IT’S time we saved our bacon sarnies – from getting too posh.
On his new TV show, French chef Raymond Blanc, 72, has admitted he prefers his rashers between slices of hipster sourdough bread.
From gin to pork scratchings, just about everything on The Great British Menu has been given a glow-up over the past few years.
Sourdough has been a welcome addition to the bread bin but I’m not sure it’s the best way to go here.
It’s too dense.
By the time you’ve chewed your way through two rounds, you’re going to need a snooze
In my piece-by-piece guide, here’s how I’d make a bacon sarnie.
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BREAD
WHETHER it’s part of your weekend hangover cure or a workday booster, you want a super-fast-release carb for a bacon sarnie
Which is why white bread – the food energy equivalent of weapons- grade uranium – is what’s called for here.
Fluffy, floury buns or even a croissant – just not something you’ve got to chew for hours
Don’t swamp the bacon, either, so I’d recommend a medium-sliced loaf over thick.
BACON
THE star of the show, my preference is for a dry-cured, unsmoked, streaky rasher.
Dry cured means it has been rubbed with salt rather than cured in a brine. It can be stored at room temperature and keeps for ages.
While not cheap at fifty quid, a whole side of bacon is a good investment and it means you can cut rashers as thick or thin as you like.
BUTTER
COOKING bacon fills the house with an unmistakable aroma that never fails to draw a crowd to the kitchen.
The cherished bacon sarnies of my childhood were all made with margarine, but butter is better.
In fact, pretty much everything is improved by adding more butter.
But if you are going toasted, try just browning one side under the grill and then frying the other in the pan juices.
COOKING
A BACON sandwich is very hard to mess up – and you can get excellent results whichever way you cook it.
I prefer frying as it gives you a panful of juices, which you can spoon on to the bread instead of butter.
If opting for streaky bacon, you can place it in a cold pan and then turn on the heat and warm it gradually
This will allow some of the fat to render out as the bacon warms up so that it cooks in its own juices.
SAUCE
BACON takes other flavours really well, so mustard, red, brown – roll them all out.
There is something magnificently indulgent about dunking, but I prefer a smear of pure ketchup on one side and a smear of mustard down the other.
Marmalade is surprisingly good, too.
It sounds spooky but it’s no weirder than honey-roast ham.
SLICING
WHATEVER takes your fancy, really.
Remove the crusts and make tiny little bite-sized squares if you like.
Or leave the thing whole and grab it with both hands.
Whichever way you slice it up, the crowning glory of the bacon sanger is that it is a masterpiece of simplicity.
You can get away with just two ingredients – bread and bacon – if you use the oil released from the rasher instead of butter or marge.
DRINKS
COMBINING bacon with the dry tinge of bitterness from a steaming hot tea is enough to bring anyone to life in the morning.
But the humble apple is a fine match for all pork, too. So if you’re partaking at lunchtime, I’d recommend apple juice.
And cider, the most under-rated of drinks, is a wonderful companion for the midnight special version.
ALEX'S EXTRAS
IF you want to give things a 2020s brunchy feel, avocado is a good sub for butter, especially if you are going to toast your bread.
Blue cheese connects brilliantly with anything porky.
And most things are enhanced by a sprinkling of chopped spring onions (or bling onions as they are known in my house).
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