The Ultimate Bacon Butty Bacon Sandwich Food

ULTIMATE BACON SARNIES

Steps:

• Me and my dear friend Pete Begg have two very different approaches to the institution that is the perfect bacon sarnie. The only thing we agree on is that bacon ain't bacon unless it's smoked, but that's pretty much where the similarities end.
• We do both use two 1½cm-thick slices of simple standard white crusty loaf, but I favour a bloomer and Pete tends to go for a tin loaf. Pete's a 3 rashers of streaky-bacon boy; I'm a back-bacon boy. He cooks it in a frying pan, starting out from cold with a little drizzle of olive oil and gradually bringing the temperature up to medium-high so the fat renders out, placing something flat and heavy on top to ensure super-even crispy bacon. I, on the other hand, put the grill on full whack, rub a tray and 3 rashers of back bacon with olive oil, then blast it until golden and crisp, which encourages the fat end of the bacon to curl up, creating a little pond of delicious bacon juice in the middle.
• Pete butters his bread, then lays the bacon on side-by-side, like floorboards. I skip the butter, but push the bacon to the side of my tray and lay the bread in the fat for a few seconds before assembling, letting the bacon rashers sit on the bed of bread like spooning lovers. At this point, Pete goes into another gear and displays a little trick his dad taught him as a boy, sandwiching his creation together and placing it back in the pan of smoky bacon fat to lightly toast on both sides, again with a little weight on top. And it doesn't finish there - Pete stipulates that if the bacon runs north to south it must be cut east to west into 3 thin sandwiches, so you get 3 bacon soldiers in each, from which he gets 3 perfect bites. Genius. I simply cut mine diagonally from corner to corner and get it in my gob as quickly as possible .
• Having been brought up in Essex I have a loyal commitment to HP sauce, but Pete pulls yet another trick out of the bag, treating his plate like an artist's palette with 60% ketchup, 30% English mustard and 10% green chilli sauce, feathered together with a knife, to ensure 9 erratic, beautiful-tasting mouthfuls. Wow.
• These two sandwiches are both delicious, but most importantly, this is how I like mine and Pete likes his. How do you like yours?

ENGLISH BACON SANDWICH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and place a baking rack on the sheet pan. Arrange the bacon in one layer on the baking rack. Bake for 25 minutes until it's deep golden and crispy. Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels.
• Toast the bread slices and slather them with butter.
• Arrange 4 slices of bacon on every other slice of bread and top with second slice of bread to make four sandwiches. Slice each sandwich in half diagonally and serve.

THE ULTIMATE BACON BUTTY (BACON SANDWICH)

Steps:

• 1. Take all the ingredients for the ketchup, and put them into a saucepan.
• 2. Bring to the boil, and reduce to a very slow simmer.
• 3. Simmer, covered, for two hours.
• 4. Chef's Tip: If you have your temperature low enough, you shouldn't have a problem; however, if it looks like it's drying out, add a bit of water now and then.
• 5. Remove ketchup from the heat, fish out and throw away the cloves, and place into a storage container. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
• 6. Chef's Note: Not all prefer this sandwich with ketchup; many like a good brown sauce.
• 7. In a large skillet (preferably cast iron) cook the bacon, over high heat, about three minutes on each side. The slices should be cooked until nice and crispy.
• 8. Chef's Note: The bacon is what makes this dish... you need good, thick bacon, preferably dry cured, unsmoked, back bacon. That's something that's common in the UK, but not so much over here.
• 9. While the bacon is cooking, toast and butter the bread slices.
• 10. Remove the bacon from the pan, and reserve.
• 11. With the pan still on the heat, take the toasted, buttered bread slices, and put them in the pan and allow them to absorb the bacon fat. Cook for about 30 seconds on each side.
• 12. Chef's Note: This is your test of bravery... Bacon... toast with butter... and now bacon fat on the toast... WOW.
• 13. Spread the homemade ketchup on two of the pieces of buttered/bacon-fat bread, and then put half the bacon on top. Add the top bread piece and serve hot.
• 14. I'll be seeing you in the emergency room...
• 15. Keep the faith, and keep cooking.

BRITISH BACON BUTTY/ SANDWICH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven grill to medium-high and cook the bacon until done- crisp but not dry. This should take 5-10 minutes.
• Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise over one side of each slice of bread.
• Top the mayonnaise with a thin layer of ketchup.
• Place the bacon on one slice of bread and top with the other slice of bread.
• Cut in half diagonally and serve hot!
• NB Best served with a hot cup of tea!