Skip to Content

Cooking Bacon on a Grill with Aluminum Foil

Cooking bacon on a grill with aluminum foil is an easy way to cook bacon. There is almost no cleanup involved and the kitchen is bacon splatter and smell free. A skillet or frying pan works too but by using aluminum foil you can simply wait for the grease to cool down and throw away the foil. Your cooking surface is sized to your needs and no skillet or frying pan to clean!

Type of Aluminum Foil to Use

Cooking Bacon on a Grill with Aluminum Foil

Any aluminum foil can be used but heavy duty aluminum foil for extra strength and durability while grilling works best. This helps prevent rips or tears that lead to grease leaking onto the grill and creating flare-ups.

How to Prepare the Aluminum Foil for Grilling

Caution: Do not completely cover the grates as it can obstruct the proper air movement of the grill which can potentially cause damage to internal components or a dangerous condition.

Step 1: Take a piece of aluminum foil that is a little more than double the surface area you need for the bacon.

Step 2: Fold it in half to create a strong aluminum foil surface. If you’re using heavy duty aluminum foil you can skip this step, or use it for an even stronger foil surface.

Step 3: Fold all four sides of the sheet about a ½ inch from the edge to create a lip that runs the perimeter of the foil sheet. This prevents the grease from dripping onto the BBQ and causing a flare-up.

Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil Surface for Bacon

Step 4: Fold in the corners so the grease from the bacon will not drip out of the aluminum foil.

Bacon Ready to be Grilled on Foil Surface

Step 5: Place the bacon on the aluminum “pan” (make sure they aren’t overlapping), and then place the “pan” onto the center of the grill grates. There should be adequate open grate space to allow for airflow around the foil.

Bacon on Grill

Step 6: Once finished, allow the grease to cool and then throw away the aluminum foil.

Caution: Do not completely cover the grates as it can obstruct the proper air movement of the grill which can potentially cause damage to internal components or a dangerous condition.

Tips for Cooking Bacon on a Grill with Aluminum Foil

Cooking Bacon on a Grill with Aluminum Foil
  • Carefully flip and remove the bacon so the aluminum foil does not tear and leak grease onto the grill.
  • Shiny side down or dull side down makes no difference.
  • Use a spatula or tongs to flip and remove the bacon. A fork might puncture the aluminum foil and cause the grease to leak onto the grill.
  • Never walk away from the grill while grilling bacon. Like any fatty meat such as a tomahawk steak, bacon can cause a grease fire.
  • If a flare-up breaks out, remove the bacon from the BBQ, turn off the BBQ and allow the flare-up to go out. Never to use water on a grease fire.
  • Don’t throw away the foil and grease before it has cooled. This could start a fire in the trash.
  • Size the aluminum foil surface based on the amount of bacon you plan to cook.
  • Wrapping or covering food in foil is safe.
  • Only line a portion of a grill in foil. Grills are built to ensure proper airflow and covering up all or a large portion of the grill in aluminum foil can be hazardous.
  • Try blanching your bacon first.

Which Side of Aluminum Foil to Use?

Many cooking resources will say the shiny side should be down, facing the food, and the dull side up. The belief for many is that the shiny side is more reflective and thus will reflect more heat while the dull side absorbs heat.

However, according to Reynolds there is no difference as explained on their site:

It’s perfectly fine to place your food on either side so you can decide if you prefer to have the shiny or dull side facing out.
The foil is ‘milled’ in layers during production. Milling is a process whereby heat and tension is applied to stretch the foil to the desired thickness. We mill two layers in contact with each other at the same time, because if we didn’t, the foil would break during the milling process. Where the foil is in contact with another layer, that’s the ‘dull’ side. The ‘shiny’ side is the side milled without being in contact with another sheet of metal. The performance of the foil is the same, whichever side you use.

Reynolds Brands (see products FAQs)

This statement also dispels other beliefs that only one side can touch food or that one side is toxic. Both sides of aluminum foil can came into contact with food and neither side is toxic.

If you’re using non-stick aluminum foil there is a difference since only one side is non-stick. The non-stick dull side is clearly labeled “NON-STICK side” so it’s easy to tell which side to use.

Here are some more ways to cook bacon on a grill.

Try these delicious recipes with bacon:

Bacon Grilling on Aluminum Foil Surface

How to Cook Bacon on a Grill

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • Sliced Bacon (cooks choice on amount and cut type)

Instructions

    1. Preheat the grill to 400 °F degrees
    2. Place the cooking surface of your choice on the grill grates
    3. Add bacon to the cooking surface in a single layer (no overlapping)
    4. Close the lid of the grill and allow to cook for 7-10 minutes
    5. Use tongs to flip the bacon slices to cook 3-5 minutes on the reverse side
    6. Cook until desired preference is achieved.

Notes

Cook times will vary based on the thickness of the cut of bacon and desired texture (crunchy or soft).

Monique McArthur
Latest posts by Monique McArthur (see all)

Skip to Recipe