Bacon collar steak with greengage and chilli

Serves 4

Bacon collar steak with greengage and chilli (Jason Lowe)

I remember as a kid my grandmother always used to buy collar of bacon, probably because it was cheap. Until a year or so ago I had almost forgotten about bacon collar and have recently started using it again, as it has such a great flavour and just the right amount of fat integrated into the meat to keep it nice and moist during cooking.

A good butcher should be able to get you this cut if you give him a bit of notice; if not, ask him to cut it from the loin where the back bacon comes from.

4 bacon collar steaks weighing about 160-180g each
Vegetable or corn oil for brushing
2 large shallots, peeled, halved and finely chopped
1 medium red chilli, finely chopped
1tbsp rapeseed oil
1tbsp cider vinegar
tbsp granulated sugar
16 greengages, halved and stoned
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Gently cook the shallots and chilli in the rapeseed oil for 2 minutes, add the vinegar, sugar and a tablespoon of water. Simmer for a minute, stir in the greengages, season, remove from the heat and cover with a lid. Leave to stand for 30 minutes giving an occasional stir.

Heat a ribbed griddle pan or heavy frying pan on the stove. Brush the steaks with oil and season with a little pepper. Cook on the griddle for 4-5 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness, keeping them nice and pink. Serve with the greengage sauce on the plate or separately.