Whether you like it with dollops of ketchup, lashings of brown sauce or with an egg on top, the humble bacon butty has been voted the nation’s favourite sandwich – seeing off plain cheese.
The British classic of a fried or grilled bacon sandwich between two chunky slices of bread topped the Warburtons survey.
And the snack is a winner with some of our fave chefs too.
From Gordon Ramsay’s creative combo to Heston Blumenthal’s interesting sauce, celebrity cooks all have their own take on it.
So let’s see whose offerings are bacon the grade and who’ll just have to fry harder…
Paul Hollywood
Paul’s former co-star, Mary Berry once revealed that the TV baker “lives on bacon butties”.
She said: “For breakfast he’ll have a bacon buttie – that’s allowed – then what does he want for lunch? Bacon buttie. If he’s offered an egg on it, he’ll ask for two.”
So what does Paul require for his favourite snack? Simply sourdough toast, a poached egg and two rashers of crispy back bacon. Tasty.
(Image: PA)
Tom Kerridge
Alongside bacon, Tom, who runs the Michelin-starred The Hand & Flowers pub, advises you stuff your sandwich full of cheese – and lots of it.
In his favourite crispy bacon toasties, the chef likes to use 25g of Parmesan and four slices of just-ripe brie.
To complement the rich creamy flavours, he adds onion chutney to the farmhouse loaf.
Marco Pierre White
Controversial Marco has a divisive bacon bap recipe.
It’s incredibly straightforward – using white bread and no sauce. However, instead of frying or grilling the meat, the Michelin-starred chef recommends cooking your four rashers of bacon in the microwave.
According to him, it should take just two-and-a- half minutes for the bacon to reach perfection.
Delia Smith
No-frills chef Delia loves an open-faced egg and bacon sandwich on a Sunday, using her neighbour’s home-made grainy brown rolls.
She says: “We love to eat them warmed, halved and buttered, then spread with this yummy egg topping.”
The topping is four hard-boiled eggs mashed up with bacon.
(Image: PA)
Jamie Oliver
Rustic Jamie keeps things simple with just four ingredients – a white bloomer, three rashers of smoked back bacon, olive oil and brown sauce.
And, instead of using butter, the TV chef soaks his bread in fat before assembling.
To finish off, he says: “I simply cut mine diagonally from corner to corner and get it in my gob as quickly as possible.”
Simon Rimmer
Brunch expert Simon recommends going back to basics and making your own bread and brown sauce to get the perfect sarnie.
The recipe certainly makes you appreciate the complexity of HP sauce, as it features ingredients such as shallots, dates, tamarind sauce, ground ginger, cayenne pepper, turmeric and garlic.
Gordon Ramsay
Grumpy Gordon certainly makes a meal out of his bacon sandwich, which uses thick-cut bacon, shallots, eggs, unsalted butter, creme fraiche, spring onions, goats’ cheese and cheddar.
Even his choice of bread is fancy – as he recommends scoffing your bacon in a brioche bun instead of plain old white sliced.
(Image: Getty Images North America)
Heston Blumenthal
Heston calls for streaky bacon with lots of fat for his perfect version, nestled between a slice of buttery toast and one slice of bread.
However, true to form, Heston manages to break the mould and shuns brown sauce in favour of a typical burger sauce – made with ketchup, mayo and hot-dog mustard.
Raymond Blanc
Raymond has described the sarnie as his ultimate comfort food,.
The double Michelin-starred chef says attention to detail is crucial. He said: “Every ingredient must be chosen with love and care – the best bread, top-quality free-range pork for the bacon – wow, you can’t beat it!”
The chef is a fan of HP sauce with his butty, and says the combo is a hangover cure.
James Martin
There’s no taste like home for Yorkshireman James, who believes that his gran’s bacon butty is the best.
He says: “Granny Smith was a legend, as were her bacon sarnies.” The recipe features dried cured-back bacon, which is fried alongside tomatoes and butter.
James adds: “Press down lightly to squish it all together then cut in half and eat, mopping up any spilled butter and juices.”
