Expert Bacon Sarnie Recipes

ULTIMATE BACON SARNIES

Steps:

• Me and my dear friend Pete Begg have two very different approaches to the institution that is 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.
• We do both use two 1½cm-thick slices of simple standard white crusty loaf, but I favour a bloomer and Pete tends to go for a tin loaf. Pete's a 3 rashers of streaky-bacon boy; I'm a back-bacon boy. He cooks it in a frying pan, starting out from cold with a little drizzle of olive oil and gradually bringing the temperature up to medium-high so the fat renders out, placing something flat and heavy on top to ensure super-even crispy bacon. I, on the other hand, put the grill on full whack, rub a tray and 3 rashers of back bacon with olive oil, then blast it until golden and crisp, which encourages the fat end of the bacon to curl up, creating a little pond of delicious bacon juice in the middle.
• Pete butters his bread, then lays the bacon on side-by-side, like floorboards. I skip the butter, but push the bacon to the side of my tray and lay the bread in the fat for a few seconds before assembling, letting the bacon rashers sit on the bed of bread like spooning lovers. At this point, Pete goes into another gear and displays a little trick his dad taught him as a boy, sandwiching his creation together and placing it back in the pan of smoky bacon fat to lightly toast on both sides, again with a little weight on top. And it doesn't finish there - Pete stipulates that if the bacon runs north to south it must be cut east to west into 3 thin sandwiches, so you get 3 bacon soldiers in each, from which he gets 3 perfect bites. Genius. I simply cut mine diagonally from corner to corner and get it in my gob as quickly as possible .
• Having been brought up in Essex I have a loyal commitment to HP sauce, but Pete pulls yet another trick out of the bag, treating his plate like an artist's palette with 60% ketchup, 30% English mustard and 10% green chilli sauce, feathered together with a knife, to ensure 9 erratic, beautiful-tasting mouthfuls. Wow.
• These two sandwiches are both delicious, but most importantly, this is how I like mine and Pete likes his. How do you like yours?

EXPERT BACON SARNIE

Steps:

• THE BACON JAM
• 1. Place a large saucepan over a medium-high heat. Finely chop the bacon and then fry in batches until lightly browned and starting to become crisp. Remove from the pan and place onto a plate lined with kitchen paper.
• 2. Return the pan to a medium heat and add the onion to the bacon fat and fry for 2-3 minutes until the onions are softened and starting to colour. Add the garlic and chilli to the pan and cook for a further 2 minutes. Then add the tomato puree and vinegar to the onions and mix together before adding the bacon back to the pan. Finally, add the coffee, whiskey, maple syrup and thyme to the pan and mix together.
• 3. Leave the pan to blip away and reduce to a jam-like consistency for about 1 ½ hours or until the desired jam consistency is achieved, adding a splash of water every 20 minutes if necessary to loosen.
• 4. Leave to cool for half an hour before transferring to a food processor and pulsing until a smoother consistency is achieved. (This step can be ignored if you prefer a chunkier jam). Refrigerate until needed.
• This jam is a deliciously devious treat and incredible with cheese, it will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks.
• THE SARNIES
• 1. Place a large griddle pan over a medium-high heat. For each sandwich, place two rashers of both streaky and back bacon onto the griddle pan and cook to your preferred finish, soft or crispy. Once done, remove from the pan and place on a plate lined with kitchen roll.
• 2. Now, and this part is important, take two slices of bread and lightly toast on one side only. Once golden and just crisp remove from the pan and smother on a layer of the bacon jam onto each of the toasted sides. Lightly toasting the inner sides will prevent the sandwich from becoming soggy but keeps the fluffy bread texture a true Bacon Sarnie demands.
• 3. Layer in your bacon - streaky, back, streaky, back and top before halving with a very sharp. Eat immediately and savour - these should be kept to a rare treat!

THE BEST BACON SARNIE

Steps:

• To get a really crisp edge, snip a few small cuts in the fat around each bacon rasher. This will also stop it from curling up too much when cooking.
• It's best to buy dry-cure bacon if you can, as less water is released when frying, ensuring really crisp fat (the best bit) and a better flavour.
• Place a large frying pan over a medium heat and add a trickle of oil.
• Lay the bacon in the pan and cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side or until it's as crispy as you prefer. Remove the bacon and divide between 2 slices of bread. Spread either tomato ketchup or brown sauce on to the remaining 2 slices and place sauce-side down in the pan.
• Leave for about a minute to absorb all the juices in the pan, also warming (but not toasting) the bread.
• The other 2 pieces will be warmed through by the hot bacon on top, with any bacon fat seeping through the bread. Assemble the sandwiches and eat straight away.