Bacon..

Bacon.

Lemme just say that again.... BACON.

Shiver.  Just the word alone evokes a reaction in my very core.  Of all the gifts 'ol porky has given us, bacon has to be the very finest.   Nothing... well, almost nothing (*insert lecherous eyebrow waggle here*)... will drag a man out of bed in the morning like the smell of bacon cooking.

Let's share a few moments and talk... Bacon. American style bacon here, made from Pork Belly.  Brined or salted down, and cured.  Added spices are not uncommon, as well as sugar.  Following the curing process, which can last from only hours in 'factory' bacon, to weeks for really high end dry cured, or home cured bacon. Some bacon is smoked as well.  In factory bacon, the 'smoke' can be in the form of liquids harpooned into the meat on an assembly line.

There are other bacon's as well. British 'Back' bacon is typically made from the pork loin, perhaps with a bit more attached.  Canadian bacon (is HAM!) is cured pork loin, and may be smoked as well.  Both are much leaner than American style bacon.

We will not speak of 'Turkey' bacon, or any other alleged food product which has non-oinker wannabes posing as real food.  Never... ever... trust phony food.  If it's made of one thing, and pretending to taste like another thing, just let it go. (Turkey bacon, tofurkey, all these things are lies. If you want something that tastes like something; you are better off eating a bit of that something. It will better satisfy a craving, so you won't go overboard.)

When it comes to buying (American style, (GO 'MURICA!)) bacon, we have many choices.  Like any other product this popular, the market has supplied every buyer with something in their price and taste range.

An average American supermarket will have a case full of packaged 'factory' bacon.  The cheapest bacon will be found there, but rarely the best bacon.  That's not to say some decent bacon can't be found in a one pound shrink wrapped package, but the odds are not in the shoppers favor.  By the time we get into 'decent' packaged bacon, we can easily match the price in the meat department of the store.  

Over in the meat cases, if the store has a fair butcher department, a shopper will generally find trays of sliced bacon which looks far different than the packaged stuff.  Often they may come from the same source.... but they are not the same product.

Bacon, beautiful bacon. It's beauty is beyond compare!

In our local case, John Martin prepackaged bacon can be found in most stores, and finding the same makers bacon in the meat case happens often as well.  The thing is... it's usually not the same bacon.

The stuff in the meat case is almost always a higher quality.  More meaty, and often differently cured. If it looks a bit gray, that's even better.  That means less or no nitrates were used in the cure.

That bacon in the meat case is usually the best bacon value in the store.  Good quality, visible contents slice by slice, and the price often does not exceed the high end stuff in the prepackaged aisle.

Typically, there is a tray of 'bacon ends' next to the sliced bacon in the meat case.  These are literally the different length slices that didn't fit the nice neat sliced bacon display, or the fattier end of the slab as it was sliced.  There is not one thing wrong with this bacon for family meals where 'pretty' is not the main objective.  It serves well as flavoring bacon as well, chopped up and rendered down.  This is the bacon we put in baked beans, on salads, and make BLT's with.

There is another option, not for the faint of bacon heart.  That's slab bacon.  Un-sliced, and usually special order.  Slab (or half-slab like I buy) is a great big chunk of bacon, around 5 pounds for a half slab, and 10-12 pounds on a full slab.  It's a full on bacon commitment.  It means bacon more than once every week or two, on Sunday mornings.  Having 5 pounds of bacon on hand encourages bacony initiative and innovation.

Buying slab bacon calls for some trust in your store's meat department.  They'll usually special order a slab for a customer, but no one really knows how meaty it will be till it's sliced, and that will be on the customer's kitchen counter.  It could be mostly fat.... and that happens.

I order my half-slabs from Oregon Dairy market, and they get it from Stoltzfus Meats.  

Now, why would one go to the trouble of buying an uncut slab of bacon, which is often the exact same thing that's sliced in the meat case?  Because it IS un-sliced.... which means WE choose how thick we have those slices of smoked pork belly. Any shape or size we wish, and it does effect how it cooks!

I like my bacon thick.  Crispy bacon is wonderful, but nothing in this world can match a super thick slice of smoked bacon which has been roasted slowly in a 350 degree oven.  Thick.... like 3/8", or thicker.  It cooks up just a little crispy on the outside, and tender bacony on the inside. Flavor unseen since bacon moved from the farms smokehouse and into the stores meat case.

Having great big chunks of slab bacon on hand also allows for experimentation in flavoring.  Such a chunk of meat lends itself to being dry rubbed, wrapped up, and tucked away in the fridge for a week.  Brown sugar, salt, garlic, and paprika is a favorite of mine for this.

When it comes to cooking bacon, there's nothing at all wrong with the typical American method of just frying it up in the pan.

Well.... not much wrong anyway.   There IS the need to hover over it, lest it burn.  There is a reason bacon is a commonly burned item in a commercial kitchen.   Splatter is also a problem... and a painful one.  People own splatter shields for a reason.  Of course, that splatter has to land someplace, and that means lots of cleanup after frying up some bacon.

I'd like to offer a suggestion for cooking bacon, and lots of it too.

Why not roast it in the oven?

After all, it's a controlled temperature that can effectively fry the bacon in it's own rendered out fat, without the risk of burning or the need to watch like a hawk.

It's so easy, really.  Place a backing rack on a half sheet, using parchment on the sheet pan if you wish (It makes cleanup easier).  Lay your sliced bacon out on the baking rack, as tight as you wish. 

I like to grind on some fresh black pepper at that point, or some Montreal steak seasoning. A fine sprinkle of brown sugar would not be misplaced, or a drizzle of maple syrup if that's your thing. 

With bacon layered on the baking rack, slide the sheet pan into the oven and set the temperature for 350 to 400 degrees, depending on how quickly you want to eat.  Cooking time is 15 to 30 minutes, in line with how thick your bacon is and how crisp you want it.  Once it looks done, one can remove just the bacon to a paper towel lined plate, or CAREFULLY pull the entire sheet pan from the oven to cool.  LOOK... pay attention here... the sheet pan will be full of rocket hot bacon grease.   Second degree burns faster than you can say "AAAHHHHH!!!" Be careful my friends. (Listen to Mr. Man in this, his arm is a lovely piece of flesh after a horrible bacon burn earlier this week!)

Bacon is magical, and there's no reason to cheap out on the magic.  Buy good bacon, the best you can afford, and be flexible in it's use.  Cook it right, cook it often, and enjoy it! 

An aside from Herself: Don't be afraid to mix sweet and savory with bacon. There is an entire flavor world to be explored. Bacon milkshakes, bacon sticky rolls, bacon apple pie, bacon pancake dippers, the list goes on. Be brave with your food. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain!!