Monday, October 13, 2008

Anything By the Bacon Brothers

I don't mean to torment you, but after putting up with snow so early in the year. It reminded me of some of my most excellent Halloween memories in Michigan.

Like that time I dressed up as Spiderman. With a parka. Or that time I dressed up as a Ninja. With a parka. Or Batman. With a parka. I'm sure you see the connection. Yeah, I'm looking forward to lots of little Jokers trick or treating at my house in just a few weeks. With their parkas.

So after taking the hounds to a park (turns out we have two snow dogs), the Wife and I just hunkered down on Sunday with our favorite treat--bacon.

Now I don't know when bacon went all hoity toity. But the folks over at Cook's Illustrated actually sampled 8 different kinds of bacon to determine which was the best.

Here's the vid if you're not a reader.



I'd like to officially submit my bacon-eater extraordinaire resume to the fine folks at Cook's Illustrated.

Now I'll confess that while I have the palate of a gourmand, I've never heard of these bacon brands:

  • Vande Rose Farms Artisan Dry-Cured Bacon, Applewood Smoked
  • Nodine’s Smokehouse Apple Smoke Flavored Bacon Applegate Farms Natural Uncured Sunday Bacon (can you eat this on a Saturday?)
  • Farmland/Carando Apple Cider Cured Bacon, Applewood Smoked
  • Oscar’s Smoke House Applewood Smoked Bacon
  • North Country Smokehouse Applewood Smoked Bacon (you know what the North Country is in Michigan? Canada)
  • Niman Ranch Applewood Smoked Dry-Cured Bacon (of what was it cured? Trichinosis)
  • Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Bacon

The Marketing Weasels who work for the All Powerful Bacon Lobby must think we really fall for that apple crap when they slap it on the bacon package.

Anyhow, the Cook's Illustrated cats rates all the bacon. Personally, I'm against bacon rating. It's all good. The key is serving more than 2 pieces at a time frankly. Why else do you think it comes in 1 pound packages?

I must not be brand loyal to a particular type of bacon. Because I can't remember a brand I typically buy. Farmer Peet's kind of sticks in my head because I always felt sorry for his inability to spell. And that former Tiger Pitcher Denny McLain ran it into the ground and stole its pension fund.

What's your favorite kind of bacon?

4 comments:

Rox said...

I'm like you, I've never met a bacon I didn't like.

Schneider's makes pretty good bacon though! So does Maple Leaf when their plants aren't giving people Listeriosis.

All the kids in Canada plan their costumes around the parkas. Seriously. I was buying my kids adult costumes when they were five.

[F]oxymoron said...

This almost makes me want to throw a bacon-tasting party... but I'm too lazy. Are there professional bacon-tasting party planners, you think?

foundinidaho said...

Falls Brand. They make it in the small Idaho town where I was born. You can get it at Smith's or Albertson's or even Costco.

I love all bacon too, but this is especially delish. I highly recommend it.

Anonymous said...

Bacon is like "pizza." There's no such thing as bad bacon.

Cute puppy btw.