This man speaks the truth.
Seriously, how do you 'extra crispy people eat it? You take one bite, and BAM, bacon shards over the plate, table, your lap, etc…
I like chewy with just a couple parts that give a crunch, which is why I both use thick-cut bacon, and bake it on a sheet pan at 400, rather than cook it on a stovetop. Much more even and easier to control.
I wish we could upload pics - I actually designed a t-shirt that has an old man demanding his “crispy bacon!” (It’s a running gag at work that old people as a group greatly prefer their bacon to be crispy.)
Crispy bacon is the correct choice.
But I’ll eat the chewy if that’s what you have.
Really, the answer’s just bacon. Bacon, bacon, bacon.
Put me down for this too, please!
Chewy is nasty. It’s like raw uncooked fat. Ugh.
Crispy is the only way to go.
I like either, as long as it’s done competently. Back and middle bacon is best not cooked to an absolute crisp. Streaky is nice crispy.
I’ve had bad examples of either - American-style fully-crispy streaky bacon sometimes arrives on the burnt side of tasty, in my experience (the first time I ever encountered it was on the QEII and it was like eating cinders)
I’ve always wondered, is the bacon I buy in the UK the same as the bacon on offer in the US? It is very rarely served over here as crispy as I had it served when in the US.
I’d be surprised if it’s exactly the same, unless it’s imported from the same sources. Seems like different nations have different ideas of what bacon actually is. IIRC, bacon in the USA is predominantly thinly-sliced smoked streaky and is typically cured with brine that contains more sugar than we’re accustomed to in Northern Europe.
Definitely chewy. Crispy bacon is ruined bacon.
Neither. Bacon should be used to impart its flavor to the dish; it shouldn’t be a discrete piece with its own texture.
Crispy is the only choice. Chewy bacon grosses me out.
I like chewy and crispy on the same slice like the good lord intended.
This.
It needs to be crispy enough to break rather than bend, but not so crisp that it disintegrates on contact. The fat should be rendered but the meat should be chewy; you should be able to chew on it for at least two or three grinds of the teeth. This is why I prefer thick bacon, because you can get both - crispy goodness and extended flavor while you chew.
Roddy
When you pick up one end, it shouldn’t come up all together. It should flop over.
Some people seem to be equating “chewy” with floppy and under cooked. This is a mistake.
I make such equation and it’s not a mistake. Like a wet noodle, it should flop.
How do you get crispy bacon without burning it? Every time I’ve had crispy bacon I feel like I’m eating something closer to firepit wood remains.
Voted chewy bacon, I like to taste bacon and not bacon flavoured wood chips.
Crispy. Definitely crispy. Not to the point where it shatters, but not with enough chew in it that you can bend it. It should be easily breakable. I’d have to show you to explain it better.
Now I’m off to make me a bacon with sharp cheddar cheese sandwich on honey wheat bread. Yea it’s not healthy, but it’s oh so good.