A bacon sandwich – how do you like yours?

If there were ever an illustration of what a wonderfully diverse and picky people we are, it was a couple of weeks ago when I tweeted innocuously ‘how do you like your bacon sandwich?’ I expected a sarky ‘with bacon in it’ response, the odd maple-cure bacon, organic mustard, sourdough bread preference and a whole heap of nothing, but the answers came flooding in.

There were only a few criteria offered:

Smoked or unsmoked bacon?
Back or streaky?
Red sauce or brown?
Toasted or untoasted?

There was little hesitation or compromise – each and every person had a very strong idea of how they wanted the porky loaf. We might not know our sumac from our za’atar, but we sure as hobnobs know how we like our bacon sandwiches.

The winning combination was the simplest – smoked back bacon with ketchup on untoasted bread; rather like the one above, but with a damn sight more bacon I hope.

How do you like yours?

59 thoughts on “A bacon sandwich – how do you like yours?

  1. Do you not think it is fundamentally unfair to make a post about Bacon at a time when us wage slaves have hours to go before a break?!?!?

    Shame on you, it will be a torturous wait for me now!

  2. One my favourite Sarnies (possibly food stuff period) is the Blue Heaven.

    Melted stilton over bacon with mayo and tomatoes. Has to be on very thick cut bread, a proper doorstep sarnie…

    Dammit need to stop trhinking about lush food.

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  4. Smoked Streaky pan fried till crisp lovingly cushioned between two slices of cheap white that have been used to absorb the fat from the pan. One slice smeared with Marmite, the other liberally doused in Tomato and Chilli Sauce.

    Served with a massive mug of builders tea!

    Smashed into mouth when hungover this will make you feel like a king within moments.

  5. One with red, one with brown, both with butter on soft white bread… apply pressur and slightly squash. Wipe the grill of dripping with a few slices and eat as is or dipped in egg.

  6. Stay up all night drinking. Cook smoked bacon on BBQ to get the fat nice and crispy. Tuck inside some white untoasted bread. Squirt on tomato sauce. Devour. Heaven.

  7. Lots of rashers of crisp, streaky (got to be free range, pref organic) bacon are a must, as is fresh farmhouse style white bread. The rest depends on my mood – love adding fried mushrooms, or tomatoes, or eating plain but mopping up the ‘bacon dripping’ is a must. If I’m using toast I like to add a good splosh of HP sauce.

    Also greatly enjoy a BLT or bacon & brie with red onion relish, but, tend not to think of them as a bacon sandwich, oddly enough.

  8. Smoked bacon, untoasted white bread, ketchup.

    The BA lounge in T5 does a mean bacon buttie but in a crusty bun. Still good tho.

    • The best bacon sandwich I’ve had was at Albion in Shoreditch. But you have to ask specifically for a bacon sandwich, otherwise they bring a breakfast bun which isn’t nearly as good.

  9. Thick cut smokey back bacon, grilled until the fat is crunchy but not indestructible. Granary bread untoasted, lashings of sweet chilli. If you want messy luxury, it’s okay to add a perfectly poached egg.

  10. St John’s Bread and Wine in Clerkenwell make the best bacon butties, apparently.

    These were childhood holiday treats we called bacon baps — a magical combo of heavily buttered soft bap and crunchy bacon with a small blob of Ketchup (not too much or you can’t taste the butter).

  11. Thick White bread, lots of unsalted butter, maple cured streaky bacon, just short of totally crispy and then lashings of brown sauce!

    Am liking the idea of paul aka nonsensepipe marmite idea though!

    Bring on Saturday morning I say!

    X

  12. Smokey back bacon and halved cherry tomatoes bunged under the grill on a medium heat until crispy around the edges (but still chewy in the middle). Then cram into a floury white roll or (more likely in my house) some sliced brown/seeded bread. Possibly a spidge of tomato AND HP sauce. Maybe a few fried sliced mushrooms too.

    It’s funny what people are picky about. I’ve listed the above but I wouldn’t turn my nose up at a differently crafted bacon sandwich.

    What about you, James?

    • I like cherry tomatoes – good idea. It’s a tweak but avoids taking it away from the proper bacon sarnie and into the realms of BLT, bacon and brie etc…

      For me it’s soft white bread, untoasted – but, ideally, ever so slightly warm – a little butter, smoked back bacon, ketchup. An egg for a treat.

  13. I like all kinds of bacon. Yesterday I had a sublime BLT with butter and homemade mayo served on delicious thickly sliced toasted (at my request) white bread at a local new cafe in East Dulwich. Had the same there a few weeks ago. They have a wide choice of bread and their bacon was smoked back from a local butcher (not William Rose).

  14. Those bacon sandwiches of yours–are they really called “bacon botties (sp?)” as they are referred to on Keeping Up Appearances?

    Cate is on the right track. How does this sound:
    toasted high quality bread such as brioche
    thick cut applewood smoked bacon
    heirloom tomatoes
    Bib lettuce
    mayonnaise
    salt and pepper
    (And as you Brits say when Americans order bacon, “Burn the bacon!” We just don’t like it flabby.
    sweetpaprika.wordpress.com

    • Indeed, we call them ‘bacon butties’, though I believe that refers more specifically to bacon in a bap, not between slices of bread. It’s a delicate but important difference.

      Sounds like you’ve crafted a seriously good BLT there, and what a lunch that would be, but a proper bacon sarnie demands simplicity and grease.

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  16. Good James,

    Wholewheat bread. Smother with softened Greek yoghurt. Layer some shredded and lightly steamed savoy cabbage. Sensibly drizzle with some olive oil. Place two thin slices of beef tomato. Further to that, add three or four thin slices of cucumber. Add three rashers of unsmoked Canadian back bacon. Generously top with any appropriate [brown sauce, etc] condiment and add a final layer of savoy cabbage to seal. The Greek yoghurt slice of wholewheat bread lightly pressed to seal and complete.

    Enjoy.

  17. I love my smokey bacon. So its Smoked Streaky Bacon on a Floured soft white roll, buttered both sides. Then a liberal spread of Vegemite, again on boths sides (marmite is yuck), then bacon, then maybe a slice of mild mature cheese. Then lid on and munch. Plus must be served with super sweet English Breakfast Tea.

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