest of the kit, and our guide to Mexican cooking methods shows how much of a Mexican kitchen runs on hot, flat metal.

And if you would rather someone else did the cooking tonight, see the menu or call to order.