Nordic Ware Microwave 2-Sided Round Bacon and Meat Grill

Need to make quick breakfast in under 10 minutes using a microwave, sometime includes bacon. Initially, I was using used TV dinner bowls, but then realizing that the temperature of the grease gets so hot that it will melt little sections of the bowl, so getting some plastic nutrient also, awesome, just what I need. I then switched to a ceramic plate trying to cook it completely in one shot, putting a paper towel underneath the bacon to soak up the grease and a piece on top (loosely) to keep them from splattering grease inside the microwave, but the plate will crack. Then, still using the ceramic plate method, will cook it for 1 min 30 secs, let the plate cool for about 5 minutes, repeat procedure until fully cooked, but that takes too long, I ain't got time for that bs. After procrastinating for a while, started to look for bacon trays, wanted to find one that is easy to clean, came across this one that looks easy to clean and it comes with a cover and that the grease will drain into the lower grease reservoir, great, so I ordered one. Got it and tried it out without using the paper towel method, just from 2-3 strips of thick bacon, the reservoir filled up with grease at least 1/2 way (that's a lot of fat, can't be eating that everyday :-), but on the main tray itself, it left some harden grease marks, which takes a little bit of effort to scrub clean, plus do no like just pouring the grease from the reservoir directly into the sink, so had to use a paper towel to soak that up first, also having to clean the cover, pita. Finally, using the tray without the cover, but using the paper towel method, I can cook it in one shot, no signs of the plastic melting, no grease in the reservoir, much easier to clean the tray. Pros: High heat plastic tray, cover (cover, which I do not use, one less piece to clean, the paper towel method takes care of that). 2-3 strips of thick bacon ready in about 3 mins 30 secs and the tray is really easy to clean. Cons: For me, when using paper towel, do not really see any cons. Even without paper towel, the design is not a con, it works as designed, it's just the paper towel makes it easier to clean. UPDATE: 6/26/2023, noticed a 3/4" crack on the side of the plastic tray, I did not drop or banged it, most likely came that way, will order a new one and return the original. UPDATE 6/29/2023, got new replacement, no problems at all. Good product.

This review is for the NORDIC WARE ROUND BACON GRILL. I've been using this bacon grill for 7 years. It's filthy & cracked & dented. It's time for a new one. I like this one because it has a drainage lip & it's not too deep to use the method I describe below. First time users may get FRUSTRATED. Here's some TIPS from a longtime user. It took me a long time thru trial & error to figure out this method for the PERFECT microwave BACON. TIPS: You WILL NEED paper towels. DO NOT place the bacon directly on the grill. If you do, when it's done cooking the bacon will STICK to the grill & will come off in pieces. You'll be cursing & swearing up a storm over tiny broken pieces of bacon. Personally, I've invented some fabulous new swear words while learning how to use a microwave bacon grill. "You swine!" 1. PAPER TOWEL/BACON SANDWICH. Lay a paper towel over the grill first. Lay 4 to 5 strips of bacon on top of the paper towel. If your bacon strips are too long, fold the ends over so they fit the grill. Lay another paper towel over the top of the bacon so you have a "paper towel/bacon sandwich" on your grill. Press down ever so gently on the paper towel so it stays on the bacon. If you press down TOO HARD, the bacon will STICK to the paper towel when it's done cooking. (More cursing & swearing & more broken pieces of bacon.) 2. Set your microwave for 2 minutes on HIGH. After 2 minutes carefully lift up the entire "paper towel/bacon sandwich" off the grill and move it around a little on the grill. 3. Cook on HIGH for 1 minute. Lift up the "paper towel/bacon sandwich" & move it around on the grill AGAIN. Cook on HIGH again for 1 minute. And IT'S DONE! NOTE: Depending on your microwave power & the thickness of the bacon, cooking time may vary. I find that 4 strips of regular cut bacon takes 4 minutes & 5 strips takes an additional 30 seconds on HIGH. The TRICK here is to cook it in increments while lifting & moving the "sandwich" on the grill a little bit at a time. THIS PREVENTS IT from STICKING to the paper towel! (If you're cooking more than 4 or 5 strips for the fam, use NEW paper towels for the next batch. Don't try to reuse the towels from the first batch. Throw them away. They're a greasy mess.) 4. AFTERMATH: Because it's HOT, remove the bacon next to the sink with the cold water running. Run your thumb along the edge of the bacon & flip it over on the paper towel. Run your fingers under the cold water if you get burned. I found that if I try to peel it off from the ends, sometimes it STICKS to the paper towel. You could use a butter knife or some tongs for this. But I'm a daredevil, so I use my thumb. I GET PERFECT CRISPY BACON EVERYTIME & NO STICKING using this method without all the grease splatter that comes from FRYING! CLEANING: There is no way around it. These grills get DIRTY. Use whatever cleaning method suits you. I drain the grease into a coffee can & let it soak a little & clean it the best I can with a scrubber sponge. It still looks gross after a while. I don't care. It works so well, I just put up with the dirty little grill. LOL. IMPORTANT: I've read some reviews & google tips saying you can use the "paper towel/bacon sandwich" method on a PLATE in the microwave WITHOUT using a grill. NOT! I've tried it. Many times. The bacon ALWAYS STICKS to the paper towels! ALWAYS! You need the raised ridges of the grill to prevent STICKING. Don't ask me why. Some kind of physics is involved. Hah! It just works better WITH the grill! You need it! And it's cheap. GOOD LUCK! AND HAPPY BACON! BACON! BACON!

I have purchased numerous Nordic Ware products. They are very good quality and last seemingly forever. This bacon cooker is well designed cooking evenly depending on your preference soft to crisp. Grease drains off well from the angled design. The plastic lid eliminates splatter and still allows for the steam to escape. My disappointment is that it is small. It fits the glass carousel on my over the range microwave but needs to be an inch or two bigger. Your traditional standard length bacon strips must either be cut in half or only cook 2-3 at a time. My only other disappointment is that it is not able to be cleaned in the dishwasher.

Works great in your microwave ,for cooking bacon 🥓

Much better than my old one! The texture is different so it should be easier to clean up!

Working well! We like this bacon cooker. Haven't used it for defrosting.

This tray is nice but when it arrived it had spots on it like water stains. I tried to wash them off but it didn't work. I used it anyway and like it. The tray collects the fat and works just fine, just those spots were a little concerning at first.

Nordic Ware Microwave Bacon Tray & Food Defroster From reading about the problems some people had, I have to say that I can see why they had problems with their microwave rotating. It is a bit big: 10 1/2 x 12 inches approximately. Size is fine for me but I do have a microwave with a 15 inch rotating platter. Less than that might cause a problem since not all areas would get cooked evenly. As it is, I can fit 5 strips of bacon on it at one time with no overlap. 4 if I don't cover the drain area in the center. But I have no problems using 5. I use the thicker Kahn's slices. I do agree with some people that it's hard to clean since it's recommended to NOT clean in the dishwasher. Since I'm not especially fussy about it being cleaned each time, I just dump the grease into my plastic trash bags after it cools and then wipe it down with a paper towel and then stash it in the oven until I need it again. Being that I eat bacon every day, it isn't as much a problem for me as it might be with some people who like it cleaned after each use. That could be time consuming and messy and take almost as many paper towels to clean it as I would have used in the microwave cooking only on the paper towels. I find that Dawn dish soap cuts the grease especially well, then usually I just wipe it down with the double layer paper towel I had used on top of the bacon to keep from splashing. It's going to get all greasy again soon so why take all the time to clean it perfectly? It cooks it all rather evenly and all the grease drains into the bottom reservoir where you can save it into a container or just dump it out with the trash. This saves me the huge amount of paper towels that I used to use and I feel it comes out better using this than if I'd make it in a skillet...in my opinion. I only wish I had found this much sooner as it is just wonderful as far as I am concerned. But do remember that it is a large rectangle, and unless you have a larger microwave, you might not be thrilled with how it rotates....or lack thereof. You could remove the rotating platter but then you chance uneven cooking. But IF you are able to utilize this, it is just GREAT.