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Bacon is the best breakfast for sleepy mornings when you want something savoury but simple to make to start the day. It should take less than five minutes to make a bacon butty but it can quickly become more hassle than it is worth if you decide to cook it in oil.

Frying bacon might be the traditional way to cook bacon, but the oil tends to spit everywhere while cooking because it is mixing with the fat in the meat, which makes the pan extremely hot. Not only do you often end up with a greasy kitchen counter but the oil will usually also burn the pan so you end up having to spend the morning scrubbing dishes instead of relaxing. However, Cassie Michael, the co-founder of Food and Meat Co-op, has revealed that she discovered an easier way to make bacon without oil as she now cooks it with just water instead.

Cassie said: “You might be asking, can you boil bacon? And the answer is yes! You can absolutely boil bacon! Boiling bacon makes it tender and juicy and brings out a rich, savoury flavour.”

She added: “I know, I am a little weirded out by this too, but friends… where has this method been my entire bacon-lovin’ life?!? Taste was amazing. Texture was perfect. Cleanup was easier.”

It might sound strange, but cooking bacon with just a splash of water can make it crispier and tastier as it helps cook the strips in its own fat.

Bacon tends to be difficult to cook because the white fat should naturally render when heated, and when mixed with oil, it tends to cook the edges at a much faster rate.

You often end up with bacon that is charred on the outside before the pink meat has been cooked through, so you end up with soggy and burned bacon.

Using water will help the fat render gently, so it has time to cook properly before it begins cooking the bacon, so every part of the meat cooks at the same time.

Water will help give the bacon a crisper texture and a more meatier taste as it will not be doused in grease, while also being less messy to cook with, as there is no need for oil at all.

How to make crispier bacon with water

You will need (per person)

• Two to three strips of bacon
• A splash of water
• A frying pan
• Tongs or a spatula
• Kitchen paper towels

To begin, place the bacon in a cold frying pan and add around one centimetre of water. You want just enough to partially cover the bacon, but not enough to submerge it.

Place the pan on a medium-high heat on the stove until the water begins boiling, then reduce the heat to medium-low so the water starts to simmer.

Cook the bacon for about eight minutes until all the water has evaporated completely. Once all the liquid is gone, the bacon will start sizzling as it cooks in its own fat.

Let the bacon cook for one to three minutes, depending on how crispy you like it. Watch the bacon carefully to make sure it does not burn, and flip it using a pair of tongs to cook each side.

When the bacon looks perfectly cooked, take it out of the pan and transfer it to a plate lined with paper towels to soak up any excess grease. The bacon should look golden and taste so much better than frying it.