A top chef who has made meals for the Queen has shared his secret to cooking bacon to perfection.
Jeff Baker, who has more than three decades experience in a professional kitchen, says a lot of people do it wrong and often the fry-up favourite ends up being too greasy.
Instead, the tasty treat should be nice and crisp and there is a simple way to achieve this, according to Jeff.
The award-winning Michelin-starred cook, who has worked with some of the best in the business, has lifted the lid to the Daily Star on how to cook bacon the right way.
And it involves getting the pan nice and hot, rather than cooking the meat slow and steady.
This should create caramelisation – which makes the rashers crispy and creates a punchier flavour.
He told the Daily Star: "I find that the best way to cook bacon is on a medium to high heat pan with a small amount of natural fat, searing it on each side for a minute or so.
“If the bacon is properly dry cured and cut to a nice thickness, it should caramelise on the edges.
“The fat will then render without dissolving, resulting in delicious flavour.”
Controversially, Jeff, who is executive development chef for Online butchery retailer Farmison & Co, doesn’t think you should be adding any condiments to your bacon either.
He added: “In my opinion, if cooked this way the bacon won’t need any sauce to enhance the taste - it’ll be perfect as it is."
Meanwhile, Jeff has also revealed we make a big mistake when cooking curry too.
He believes that to make the most of our spices, we should instead 'temper' them in a pan.
This involves heating them in hot oil to intensify the flavours before adding them to the meal.
"To ‘temper’ your spices means to heat them up in oil to bring out their flavours," he explained.
"It’s a simple, quick step that reaps rewards when it comes to enhancing your dish and intensifying the flavours from the spices.
"Once you start doing this, you’ll really notice the difference, and it’ll just become part of the curry cooking process."
And if you're worried about falling foul to dry turkey over Christmas, another food expert recommends smothering it in mayonnaise.
Food and Wine Culinary Director Justin Chapple says this is the secret to cooking the perfect roast.
"When you cover your turkey with mayonnaise, it bastes it during the roasting process, keeping the meat moist and tender," he said.
