Does cooking bacon in water make it taste better
A rumour on the internet has suggested the key to juicier, crispier bacon is submerging it in cold water and bringing it to the boil. But does this theory have legs?
Well, the idea at least seems to check out. The difference between “good” and “bad” bacon generally comes down to the rendering of the fat from cooking to too long or too quickly. But when you cook it with the cold-water method, bringing the cold water to the simmer, cooking it away completely, you theoretically cook the fat away without drying the bacon, and once the water’s gone all you have to do is brown the meat.
News.com.au recently put this to test, cooking a control and putting it up against the new bacon cooking method, “The ‘new’ method had produced much drier, darker bacon. It was crispier as promised, but in a way that made it less enjoyable to eat. It had developed the consistency reminiscent of beef jerky.
“Even worse, this method seemed to have leached a lot of the bacon’s salt content out into the water before gluing it back to the outside of the bacon as it evaporated, making the bacon much saltier to taste.”
So, what do you think? Are you going to experiment with this new bacon-cooking method, or stick to what you know works? Let us know in the comments below.