Product Review: Bacon!
Growing up, I didn't like bacon. When my mom would make it for breakfasts on the weekend, she would serve up dried up, brittle, shrivelled little strips of... something. I don't know what it was, but it didn't seem worth eating.
And then I discovered the joys of both not over-cooking bacon and thick cut bacon. And then, just recently, I discovered Niman Ranch brand, applewood smoked, center cut bacon. Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages, you haven't really had bacon until you have had this bacon.
I pan-fry bacon in a non-stick skillet. I put the cold bacon in a cold pan and bring it up to a medium-low heat. I turn the bacon frequently and after about 5-7 minutes, I drain the bacon on some paper towels. There is still some chew left to the bacon, which I find essential, but a lot of fat has rendered out of it. Great on its own (Mmmnnn... a whole dinner of just bacon...) or with eggs or sandwhiches.
Anyway, this Niman Ranch stuff tastes so good. I mean, it tastes like something, more than anything. It's not like you're just eating fat and gristle. There's a distinct pork flavour which I hadn't realized that I've been missing in my bacon for the past 25 years of my life. It is just the tiniest bit sweet and it's quite salty, being bacon, after all. It's rich and smokey and just so damn good. If I were one to hold on to bacon grease, I'm sure this would be excellent for perfectly tender tamales and pie crusts.
Now, where to find this God among bacons? You can order it online, directly from Niman Ranch, and pay a lot of money. You could probably find it at certain, over-priced specialty grocery stores, and pay a lot of money.
OR, you can go to a certain other, under-priced specialty grocery store and pay just $3.79 for a 12 oz. package. Yes, this is still quite a bit, considering you can get generic bacon for a little more in 16 oz.+ packages. But man oh man is this Niman Ranch bacon worth the expense and the special trip to buy it.
And now I'll be off for an omlette and bacon.
PS - I have been given a new nickname, completely irrespective of my bacon post. Mr. French Toast, is what they're calling me now, on account of this one day (yesterday) when I kept declaring that I couldn't possibly eat anything since I had earlier in the day made quite a large batch of french toast for breakfast (and yes, there was bacon, too); having said, though, that I couldn't eat anything else, I would go on to eat lots of other things, including some veal sausage with mozzarella and vodka-cream marinara (I did, at least, eschew the knackwurst wrapped in bacon). And so, all of this talk of, "I can't eat anything else! I ate so much french toast earlier!", was just for show, and my friends called me out on it, dubbing me Mr. French Toast in the process.
email me
Growing up, I didn't like bacon. When my mom would make it for breakfasts on the weekend, she would serve up dried up, brittle, shrivelled little strips of... something. I don't know what it was, but it didn't seem worth eating.
And then I discovered the joys of both not over-cooking bacon and thick cut bacon. And then, just recently, I discovered Niman Ranch brand, applewood smoked, center cut bacon. Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages, you haven't really had bacon until you have had this bacon.
I pan-fry bacon in a non-stick skillet. I put the cold bacon in a cold pan and bring it up to a medium-low heat. I turn the bacon frequently and after about 5-7 minutes, I drain the bacon on some paper towels. There is still some chew left to the bacon, which I find essential, but a lot of fat has rendered out of it. Great on its own (Mmmnnn... a whole dinner of just bacon...) or with eggs or sandwhiches.
Anyway, this Niman Ranch stuff tastes so good. I mean, it tastes like something, more than anything. It's not like you're just eating fat and gristle. There's a distinct pork flavour which I hadn't realized that I've been missing in my bacon for the past 25 years of my life. It is just the tiniest bit sweet and it's quite salty, being bacon, after all. It's rich and smokey and just so damn good. If I were one to hold on to bacon grease, I'm sure this would be excellent for perfectly tender tamales and pie crusts.
Now, where to find this God among bacons? You can order it online, directly from Niman Ranch, and pay a lot of money. You could probably find it at certain, over-priced specialty grocery stores, and pay a lot of money.
OR, you can go to a certain other, under-priced specialty grocery store and pay just $3.79 for a 12 oz. package. Yes, this is still quite a bit, considering you can get generic bacon for a little more in 16 oz.+ packages. But man oh man is this Niman Ranch bacon worth the expense and the special trip to buy it.
And now I'll be off for an omlette and bacon.
PS - I have been given a new nickname, completely irrespective of my bacon post. Mr. French Toast, is what they're calling me now, on account of this one day (yesterday) when I kept declaring that I couldn't possibly eat anything since I had earlier in the day made quite a large batch of french toast for breakfast (and yes, there was bacon, too); having said, though, that I couldn't eat anything else, I would go on to eat lots of other things, including some veal sausage with mozzarella and vodka-cream marinara (I did, at least, eschew the knackwurst wrapped in bacon). And so, all of this talk of, "I can't eat anything else! I ate so much french toast earlier!", was just for show, and my friends called me out on it, dubbing me Mr. French Toast in the process.
email me
1 Comments:
I'm forwarding the links about bacon to Kim at work...she's obsessed with bacon!
~M
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