An expert from a butchers company has shared the common mistake people make when cooking bacon and steak – and it’s all to do with your pan.
When you’re doing the weekly shop and need something quick for breakfast or dinner, few things beat a pack of bacon or a couple of steaks. Both are delicious and full of flavour, and can be enjoyed on their own or added into sandwiches, noodles or pasta dishes.
They’re also both relatively simple to prepare, requiring little more than a few minutes of frying in a pan. Despite this, there’s one critical error that many people are making with their meat — and according to an expert, it’s destroying both the flavour and texture.
An expert at specialist butcher Campbells Meat, Niall McCusker, has shared the widespread mistake that most of us have been guilty of making in the kitchen.
He said: “The way you cook your meat will ultimately affect the taste and the texture.”
In many recipes, the first step is to heat your pan before adding anything to it. While certain lean meats such as chicken, pork chops and lean steaks can benefit from this approach, other cuts — such as bacon and fatty steak — require an entirely different technique.
How to cook bacon and steak properly
Rather than reaching for a red-hot pan, Niall recommends placing your steak, bacon or other high-fat meats into a cold pan first.
“These foods have a high fat content, so you need to know how to render the fat and get it nice and crispy without burning the meat,” Niall explained. “Starting off with a cold pan lets the fat slowly melt as it turns into a liquid. That cooks off the fat and gives you that flavour without burning the meat. It also results in a more tender texture, as it hasn’t tightened up from cooking on a high heat.”
Can you cook bacon and steak in the air fryer?
For those who favour an air fryer over a traditional pan, you can still achieve perfectly juicy yet crispy bacon and steaks — and it couldn’t be easier.
For bacon, arrange the strips in a single layer inside the basket, ensuring they don’t overlap at all, as this will affect how crispy they become. Set the temperature to 200C and cook for approximately eight to 10 minutes, before removing and placing on a sheet of kitchen paper to absorb any excess grease.
Steaks require a little more preparation. Pat them dry using kitchen paper, brush with a teaspoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Pre-heat the air fryer for two minutes at 200C, then place the steaks in the basket and cook for six minutes. Turn the steak and cook for a further two minutes.
At this stage, your steak should be rare to medium rare. Add another two minutes for medium steaks, plus a further two minutes if you prefer them well-done.
Allow them to rest on a plate for a couple of minutes, and they’ll be ready to serve.
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