Bacon butty with HP Sauce
Two slices of soft white bread, crispy grilled bacon, a smear of brown sauce. Nothing more, and it's perfect: the snack every British film crew has eaten between takes.
Two slices of soft white bread, crispy grilled bacon, a smear of brown sauce. Nothing more, and it's perfect: the snack every British film crew has eaten between takes.
Listen, on a set you don't have time to be a gourmet. I come from Islington, we weren't raised on caviar. You take plain white bread, streaky bacon that you grill until it crackles under your teeth, you stick that between two slices and you sling a dash of HP — not too much, you don't want to drown the pig. You eat standing up, watching the rushes, and you get back to work. The greatest meal in the world fits in one hand.
- •White bread — 2 slices (soft base)
- •Smoked streaky bacon — 3 rashers (salty/crispy heart)
- •Butter — a little (binding)
- •HP Sauce (brown sauce) — a dash (sweet-and-sour signature)
Bacon butty with HP Sauce
Two slices of soft white bread, crispy grilled bacon, a smear of brown sauce. Nothing more, and it's perfect: the snack every British film crew has eaten between takes.
Why this dish? This was HIS on-set meal: Parker ate little and simply to stay focused, and his reflex on British film sets was a bacon sandwich on white bread with a dash of HP Sauce.
Listen, on a set you don't have time to be a gourmet. I come from Islington, we weren't raised on caviar. You take plain white bread, streaky bacon that you grill until it crackles under your teeth, you stick that between two slices and you sling a dash of HP — not too much, you don't want to drown the pig. You eat standing up, watching the rushes, and you get back to work. The greatest meal in the world fits in one hand.
Ingredients (period version)
- White bread — 2 slices (soft base)
- Smoked streaky bacon — 3 rashers (salty/crispy heart)
- Butter — a little (binding)
- HP Sauce (brown sauce) — a dash (sweet-and-sour signature)
Ingredients
- Good-quality white bread — 2 slices (soft base)
- Smoked streaky bacon, thin-cut — 3-4 rashers (salty/crispy heart)
- Salted butter — 10 g (binding)
- HP Sauce (or brown sauce) — 1 tsp (sweet-and-sour signature)
Method
- Grill the bacon in a frying pan (or under the grill) without fat, until golden and crispy; drain on kitchen paper.
- Lightly butter both slices of bread (do not toast them — the butty stays soft).
- Place the hot bacon on the bread, add a dash of HP Sauce.
- Close the sandwich, press gently, cut diagonally and eat immediately.
How it was made : The bacon sandwich has been a staple of the British 'fry-up' since the 19th century. On film sets and building sites, the 'caff' (working men's café) served butties assembly-line style: industrial white bread, cheap bacon, strong tea, and a bottle of brown sauce on every table.
The contemporary twist : Toasted brioche bread, maple-caramelised bacon, and a homemade mayo spiked with brown sauce: the 'director's cut' of the butty.
Alan Parker · Charactorium