We’re always looking for healthier ways to enjoy our favourite foods and thankfully a cook has come up with a trick that is sure to please breakfast-loving Brits.
Bacon is arguably the most popular item in the classic full English, but frying the meat in oil isn’t great for our bodies. But did you know there’s a low-calorie alternative that can provide you with the perfect level of crispiness?
Let’s Eat (@letseat_uk) explains how in a simple TikTok instructional video. “This is how you cook the perfect crispy bacon in water every single every time,” they began, revealing the not so secret ingredient. First, they added their rashes to a cold pan, before drizzling just enough water to cover the surface of the bacon.
“Turn your stove on to a medium-low,” Let’s Eat continued, adding that using water allows the initial cooking temperature to remain low and gentle, so the meat remains its moisture whilst the fat renders. “Adding bacon to add a hot pan doesn’t allow the fat to fully render, which is why it can become chewy and you migt need to overcook the bacon in order to get the fat crispy,” they explained.
“This way, by the time the water has started to boil, the bacon fat is already fully rendered, which gives it a beautiful crisp rather than burning.” Let’s Eat added that if you’re using a type of bacon that has a lot of fat, the rendered fat will finish the cook once the water has evaporated.
Conversely, they continued: “If you’re using a type of bacon that doesn’t have a lot of fat, just before the water evaporates add in a touch of oil to the pan as once the water is gone you’ll want enough fat in the pan to finish the cook. Once it’s evaporated, cook to your desired level and flip them over to finish.”
Other TikTok users responded with their own techniques, meanwhile, with one commenting: “Just put bacon on a rack in the oven at 220C, cook for 10 minutes and perfection.”
“Or just put bacon in between table napkins and dump them in the microwave for two to three minutes (depending on the microwave),” added another. A third replied: “I never fry, it’s unhealthy, I grill bacon and sausage – grills all the fat out.”
Whilst a fourth warned others on the social media platform: “There is a trend at the moment to way over cook bacon to make it so crisp it loses all meatyness. Ruined. Get some scratchings or crackling instead.”
Natasha Kravchuk, meanwhile, a cook and founder of Natasha’s Kitchen, has figured out a better cooking method to make mouthwatering bacon without having to use oil or a frying pan whatsoever. “The air fryer method is so much easier to make than stovetop or baking in the oven because it’s quick, less messy and there’s no need to pre-heat the oven,” she explains.
It may seem simple, but cooking bacon in the air fryer is much better than using a pan or oven as it is not only healthier but improves both the taste and texture. Similarly to Let’s Eat, Natasha adds that the white fatty part of bacon should render out when hot, but cooking with oil means this process happens much too quickly, which leads to the fat burning in the pan.
“Place the bacon on 180C and put the timer on for seven minute,” she recommends. “How long the air fryer will take to cook the bacon may depend on your model, but generally, seven minutes is the standard. If you want crispier bacon, set the timer for eight to nine minutes and if you are using thick-cut bacon then set the timer for 10 to 12 minutes.”
