In the twelfth century, a church in the English town of Dunmow promised a side of bacon to any married man who could swear before the congregation and God that he had not quarreled with his wife for a year and a day. A husband who could bring home the bacon was held in high esteem by the community for his forbearance. So what's changed?
We are in a cult of bacon. We seek its smoky meaty goodness as reward for "forbearing" all manner bad news hurled at us daily from our politicians, our bosses, nutritionists and even PETA. Bacon is no longer reserved for the myth of Sunday morning breakfast. It's now ubiquitous in our immediate gratification society. It's popping up in martinis, in ice cream and even chocolate covered at the great state fair.
Consider this nothing more than a hodgepodge collection of odd bacon facts;
A VERY UNSCIENTIFIC TASTING:
Niman Ranch Uncured Bacon - $6.79/12 oz (Alameda, Ca)
Salty with a full smoke aroma, and milder smoke flavor. Shrunk a lot after cooking
Nueskes Bacon - 7.95/12oz (Wittenberg, Wi)
Intense smoke aroma during cooking, however came through with a salty flavor bearing little or no smoke to the palatte. Normal amount of slice shrink.
Thielen Bacon - 8.35/16 oz. (Pierz, Mn)
Less salt with good smoke and surprising crunch not found in the other samples. Quite a bit of shrinkage.
Cuts of bacon
The names of rashers or slices differ depending on where they are cut from:
- Streaky bacon comes from the belly of a pig. It is very fatty with long veins of fat running parallel to the rind. This is the most common form of bacon in the United States.
- Pancetta is Italian streaky bacon, smoked or aqua (un-smoked), with a strong flavor. It is generally rolled up into cylinders after curing.
- Back bacon comes from the loin in the middle of the back of the pig. It is a lean meaty cut of bacon, with relatively less fat compared to other cuts and has a ham-like texture and flavor. Most bacon consumed in the United Kingdom is back bacon. Also called Irish bacon or Canadian Bacon.
- Middle bacon is much like back bacon but is cheaper and somewhat fattier, with a richer flavor.
- Cottage bacon is thinly sliced lean pork meat from a shoulder cut that is typically oval shaped and meaty. It is cured and then sliced into round pieces for baking or frying.
- Jowl bacon is cured and smoked cheeks of pork
Bacon joints include the following:
- Collar bacon is taken from the back of a pig near the head.
- Hock, from the hog ankle joint between the ham and the foot.
- Gammon, from the hind leg, traditionally "Wiltshire cured".
- Picnic bacon is from the picnic cut, which includes the shoulder beneath the blade.[7] It is fairly lean, but tougher than most pork cuts.
THE FUNNIEST MAN CHILD ON HIS BACON OBSESSION:
NEW WAYS TO GET YOUR BACON ON:
Bacon Salt
An innovtive product that lets you get the taste of bacon just about anywhere salt goes, vegetables, popcorn, steaks etc. For the bacon maven who can't ever be too far from bacon.
BACONNAISE
An all natural, all vegetable mayonnaise product with the smell and taste of bacon. The ultimate
BACON PORN:
The Bacon Bra
Bacon Steak
BACON BLOGS:
Bacon Unwrapped - Dennis Leary's bacon rant, plus other baconamania
Bacon Today - The Daily News of Bacon
Bacon Lover's Talk (BLT) - The lively home of the worldwide bacon community (Who knew there were bacon lovers on Fiji)
The Bacon Show - A new bacon recipe daily...forever
What about the truly perfect use of bacon....the francheezie. It just goes to show you the open mindedness of the lovers of Chicago Dog cuisine.
Even better than a dog is a polish or knockwurst....all beef....preferable from the Roumanian Kosher Butcher on Clark Street in Chicago. Take one of these chubby dogs, split it, stuff it with Win Schuler's Cheese Spread or other like product, spiral wrap in bacon and then oven roast. Yo baby!!!
Posted by: Jay Arbetman | November 02, 2009 at 07:21 PM