There’s nothing I enjoy more than preparing a cup of tea on a relaxed morning while the smoky aroma of bacon wafts through the kitchen, though achieving perfectly crisp bacon isn’t always as straightforward as it appears. Bacon may seem uncomplicated to prepare, but I’ve never been keen on frying it in oil, as it produces a dreadful, greasy and limp texture that can spoil a breakfast sandwich.
However, I was recently browsing through social media and stumbled upon a chef who maintained he could make bacon more delicious without using any additional ingredients, as all you require is a little water. Preparing bacon in water may sound peculiar, but the principle is that meat should release its own fat, which enables it to crisp up and develop a more intense flavour.
I decided to trial this method to discover if it was simply a daft internet fad — after attempting the recipe I can verify it genuinely makes bacon taste considerably better.
I found it remarkably straightforward to cook bacon. I simply arranged the bacon in a cold frying pan and added sufficient water to submerge it. Next, I positioned the pan over a medium-high heat until the water started to boil, then lowered the heat to medium.
View 4 ImagesBacon will taste so much better if you stop frying it in oil(Image: Katherine McPhillips)
I then waited roughly five to eight minutes for the water to evaporate. It genuinely takes a bit longer than frying bacon conventionally, so I made a cup of tea while I waited.
View 4 ImagesThe water helps the bacon fat cook at the same time at the pink meat(Image: Katherine McPhillips)
Once the water had fully evaporated, the bacon began to sizzle and rapidly became crispy. I cooked it until it reached my desired level of crispiness, then switched off the hob and put together my breakfast butty. After the very first bite, I was genuinely taken aback by just how delicious the bacon tasted.
I decided to do a bit of digging into why this method works so effectively and found that bacon is far more prone to burning and cooking unevenly when fried in oil.
It turns out you don’t need to introduce any additional ingredients to bacon, as it should naturally release its own fat, and adding oil can actually cause the white fatty section of the rasher to burn before the pink meat has had a chance to cook through.
This frequently leaves the outer edges of the bacon charred while the centre remains underdone, resulting in a chewy rather than crispy texture.
Adding water to bacon instead allows it to cook at a gentler pace so the fat has sufficient time to render evenly, which helps every section of the bacon crisp up properly, giving you a far superior texture throughout.
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View 4 ImagesOnce the water evaporates then the bacon will start to crisp up(Image: Katherine McPhillips)
Having tried the water cooking method myself, I’ll admit it takes slightly longer than frying, but the results are absolutely worth it as the bacon turns out golden, crisp and with a wonderful smoky flavour.
Bacon no longer carries that unpleasant, greasy residue that comes from frying, and I honestly don’t think I could ever cook it in oil again as it simply tastes richer and far better when you use just a small splash of water instead.