Bacon Revelations

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Cardboard bacon? Did it come from Azerbaijan?

 

[HFWR]

Note: I don't do bananas.

Bananas is good!

Btw, potatoes are high in potassium as well...

 

[TromboneAl]

I discovered the same thing happens with baloney. I'm surprised because I would have thought the salt was deep inside. it tastes pretty bad, even when resalted with KCl. It shows you how little taste the meat itself has.

 

[TromboneAl]

Here's my recent thinking on this. In the past I cut way down on salt for a while, and saw that it had no effect on my blood pressure.

But I've been reading some articles that suggest it is the ratio of potassium to sodium that is important.

So I am currently evaluating whether increasing potassium and decreasing sodium will make a difference.

After nine days of lower sodium, and higher potassium, I have seen no change in my blood pressure. If something were going to happen, I think it would have happened by now, right?

 

[Huston55]

Agreed, the nitrates(nitrites?) and the curing process are part of what makes bacon bacon.

Along those lines, we bought 1# of ground pork for a dinner recipe that called for 1/2#. I took the other 1/2#, added 3/4 tsp sage, just 1/4 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp Brown Sugar, 1/4 tsp ground pepper, and 1/8 tsp Cayenne. Mixed and made 4 patties and pan fried them. A little spicy, I'd up the sage and cut down the peppers next time. But very easy and has that 'breakfast sausage' taste, w/o much salt and no nitrates/nitrites (I forget which is used in curing).
-ERD50

Don't want to burst your bacon bubble but, ERD is right, it's the nitrites that are most unhealthy. They're a known carcinogen, which is why there used to be (maybe still is) an area in eastern North Carolina called 'the cancer belt.'. Everyone there ate tons of cured pork in everything; bacon, fat back, country ham, etc.

Not that I don't eat bacon, I do. But, my argument is moderation, not that it's good for me.

Al-please pass the bacon.

 

[Lsbcal]

After nine days of lower sodium, and higher potassium, I have seen no change in my blood pressure. If something were going to happen, I think it would have happened by now, right?

I'm no expert on BP but if it were that simple wouldn't it be known? It would be easy to do a controlled test over such a short time period as you've demo'd.

My BP varies quite a bit during a day. Never could find an obvious correlation to activities or diet. I just test once/month and record in a spreadsheet.

What I monitor is the 12 month moving average. My doc seems to consider diastolic the key. Mine has been moving down into normal territory. Must be those bananas.

 

[TromboneAl]

Don't want to burst your bacon bubble but, ERD is right, it's the nitrites that are most unhealthy. They're a known carcinogen, which is why there used to be (maybe still is) an area in eastern North Carolina called 'the cancer belt.'. Everyone there ate tons of cured pork in everything; bacon, fat back, country ham, etc.

Not that I don't eat bacon, I do. But, my argument is moderation, not that it's good for me.

I've been concerned about that, but every time I've researched this, I've concluded that it's not clear-cut, and the concerns are a bit overblown.

It has been reported that people normally consume more nitrates from their vegetable intake than from the cured meat products they eat. Spinach, beets, radishes, celery, and cabbages are among the vegetables that generally contain very high concentrations of nitrates (J. Food Sci., 52:1632). The nitrate content of vegetables is affected by maturity, soil conditions, fertilizer, variety, etc. It has been estimated that 10 percent of the human exposure to nitrite in the digestive tract comes from cured meats and 90 percent comes from vegetables and other sources. Nitrates can be reduced to nitrites by certain microorganisms present in foods and in the gastrointestinal tract.
​

 

[mickj]

I've been concerned about that, but every time I've researched this, I've concluded that it's not clear-cut, and the concerns are a bit overblown.

It has been reported that people normally consume more nitrates from their vegetable intake than from the cured meat products they eat. Spinach, beets, radishes, celery, and cabbages are among the vegetables that generally contain very high concentrations of nitrates (J. Food Sci., 52:1632). The nitrate content of vegetables is affected by maturity, soil conditions, fertilizer, variety, etc. It has been estimated that 10 percent of the human exposure to nitrite in the digestive tract comes from cured meats and 90 percent comes from vegetables and other sources. Nitrates can be reduced to nitrites by certain microorganisms present in foods and in the gastrointestinal tract.
​

Exactly why I try to ignore virtually all the CW about diet.

 

[Lsbcal]

Exactly why I try to ignore virtually all the CW about diet.

Let's see, USA polite conversational subjects are:
1) weather
2) diet
3) sports

Do you realize you've severally limited your cocktail chatter topics?

 

[Huston55]

I've been concerned about that, but every time I've researched this, I've concluded that it's not clear-cut, and the concerns are a bit overblown.

It has been reported that people normally consume more nitrates from their vegetable intake than from the cured meat products they eat. Spinach, beets, radishes, celery, and cabbages are among the vegetables that generally contain very high concentrations of nitrates (J. Food Sci., 52:1632). The nitrate content of vegetables is affected by maturity, soil conditions, fertilizer, variety, etc. It has been estimated that 10 percent of the human exposure to nitrite in the digestive tract comes from cured meats and 90 percent comes from vegetables and other sources. Nitrates can be reduced to nitrites by certain microorganisms present in foods and in the gastrointestinal tract.
​

Yep, as with all things somewhat uncertain, the source of the info is important. This article captures the issue well I think. Processed meat consumption and stomach ca... [J Natl Cancer Inst. 2006] - PubMed - NCBI

My take is that both nitrite and overconsumption of processed meat contribute to the patterns of gastrointestinal cancer.

Again, all things in moderation.

 

[skipro3]

I make my own bacon. Cured for 3 days, smoked for 3 days then chilled, sliced and vacuum sealed.

 

[haha]

Is that shoulder?

 

[skipro3]

Is that shoulder?

This type of bacon is called Buck Board Bacon.

Yes, shoulder. Also called Pork Butt. (To me the butt is the ham, back leg. This is the front leg; shoulder)

I get 'em from Costco boned and ready for curing for about $1.29 a pound. I cure with my own mix of spices and Morton's sugar cure. Wet cure, not dry cure. (I'm not brave enough to trust I won't kill myself with some sort of listeria or other bacteria borne illness.)

 

[TromboneAl]

Yep, as with all things somewhat uncertain, the source of the info is important. This article captures the issue well I think. Processed meat consumption and stomach ca... [J Natl Cancer Inst. 2006] - PubMed - NCBI

My take is that both nitrite and overconsumption of processed meat contribute to the patterns of gastrointestinal cancer.

Again, all things in moderation.

I agree that it's a scary thing, and it concerns me. However those studies have the usual flaw. For years we've been told that bacon is unhealthy. So, who eats more bacon, the obese, sedentary smoker or the Palo Alto pilates housewife? You can't control for that unless you do an experiment, and that's not feasible.

As the study says: "However, the possibility that the association may be confounded or modified by other factors cannot be ruled out."

 

[haha]

I agree that it's a scary thing, and it concerns me. However those studies have the usual flaw. For years we've been told that bacon is unhealthy. So, who eats more bacon, the obese, sedentary smoker or the Palo Alto pilates housewife? You can't control for that unless you do an experiment, and that's not feasible.

As the study says: "However, the possibility that the association may be confounded or modified by other factors cannot be ruled out."

But how important is bacon to you? Especially with the sodium concern on top of any other concerns that may, or may not, exist. IMO the sodium evidence is pretty good. I've replaced bacon with side meat (uncured pork belly) with KCL and coarse black pepper and sometimes red pepper flakes rubbed in. I fry it slowly. It takes a bit longer than microwaved bacon, but to me tastes even better as I no longer enjoy the extreme saltiness of bacon.

Ha

 

[flyfishnevada]

I make my own bacon. Cured for 3 days, smoked for 3 days then chilled, sliced and vacuum sealed.

You are evil! In a good way, though!

 

[braumeister]

So, who eats more bacon

Uh, that would be me.
It's my most essential nutrient.

 

[caninelover]

Thanks for this thread. I had a piece of mahi mahi that I was going to make for dinner tonight and was thinking about how I was going to prepare it, when I stumbled across this thread.

Marinated the fish, cut up some bacon and fried it in pan, removed the bacon and pan-fried the fish in the bacon fat. Ate it with rice and the bacon bits on top.

Hit the spot. God I love bacon.

 

[Lsbcal]

It's not quite bacon, but does anyone here like chicken liver?

One good thing is it's very cheap. Seems to have a poor reputation. I only eat it a few times a year in the winter, sautéed with butter.

I'm no cook but came across the following recipe:

FRIED CHICKEN LIVERS WITH EGGS
1/2 lb. washed chopped chicken livers
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
4 beaten eggs

Fry washed chopped chicken livers in garlic and butter. Add salt and pepper. Stir well. Pour over beaten eggs and cover. Cook on very low heat until eggs are set.

Might cut this down by 1/2 or even 1/4 for a very hearty breakfast.

 

[haha]

It's not quite bacon, but does anyone here like chicken liver?

I like chicken livers, also sautéed in butter, with onion and garlic and heavily peppered. I usually eat them for lunch or better yet dinner, as a glass of red wine is really good with them.

You can get quite full on $1.25 worth of chicken livers. I think I might try your recipe with the leftovers- just chop the cooked liver and continue with your recipe. Leftovers are also good with some more onion and some cheese melted on top. Nice dinner with salad and some broccoli.

Ha

 

[TromboneAl]

Today we had beef liver prepared Swedish style, and I've started eating chicken livers again. I got started on this when someone posted the article on 9 steps to perfect health.

Liver has gotten a bad rap based on the idea that it filters out toxins, but that doesn't mean that the toxins stay in the liver.

 

[Lsbcal]

Somehow I had gotten the idea that there is bad cholesterol in chicken liver. DW doesn't like chicken liver so she might have been the source . Is this wrong? If it is I might go hog wild on chicken liver.

 

[Rambler]

I make my own bacon. Cured for 3 days, smoked for 3 days then chilled, sliced and vacuum sealed.

Living in Japan, we can't always get good bacon. It all depends on whether Costco has it in stock or not. The local stuff is not worth buying. Costco does, however, stock pork belly, as it is popular in Japanese cooking. So, I bought a smoker (at Costco), a big bucket and salt and sugar (all at Costco), cured and smoked my own. It was really good the several times I did it (8-9 pounds at a time), but when you travel as much for work as I do, it is really tough to keep a good stash of bacon going. I'm definitely going try it again when I retire.

R

 

[Lsbcal]

I looked up some nutrition facts on chicken liver and I'm afraid DW was right. One ounce is 53% of recommended cholesterol per day. Probably a good reason to go quite light on that chicken liver recipe above.

Nutrition facts: Nutrition Facts and Analysis for Chicken, liver, all classes, cooked, simmered

And here is the dirt on eggs: Nutrition Facts and Analysis for Egg, whole, cooked, scrambled

I know, this is no fun to read.

 

[ERD50]

I make my own bacon. Cured for 3 days, smoked for 3 days then chilled, sliced and vacuum sealed.

Living in Japan, we can't always get good bacon. It all depends on whether Costco has it in stock or not. The local stuff is not worth buying. Costco does, however, stock pork belly, as it is popular in Japanese cooking. So, I bought a smoker (at Costco), a big bucket and salt and sugar (all at Costco), cured and smoked my own. It was really good the several times I did it (8-9 pounds at a time), but when you travel as much for work as I do, it is really tough to keep a good stash of bacon going. I'm definitely going try it again when I retire.

R

skipro and/or Rambler - Please post your recipe/process. That looks fantastic, and since you say Costco carries this, I just have to give it a try. Three days of smoking will require some thought....

-ERD50