The Bacon..

Bacon..just hearing it makes me all warm and fuzzy..I like bacon. The uses for bacon reaches far beyond the breakfast plate and sometimes unfortunatly into some sweet concoctions as well.I have never been a fan of the bacon craze that involved dipping bacon in chocolate or dipping donuts in bacon bits…no bacon does not belong there at all, I have never liked shock value cooking at all ,salted caramel bacon,bacon dipped in chocolate..just because the two are some of the tastiest items in the culinary spectrum does not mean that they should be combined,i can live with out the frankenstein cooking all together and i sleep good at night too!

Bacon does belong on my breakfast plate nicely crisp and the grease used for my eggs and potato. Bacon also does belong as crispy little bits of deliciousness in my fully loaded baked potato. When I make a potato soup or anything vegetable creamy soup I like to have some battonets of bacon sauteed in with the vegetables just to add that smoky bacony awesome flavor. When making a warm dressing such as bacon potato vinagrette…or when steaming some mussels and render some bacon down first in the cast iron skillet and then some shallots letting them get nice and brown in the bacon grease ..while it is all getting friendly and releasing all flavors mingling in the bacon you add some mussles some wine ,a knob of butter cover the whole thing with a lid while the smoky bacon flavor makes its way into the mussels or when you take thick rashers of bacon and wrap them delicately around a beef tenderloin or lay bacon strips on top of your meatloaf and bake the whole thing with the bacon grease seeping into your meatloaf or doing the same thing with your whole pork loin and baste it as it is releasing the smoky flavorful fat,or when the bbq is getting hot and burgers are cooking adding some cooked bacon to the burgers are just simply a brilliant idea.. I could go on but I am sure you get the gist of how good it can be …just don’t for all things good and holy make a dessert of the bacon….just don’t .

 

. So what do you look for when in the store looking for bacon..well if they are thin and packed in such a way that they are ready for the microwave..dont..if they don’t have that rosy red fresh looking color to them..dont.. but if they are looking nice and juicy with a good fat to meat ratio and a good looking outside that genuinely looks artisanal you have a winner.When I say good fat to meat ratio I would like to look for 60% fat and 40% meat is a good start.
Some will say that bacon is not healthy and straight up bad for you and that’s probably true but I am a firm believer in moderation….no need to eat bacon every day, no need to use bacon in every soup you make , no need to cook your breakfast potatoes in the bacon fat or the eggs for that matter.. All I am saying is use don’t abuse and every now and then it is ok to use bacon without overdoing it.
One thing the bacon craze has brought to all of us is at least for me the appreciation for really really good smoked thick cut bacon. When you go to a fast-food restaurant or a restaurant that really don’t care about what bacon they use as long as it is the cheapest you get crispy thin cut weak tasting rasher of mishandled pork belly…who likes that? but when you spend just a little bit more you get perfection and one of many reason why bacon is regarded as the food of the gods…thats just how good it gets. A little bit of research and some know how of what to look for and spending just a little bit more will make your meal that little bit extra ,that little bit more,that one step closer to a perfect meal…thats what the bacon can do for you and thats not bad at all…not bad at all…