Bacon comes in so many different forms including streaky and smoked, but one thing they all have in common is that they taste best when crisp and crunchy.
Making them that way is easier than it sounds without burning the pink meat or fat, especially when you’re in a hurry.
Fortunately, British chef Jamie Oliver has a foolproof solution with not one, but two cooking methods that result in “super-even”, crispy bacon.
Sharing a recipe on his website, Jamie explained: “Me and my dear friend Pete Begg have two very different approaches to the perfect bacon sarnie.
“The only thing we agree on is that bacon ain’t bacon unless it’s smoked, but that’s pretty much where the similarities end.”
Jamie explained that his friend Pete uses a cold frying pan with a little drizzle of oil to cook three bacon rashers at a time.
He added that gradually bringing the temperature up to medium-high allows the fat to “render out”, instead of cooking too quickly.
Pete then places “something flat and heavy on top to ensure super-even crispy bacon”. This could be a pan lid or a clean plate, as long as the material is heatproof.
When it comes to Jamie’s go-to method, he swears by the oven grill to get “delicious” results.
The chef explained: “I, on the other hand, put the grill on full whack, rub a tray and three rashers of back bacon with olive oil, then blast it until golden and crisp.”
Cooking the meat this way encourages the fat end of the bacon to curl up, which according to Jamie, creates “a little pond of delicious bacon juice in the middle”.
While both methods warrant desirable, crunchy rashers of bacon, both chefs agreed that how they’re served is also important.
And again, both Jamie and Pete have a difference of opinion when it comes to the sandwich itself.
Jamie’s recipe calls for a white bloomer, which he lays a few slices of on the bacon tray for a few seconds next to the bacon before assembling. Then with a layer of HP brown sauce, the sandwich is complete.
Pete on the other hand, butters his bread, then lays the bacon on side-by-side, like floorboards. He then puts the bread back in the pan of smoky bacon fat to lightly toast on both sides, again with a little weight on top.
Tomato ketchup, English mustard and green chilli sauce are then slathered on with a knife and served to complete Pete’s perfect bacon sarnie.
