Bacon may appear to be a simple breakfast to make, but it can easily turn overly greasy and burnt if cooked in oil. It is really common to cook bacon in a drying pan with oil or butter but bacon already has plenty of fat, and adding extra can overcook the meat to dilute the flavour.
Chuckie Hessong, a cooking instructor and founder of Laughing Rooster Eats has shared she actually avoids cooking bacon in any fat as all you really need is a splash of water. She said: “Boiled bacon creates a meaty, crispy, tender bacon, every time without making a big ol’ mess of my stove or stinking up my house, hair, and clothes.”
It may sound bizarre if you have never tried it, but cooking bacon with water helps the fat render gently, resulting in bacon that is both crispier and far more flavourful.
When placed straight into a hot frying pan, the white fatty parts of the bacon tend to cook too quickly, often burning at the edges while the pink meat remains oily and undercooked.
Bacon naturally releases its own fat as it cooks, and adding a small amount of water slows the process slightly, allowing both the fat and meat to cook more evenly at the same time.
This results in much tender bacon that tastes meatier since it has been cooked in its own fat, and will have a satisfying crunchy texture without becoming burned.
Cooking bacon with a little water in a dry pan also helps minimise oil splatters and prevents your kitchen from filling with smoke, making this method far more convenient and mess-free.
Instructions
To begin, place the bacon slices in a cold frying pan. Try not to overlap the strips too much, but the bacon will shrink as soon as you begin to cook it, so there will be plenty of room.
Pour just enough water into the frying pan to cover the bacon. You can add more water if you need it and pour away any excess water if you use too much.
Turn the stove onto a high heat, and when the water begins to boil, reduce the heat to medium.
Let the bacon cook for one to two minutes, or until the water has evaporated and becomes crispy. Flip the bacon over halfway through and add more water if needed.
Once the bacon is done, sprinkle any seasoning on it, and it will melt into the meat. The result will be bacon that is beautifully golden and noticeably more flavourful than if it had been cooked in oil.