Bacon
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
If the bacon is very salty, soak it in warm water for 1-2 hours.
Trim off any rusty parts and scrape the underside and rind clean.
Cook
Place the bacon in a saucepan with cold water and bring it gradually to a boil, skimming off any scum that rises.
Let it simmer gently until thoroughly cooked.
Serve
Remove the bacon, strip off the skin, and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
Garnish with cauliflower or Brussels sprouts and serve with broad beans or green peas.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Bacon
- Provides the main meat, along with fat that flavours the cooking water and the dish.
The step that matters
Bringing the bacon gradually to a boil in cold water. Starting in cold water and heating slowly lets the bacon cook evenly and draws out scum and excess salt before it sets. Rushing to a hard boil can toughen the meat and cloud the water.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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