Bacon Takes Centre Stage: 5 Recipes Every Bacon Lover Needs to Try

There are plenty of ingredients that make a meal better, but few can transform a dish quite like good bacon.

Crispy around the edges, beautifully savoury and packed with flavour, bacon deserves far more than a supporting role alongside your morning eggs. From smoky streaky bacon wrapped around tender chicken to thick-cut back bacon piled into the ultimate sandwich, it can quite happily be the star of dinner too.

At Prendergast Butchers, we believe that when bacon is the main event, quality matters. So, whether you prefer yours smoked or unsmoked, streaky or back, here are five delicious ways to put bacon firmly centre stage.

1. Creamy Smoked Bacon & Leek Pasta

Serves 4

Smoky, creamy and ready without too much fuss, this is exactly the sort of dinner you want after a long day. Don’t be shy with the bacon – it’s the best bit.

Ingredients

• 300g smoked streaky bacon, cut into generous pieces
• 350g tagliatelle or linguine
• 2 leeks, finely sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 250ml double cream
• 50g Parmesan, finely grated
• 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Small handful of fresh parsley, chopped

Method

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta according to the packet instructions.

Meanwhile, place the bacon into a large frying pan over a medium heat. Cook until golden and beginning to crisp, allowing that lovely bacon fat to render into the pan.

Remove a small handful of the crispy bacon and keep it to one side for serving.

Add the leeks to the remaining bacon and cook gently for 5–6 minutes until softened. Stir in the garlic and cook for another minute.

Turn the heat down and add the cream, mustard and Parmesan. Stir until you have a smooth, glossy sauce.

Drain the pasta, reserving a mugful of pasta water, then toss it through the sauce. Add a splash of pasta water if it needs loosening.

Finish with plenty of black pepper, parsley and the reserved crispy bacon.

Butcher’s tip: Smoked streaky bacon works brilliantly here because its fat renders into the pan and becomes part of the sauce. Don’t throw that flavour away!

2. Bacon-Wrapped Chicken with Honey & Mustard Glaze

Serves 4

This one’s wonderfully simple: juicy chicken completely wrapped in bacon and finished with a sticky honey and mustard glaze. The bacon keeps the chicken succulent while becoming beautifully crisp on the outside.

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts
• 12–16 rashers streaky bacon
• 2 tbsp runny honey
• 2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• Black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C / 180°C fan / Gas 6.

Wrap each chicken breast generously with 3–4 rashers of streaky bacon, overlapping the rashers slightly so the chicken is well covered.

Place the wrapped chicken into a roasting dish.

Mix together the honey, mustard, olive oil and thyme, then brush half of the mixture generously over the bacon.

Roast for around 25 minutes before brushing over the remaining glaze.

Return to the oven for another 5–10 minutes, or until the chicken is completely cooked through and the bacon is golden and crisp.

Serve with buttery mash and seasonal greens, or crispy roast potatoes if you’re particularly hungry.

Butcher’s tip: There’s no need to add much salt to this dish – the bacon brings plenty of seasoning of its own.

3. The Ultimate Bacon, Brie & Caramelised Onion Sandwich

Serves 2

The humble bacon sandwich has had an upgrade.

Thick slices of bread, plenty of proper back bacon, melting Brie and sweet caramelised onions make this a serious lunchtime treat.

Ingredients

• 8 rashers back bacon
• 4 thick slices of sourdough or farmhouse bread
• 150g Brie, sliced
• 2 large onions, finely sliced
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• Rocket, optional
• Butter for the bread

Method

Start with the onions. Melt the butter in a frying pan over a low-to-medium heat and add the sliced onions.

Cook slowly for around 15 minutes, stirring regularly, until soft and golden. Add the brown sugar and balsamic vinegar and cook for another 3–4 minutes until sticky and caramelised.

Remove from the pan and set aside.

Turn up the heat and cook the back bacon until beautifully browned around the edges.

Lightly butter the bread, then pile on the bacon while it’s still hot. Top generously with Brie followed by the caramelised onions and a little rocket, if using.

Close the sandwich and serve immediately.

For an even more indulgent version, toast the completed sandwich in a frying pan or sandwich press until the bread is crisp and the Brie starts to melt.

Butcher’s tip: Use thick-cut back bacon here. You want a proper meaty bite rather than bacon disappearing into the other fillings.

4. Loaded Bacon & Cheese Potato Skins

Serves 4

Crispy potato skins. Melted cheese. Spring onions. Sour cream. And, most importantly, heaps of crispy bacon.

These are ideal for sharing – although nobody said you have to.

Ingredients

• 8 rashers smoked streaky bacon
• 4 large baking potatoes
• 150g mature Cheddar, grated
• 3 spring onions, finely sliced
• 2 tbsp butter
• 4 tbsp sour cream
• Black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C / 180°C fan / Gas 6.

Prick the potatoes with a fork and bake for approximately 60 minutes, or until completely tender.

While they’re cooking, fry the bacon until crisp. Allow it to cool slightly before chopping into small pieces.

Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them in half lengthways and carefully scoop out most of the potato, leaving enough around the edges to keep the skins sturdy.

Mix the scooped potato with the butter, half of the cheese, half of the bacon and plenty of black pepper.

Spoon the mixture back into the potato skins.

Top with the remaining cheese and, importantly, the remaining bacon.

Return to the oven for around 15 minutes until piping hot, golden and bubbling.

Finish with sour cream and sliced spring onions.

Butcher’s tip: Cook the bacon until properly crisp before chopping it. That gives you little salty, smoky pieces throughout every mouthful.

5. Sticky Maple Bacon Pancake Stack

Serves 4

Who says bacon has to be reserved for savoury recipes?

Sweet maple syrup and salty, crispy bacon are a match made in heaven, especially when they’re piled high between warm, fluffy pancakes.

Ingredients

For the bacon:

• 12 rashers streaky bacon
• 2 tbsp maple syrup

For the pancakes:

• 200g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 250ml milk
• 25g melted butter

To serve:

• Maple syrup
• Butter

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C / 180°C fan / Gas 6.

Lay the streaky bacon onto a lined baking tray and brush lightly with maple syrup.

Bake for around 15–20 minutes, turning halfway through, until dark, sticky and crisp.

Meanwhile, make the pancakes.

Mix the flour, baking powder and sugar together in a large bowl.

In a separate jug, whisk together the eggs, milk and melted butter. Gradually whisk the wet ingredients into the flour until you have a smooth, thick batter.

Heat a lightly buttered frying pan over a medium heat.

Spoon small rounds of batter into the pan and cook until bubbles begin appearing on the surface. Flip and cook the other side until golden.

Now for the important bit.

Stack the warm pancakes high, layering pieces of crispy maple bacon between them. Finish with a knob of butter, more bacon and a generous drizzle of maple syrup.

Breakfast doesn’t get much better than that.

Better Bacon Makes a Better Meal

Whether it’s crisped until golden, wrapped around chicken, stirred through a creamy pasta sauce or stacked between pancakes, bacon has an impressive ability to make almost anything taste better.

And when bacon is the star of the recipe rather than just an extra, starting with quality bacon from your local butcher makes all the difference.

Pop into Prendergast Butchers and pick up your favourite – back, streaky, smoked or unsmoked – then give one of these recipes a go.

The only difficult decision is which one you’re cooking first.