Bacon is the cut everyone thinks they can cook, and then they burn it. Back is the leaner rasher; streaky is the fattier one that crisps. Smoked tastes of the smokehouse; unsmoked tastes of pork. Pick the style before you pick a method. Smoked Back Bacon 454g is a 454g smoked back. Unsmoked Back Bacon 454g is unsmoked back in the same size. Five-pound packs live in 5lb bacon for the freezer. Shop bacon and back bacon together, then smoked bacon or streaky if that is the rasher you actually eat.
Grill and pan
Grill: rashers on a rack, high, 4 to 5 minutes a side for back that still bends, 6 minutes if you want it shatter-crisp. Streaky needs a minute less because the fat renders faster. Pan: medium heat, no extra oil for streaky, a film for back. Pour off fat halfway if the pan is swimming or the bacon will fry in a pool and never crisp. Do not start on a screaming heat; you will colour the outside and leave a flabby middle. Back bacon from 5lb Unsmoked Back Bacon cooks the same as the 454g; it is just more of it. Cook what you will eat, freeze the rest in packs of six rashers.
Oven and air fryer
Oven is the calm method for a crowd: 200°C on a rack over a tray, 12 to 15 minutes, turning once. Air fryer: 180°C for 8 to 10 minutes, in a single layer, shaking once. Streaky in the air fryer is excellent; it renders cleanly. Streaky and unsmoked packs sit in the same bacon shop if back is not the rasher you wanted. Bacon fat is not waste; keep a jar for eggs and potatoes.
What bacon is not
It is not gammon, which is a steak or a joint. It is not a 5lb block you cook in one go. A 454g pack is a few breakfasts; a 5lb pack is a month of breakfasts if you freeze it in meal packs the day it arrives. Shop breakfast meats when sausages are going in the same basket. Salt is already in the cure; taste before you add more, especially on smoked rashers.
A 454g pack is a few breakfasts. A 5lb pack is a month if you freeze it in rasher counts that match how you actually cook. Do not keep opened bacon at the front of a warm fridge for a fortnight and then blame the pack. Cook, or freeze, the day it arrives if you bought bulk.
Medium heat, drain the fat, stop when it still has a little flex unless you like it brittle. That is bacon, back or streaky, 454g or 5lb.