If you love bacon, come to Britain, where eating it is part of everyday life. And a bacon sarnie or a butty bacon is an excuse to eat a lot.
A bacon sarnie is a bacon sandwich that is a guilty pleasure in all of the British Isles. Some people call it sarnie , others call it butty . The origin of the name is a bit of a mystery, but if someone in a cafe or snack van tries to offer you a bacon roll or a bacon sandwich, you are probably not in the UK. Whatever you call it, it’s essentially a couple of slices of white bread, stuffed with a satisfying amount of bacon that’s probably way more than what’s good for you.
And it’s one of Britain’s favorite foods, popping up in the top 10 of favorite foods polls over and over again. A few years ago, a mobile telecommunications company surveyed 60,000 of its subscribers and asked them to choose Britain’s most important national treasures. The humble sarnie bacon was first on the list, before the country’s history, before the BBC, even before Her Majesty the Queen. So if you want to get acquainted with the national cuisine of Great Britain, forget the fish and chips – it’s the bacon and brown sauce between the slices of bread that leads the way.
What’s in a bacon sarnie?
Besides bacon, of course? White bread is essential: the cheapest and tasteless white bread money can buy is traditional. The bread only exists to hold the bacon and any other ingredients together without interfering with the flavor of the meat. And the bread really shouldn’t be toasted. That would only add another unwanted flavor and texture. Lately, fashionistas have been introducing toasted sourdough into the recipe, and while that may be trendy (and tasty in its own way), most purists would go crazy over sacrilege.
The bread is covered in butter, I said that was a guilty pleasure, and while some add ketchup or (ew) mayonnaise, the HP brown sauce is the other essential. As for bacon, it can be either dry-cured grating, the most similar to American bacon, or back bacon (pretty much like what Americans call Canadian bacon), as long as there is enough.
Sometimes this sandwich will be served to you on a bap, a soft roll similar to a hamburger bun. Then it will probably be called bacon
Where and when?
You won’t find bacon sarnies (that’s pronounced SAH ‘nee by the way) on formal occasions and dinners, unless your hosts are wry. Otherwise they are a filler, warmer and treat at any time. Students eat them for breakfast, workers for an afternoon pickup, ravers after a night out – all that bread and fat apparently soaks up a lot of alcohol.
Virtually everyone on vacation or a long road trip seems to have time to stop by for a bacon sarnie. They can always be found at motorway stops and in old-fashioned caffs like Browns at Oxford Covered Market. Even Starbucks has a kind of version of a sarnie bacon that will warm you up. And the best bacon sarnies are eaten outdoors, with a steaming cup of coffee or milk tea to be completely authentic.
In her instructions for the perfect bacon sandwich, British food writer Elaine Lemm says, “It’s almost rude not to eat bacon on a Sunday morning (outside in the rain if you’re camping or at a festival). And always on vacation, especially in the UK.
After an early start on a trip to the country with friends and dogs, a road stop for a sarnie bacon and a cup of milk tea around 10 am is an absolutely essential tradition.
And on top of that milk tea, many British tea drinkers like their beer quite strong. Adding milk softens it. Don’t hit it until you’ve tried it.
So are they good?
Some things Brits like to eat (like jellied eels or beans on toast) are acquired tastes, but everyone loves bacon. Even vegetarians use vegetarian bacon made from Quorn or tofu for themselves.
But are they good for you? If you are health conscious in the least, you have to face the fact that from a health standpoint there is nothing that recommends bacon sarnies for you.
But the bottom line is that once you’ve tried one, you won’t mind, and what’s more, you’ll probably want another.
