I got a confession to make about bacon...

R

rayinpenn

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The good news: After a cup of Joe this post hurricane glorious, 60 degree morning I was out the door by 7:10AM and my 1 hour route included the infamous ‘butt hill’. Even though it was cool I was well exercised and warm by the time I returned.

The bad news: When those oh-so-red, nearly perfect, my garden grown Early Girls are in the kitchen my mind goes to one of summers joys -BLTs. Yes for breakfast, yeah I know sodium and nitrates but a mans gotta live right? Look at that color.. toasted wheat bread and a smear of mayo, just a tad of pepper -trust me, it hit the spot.
Rejoice in summers bounty.

IMG_0417.jpg
 
Seems like a lot of bacon for one BLT Ray.... probably offset the butt hill trek and then some. :D
 
Bacon!

When in GA we have access to bacon from a wonderful nearby meat market that smokes their own. They cut to order from the pork belly.

DH commented how their bacon is always "dry" which makes the frying easier. He complains that the packaged bacon is wet, and messier to cook. Well the other day we discovered HEB "bacon ends and pieces" (made for HEB by Burgers' Smokehouse) and lo and behold - it's dry! yeah!! And costs half the price of the regular HEB thick cut bacon.

Regardless, I read a few articles/videos about home made bacon as I've been seeing a lot of pork bellies around in grocery stores recently. So I'm going to try it myself soon!
 
I used to raise pigs. I'd rather cook them.


Bacon is my weakest vice. The BLT is the most perfect combination of food coming together I can think of. (They go great with alcohol's most perfect combination, a marguarita).


I just watched Grumpier Old Men the other night. Everyone should watch the scene where Jack Lemmon is talking to his dad about his eating habits involving bacon.
 
Our biggest vice/tradition is bacon/turkey sammiches with ice cold Chardonnay. I prefer the oaked, the DW, likes the unoaked.
 
BLT on a summer day with fresh picked tomatoes from the garden--pure Heaven!
 
pacergal said:
BLT on a summer day with fresh picked tomatoes from the garden--pure Heaven!
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I agree. Every spring we take the first ripe tomato from one of our 4 plants (that is all I have room for) and make a BLT with it.
 
Sadly, I can't eat fresh tomatoes without gagging (used to be able to as a young kid), so BLT is bacon, lettuce, and turkey.
 
BLT’s have always been one of my favorites. But, for a little twist, try adding a few avocado slices. Delicious!
 
atmsmshr said:
Valentine's day is coming soon.



Chocolate Covered Bacon!



(Yes - its a real thing and actually quite good.)



:flowers:
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IMG_6827.jpg Yes it is definitely a real thing. This is the chocolate cake with chocolate covered bacon that I make. Very popular at Valentine’s Day!
 
One of our local chains prepares and sells their own bacon. I’ve been buying their bacon ends for a few years. Just over $2/lb. Irregular pieces, but cooks very well, as OP said.
 
atmsmshr said:
Valentine's day is coming soon.

Chocolate Covered Bacon!

(Yes - its a real thing and actually quite good.)

:flowers:
Click to expand...

The other real thing is pig candy. Bacon covered in brown sugar which turns into a glaze when cooked (baked in the oven). Also good with a little bit of cayenne pepper included in the sugar for that heat and sweet touch.
 
Around here, pork bellies never have the skin on them, so it's not an issue.
 
I am not going to worry about the amount of bacon you have on the plate. While you have it, you might enjoy as much as you can. Its not like you have that everyday.

However, without beacon, in the fresh tomatoes season, we brush some mayonnaise on the bread and place freshly sliced tomato on it. Its simple, its delicious!!
 
braumeister said:
Make cracklins.
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Can you link a dependable recipe or method?

braumeister said:
Around here, pork bellies never have the skin on them, so it's not an issue.
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The HEB “natural” pork bellies have the skin. The HEB natural pork is quite delicious, so I’m sure it will make great bacon, but I have to deal with the skin.

I can remove the skin before curing, after curing, or after smoking.
 
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I make our bacon, starting with pork bellies that have the skin removed. It's really pretty easy, the difficult bit being the smoking if you don't already have a smoker.

I smoke for 24 hours and it makes for pretty strong flavor. That works for us because DW uses most of the bacon in cooking where the recipe calls for bacon as a significant ingredient. Her usual strategy is to add more than the recipe calls for, also true for adding fresh garlic.
 
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