The humble bacon rasher is the mainstay of everything from our morning fry-ups to a hearty carbonara.
And while many of us are used to leaving a few choice bits of this meat sizzling slowly in a frying pan while we crack on with buttering toast or plating up pasta, this cooking method may not actually be getting the best out of our bacon (opens in new tab).
This is according to Jeff Baker an award-winning, Michelin-starred chef with more than 30 years experience in professional kitchens, and a culinary CV that includes cooking up more than a few dishes for no less than the Queen (opens in new tab).
According to Jeff – who is executive development chef for Online butchery retailer Farmison & Co (opens in new tab) – a high heat and short cooking time holds the key to getting crispy, evenly-cooked bacon.
He told the Daily Star, "I find that the best way to cook bacon is on a medium to high heat pan with a small amount of natural fat, searing it on each side for a minute or so.
"If the bacon is properly dry cured and cut to a nice thickness, it should caramelise on the edges.
"The fat will then render without dissolving, resulting in delicious flavour.'
READ MORE: Gordon Ramsay's healthy full English breakfast (opens in new tab)
And the revelations don’t stop there. Jeff also says we should be serving up our bacon just as it comes, without the usual array of sauces.
He added, "In my opinion, if cooked this way the bacon won’t need any sauce to enhance the taste - it’ll be perfect as it is."
It’s difficult to imagine a world where bacon isn’t slathered with either tomato ketchup or brown sauce or a combination of the two but we’d certainly be willing to give it a try.
Jeff, thankfully, hasn’t mentioned anything about a thick layer of butter as the base for a bacon buttie, so that’s one bacon-related tradition we’ll be clinging onto for the foreseeable future.
Would you bet your bacon on this new way of cooking this meat staple?
-
-
Chicken with goat's cheese and bacon
Chicken with goats cheese and bacon is a seriously impressive dish that's deceptively easy to put together. Perfect for when you want to impress your guests.
-
BBQ chicken baguettes
BBQ chicken baguettes are sandwiches but loaded up with all sorts of good things, making them a really filling meal. With chicken fillets, Mediterranean vegetables cheese and a spicy sauce, they're more like a pizza dinner than your average sarnie.
