A hot bacon sandwich ranks among Britain's favourite breakfast treats, yet many shy away from cooking bacon due to the hassle involved. Nobody enjoys dodging splattering hot fat or tackling a grease-laden frying pan afterwards.
While frying bacon might appear as the obvious approach, it frequently delivers underwhelming crispiness. The issue lies in rashers sitting in their rendered fat, resulting in that unappetising mix of limp and charred bits that simply aren't enjoyable.
However, a much easier technique has lately been adopted that comes butcher-approved and takes merely three minutes. You'll only require kitchen roll, a plate, and a microwave.
Can you cook bacon in the microwave?
Absolutely, microwaving bacon works brilliantly. This approach suits those who fancy their bacon on the crispier end of the spectrum.
When microwaved, bacon cooks uniformly while releasing surplus fat, which kitchen paper readily soaks up – meaning it contains less grease compared to pan-frying.
Simon Howie from The Scottish Butcher advocates cooking the meat in the microwave. He said, "While giving your bacon a blast in the microwave might not be the first cooking method that pops into your head, bacon cooked in the microwave comes out oh-so-crispy and delicious."
Personal preferences for the crispiness of your bacon will determine cooking time, but these simple steps will have a bacon buttie in your hand in a game-changing matter of minutes.
Not only does this cooking technique keep things relatively tidy, but with the bacon spending far less time cooking and the grease being soaked up by kitchen roll, the lingering smell of fat is noticeably reduced.
How to make bacon crispy without frying
For microwaving bacon, start by laying a sheet of kitchen roll onto a microwave-safe plate. This helps absorb some of the rendered fat from the bacon.
Arrange four bacon rashers on the paper, ensuring they're spaced out slightly. Another piece of kitchen roll goes on top to shield the microwave interior from any splattering.
Timing varies depending on your preferred level of crispness. While the butcher suggests two minutes, three minutes delivered a crunchier finish in this test.
This proved to be a hassle-free approach to preparing bacon without concerns about oil splashing about, and it's marginally healthier too, since frying in oil introduces extra calories to an ingredient already rich in fat, especially when using streaky bacon.
