Why do I keep adding water to cook my bacon?

I’ve been cooking bacon in water for quite a few years now and I didn't realise it wasn’t a common thing until I started posting it on TikTok and got a lot of curious comments. It’s very common in a chef’s home kitchen!

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[cnd]

I started doing this and it changed my life. My kids love breakfast again, they finally respect me and my wife came back. Thanks Andy

[CalTallents]

I love that the closed captions took the bacon sizzle as applause.

[donleyp]

I’ve been doing this for years, but recently with thick cut bacon i found a way to simplify it. I use a skillet with a glass lid. The enclosed environment causes the fat to render quicker. Once you see foaming on top of the bacon it’s time to uncover and flip. I then cover and wait for foam on the second side. Uncover it and flip it back and forth until done to your liking. Another plus for this method is there’s less spatter!

[nedread]

I’m definitely trying this after Ramadan

[fartzinacan]

It's obviously for bacon flavored water.

[davidwitt]

With the water in the pan, the surrounding environment of the bacon can't get above 100C/212F because at that point...the water evaporates. This means that the bacon is able to warm gently allowing the fat to render out without it actually browning too fast or potentially burning because in a dry pan, your pan would be quite a bit hotter than this. Eventually all of the water evaporates, the pan can now get to hotter than 100C/212F and a good amount of the fat of the bacon has rendered out and you're now frying the bacon in its own fat.

So you're basically either starting the bacon in a dry pan, "cold" with none of the fat rendered out and in direct contact with higher heat....or....you get to kind of cheat the process a little bit and when the water is all gone....you gently pushed the bacon further along in the process and you can fry it quickly

Making a caramel with water in the pan works pretty similarly. It's kind of a nice safeguard.

[ratlips]

Yep, this is how I prep my bacon whether its in full strips for breakfast or BLTs, or diced and made ready for a pasta sauce...its a great way to get the bacon into a place where it can be used without being overcooked and too crispy, or undercooked and too chewy. Nice presentation Andy! Nice to find your channel!

[InformationIsTheEdge]

I used the water method on American thick cut bacon and it worked like a champ! In addition to cooking more evenly it even has a better tendency to lay flat rather than curl up!

[danieltravassos]

After seeing your videos, I started putting water in the pan to prepare the bacons and I never got them wrong anymore! Thanks Andy for this valuable tip.

[stoneagepig]

Am I the only person that's never once had any problems getting my bacon crispy? For me this is a solution to a problem that doesn't exist.

[justa]

Got that from one of your previous videos.
I tend to use a bit more water and medium heat, so the colagen gets in the play.
I like it a little chewy, so I don't get them all that crisp, but they end up with a nice crust.

[mvoronenko]

Thanks! Another method is to use no water, but cooking on lower temp, turning it around just as often. Same result.

[Tulipzsz]

I’ve done this ever since I saw it in one of your videos! Works so well with streaky bacon 😋

[ronquiring]

I add water to everything now. Boiled beans, all my pasta preparations, boiled eggs, etc. It makes a significant difference.

[ButacuPpucatuB]

Top tip 🙌🏽 Thank you for the detailed walk through. I’m going to try this out asap 🥓

[sarahdeason]

I Googled " cooking bacon with water " yesterday & watched a couple of videos .. N today I just happen to see a video by my favorite Chef on this subject... Thank you Chef .. You explain everything so well .. U R a Great Teacher as Well as a Great Chef ⚘

[lefettsack]

I literally just tried this method for dinner and it works super well, the bacon was perfectly crispy and delicious. I definitely recommend trying it! Great tip Andy, cheers from Germany

[greenmt]

I started doing it because of one if your old videos!! it works like a charm every time for a few slices of bacon when I don’t feel like waiting for the oven

[MatteeTheRogue]

This is a GNARLY trick dude, thanks a lot!

[andyroseby]

That looks great andy!
I will try this out as another andy that cooks!