How to Cook the Perfect British Bacon: Tips and Tricks
It’s safe to say that British bacon is one of the top meats people prefer to use in their sandwiches or meals. It’s no surprise when it’s so delicious – whether you fry it or grill it, there’s no wrong way to enjoy bacon! Bacon is fairly simple to cook, but do you know all the ways you can cook it and how to do so without producing lots of grease? In this article, we’ll be discussing some tips and tricks to help you cook the perfect British bacon that’s guaranteed to please all bacon lovers. Read on to find out more.
Grilled Bacon
To produce grilled bacon, you’ll need to line a baking tray with foil and set the grill to the highest setting. Place the bacon on the foil and put it on the grill. Grilled bacon only needs 2-4 minutes of cooking time and this depends on how crispy you want it. You’ll then want to take it out of the grill and place it onto a paper towel to drain. This way of cooking bacon is ideal for the summer, as the kitchen won’t heat up by using the oven. Grilled bacon can be enjoyed any way, but we recommend a grilled bacon salad for the perfect summer dish. We also recommend using thick-cut bacon for grilling, as it won’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
Fried Bacon
A classic in an English breakfast – it’s not called a fry-up for nothing! For this technique, we recommend using thick-cut bacon that includes the fat around the edge – then you can decide whether you want to crisp it or not. Frying bacon involves adding a tablespoon of cooking oil (this could be vegetable or sunflower) to the frying pan and heating it up at a high temperature until it’s hot. The bacon can then be cooked between 2 and 4 minutes on either side until it’s cooked the way you like it. Aside from an English breakfast, why not try a fried bacon BLT or add it to your pasta salad for some extra flavour?
Dry Fry Bacon
If you’d still like to eat bacon but are looking for a healthier way of cooking it, dry frying may be the technique for you. Dry Frying only uses the melted fat from the bacon, so there’s no need to add more cooking oils to it. Place the bacon into a non-stick frying pan and place over a medium heat. When you can see the fat start to run out of bacon, you can turn the heat up higher to cook for between 1 and 3 minutes to cook it the way you like. This is the ideal bacon to include in your salad or sandwiches and it still has the same great taste. You can use any type of bacon for this technique, including streaky or back bacon.
Crispy Bacon
You have to admit – crispy bacon is the best! To cook crispy bacon, place the bacon into a frying pan. You’ll need to place something heavy over the top of the bacon to press it down, so we recommend another pan. Whatever you place over the top will need to be quite weighty. You only need a low-medium heat for cooking crispy bacon and you’ll need to cook this for 10-15 minutes. Keep an eye on it and halfway through you can flip the bacon over and turn up the heat if there’s a lot of fluid on the pan. Once it’s golden and crispy, drain it on some paper towel and enjoy it on a sandwich or in a salad.
Oven-cooked Bacon
For this technique, preheat the oven to around 190°C and place the rashers on foil in a baking tray. Make sure that there is plenty of space between the pieces. Place these in the oven for around 10 minutes and then turn them over for an extra 5-10 minutes (this, again, depends on the amount of crisp you want). Make sure you keep an eye on the rashers as they have a tendency to cook quickly. Once cooked to your liking, add the pieces to a paper towel to allow them to drain.
British Pork from HP Westwood
There are many great ways to cook British bacon to get it exactly how you want it and it can be enjoyed in a variety of ways. At HP Westwood, we only supply the best quality pork – any bacon product from us is fresh, juicy and full of flavour. Take a look at our wholesale pork products or contact us today for more information or to make an enquiry. We also offer a range of high-quality meat products for you to choose from.