Like all great culinary exercises, there is an art to the perfect bacon butty. The bacon has to be perfectly fatty and moist, with a hint of crispiness around the edges for that extra crunch. The bread of the butty must be dry enough to soak up any excess fat, and not too thick or heavy that it overpowers the subtly of the pig flesh. Homemade bread is, obviously, best; plain white, brown or wholemeal, nothing with a strong flavour.
Sauce, ketchup or whatever, is a personal preference, but is in reality is a mask to hide pour quality meat. A good bacon butty needs no sauce. The secret of a good bacon butty is the quality of the bacon. If you can use locally-sourced meat from porkers who have lived a happy, outdoor existence, then so much the better.
Visit your local butcher, rather than a supermarket. A good butcher will always be able to tell you where the meat came from, and sometimes even the name of the beast. He will also be able to give you a thicker cut if asked.
Organic and free range animals produce a better tasting product. And if they have chance to run around free then their meat is less fatty. The pig is a very intelligent animal and needs happy and social surroundings. Organic pigs are fed and drug-free diet of wheat, barley, peas, linseeds and oats.
The bread roll or slice of bread must be moist with pig fat, and hold at least two slices of delicious thick bacon.
Ingredients
(makes 2)
- 6 slices of good quality bacon
- 2 bread rolls / 4 slices of fresh bread
- oil for cooking
Method
- Heat the oil in a medium-sized frying pan.
- When the oil is hot, but not smoking, add the slices of bacon.
- Cook them on either side, turning after about two minutes.
- Remove from the heat before the bacon turns crispy.
- Serve 3 slices of bacon per butty / sandwich.
The bacon should be served hot, if you prefer to butter the bread then do so before adding the bacon, so that hot bacon can melt the butter. But done properly the bread should not moistening further.
If you wish to adorn this dish further then add a fried organic egg, fry the egg in the same frying pan as the bacon, make sure that the yolk is moist, not hard, the flavour is better and compliments the salty bacon more. You could also add a slice of good creamy cheese, a blue cheese would work as well.
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