Saturday, September 3, 2016

A Bacon Review

Bacon sizzling in a pan
Source: Pixabay
December 30 is designated as Bacon Day and the Saturday before Labor Day is known as  "International Bacon Day!"  There are various sources for who decided that bacon needed to be recognized with its own special day. 

Residents in Bradford, MA claim to have created this day in 2000. A group of Boulder, Colorado graduate students also claim to have created this special day, in 2004. 

Whatever the true source, it's definitely a day to enjoy this tasty treat in your favorite way (breakfast bacon & eggs, a BLT for lunch, or dinner of a bacon cheeseburger or a bacon wrapped steak or scallops).

Today's Motto: Everything tastes better with bacon.

 

What is Bacon and Why is it so Popular?


Bacon is a pork product that over the years has become one of our most favorite of foods. I'm not sure why this is, but 'Bacon Mania' has certainly taken over in recent years and has spread to more than just a tasty breakfast item eaten plain. 


Bacon dishes have evolved into some crazy creations, such as 'chicken-fried bacon' and chocolate-covered bacon. In a recent survey, 65% of Americans would support bacon as their "national food"!


Bacon Themes


Bacon is the Duct Tape of the  Kitchen Tee Shirt
Funny Gift for Men who love BaconUnicorn Tees on Etsy



Bacon themes can now be found on games and clothing, bandaids and duct tape and more. There is even a 'Bacon-opoly' Monopoly Game!



Bacon Terms in Other Countries


While we in America call it a bacon slice, several other countries have their own terms.

  • Canada: Strip
  • Germany: Speck
  • United Kingdom and Ireland: Rasher


Related Bacon Articles:


Review This contributor Brenda Little has a fun article about Bacon Playing Cards, a unique stocking stuffer for the man or teenager in your life.

And Sam Monoco tells us a funny story about how not paying attention while cooking can 'burn the bacon' in his 'Bacon Epic Failure' blog post. 


Cooking with Bacon

 
Image of bacon cooking
Image Source: Pixabay

  • My daughter cooks her bacon in the oven. She lays the bacon slices on a cookie sheet and bakes at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.  This gives her the really crispy bacon she loves, without having to 'watch & turn' the bacon as when it is cooked in a frying pan on the stove.
  • In our family, we have a 'family joke' about my hubby Bob cooking the bacon. He preferred to cook it in a frying pan, BUT each bacon strip had to lay perfectly FLAT to turn out cooked the way he preferred - nice and evenly cooked all over.  Of course bacon likes to 'curl' as it cooks, so this involved lots of turning and flattening each piece using two forks to 'hold' the ends down so they would end up cooking flat. His method also involved a LOT of 'swearing', so the family joke, which my (grown-up) kids like to say today, is that you cannot cook bacon without swearing at it! 
  • It's recommended by cooking shows and website articles to always start cooking your bacon in a cold pan. Lay the bacon strips out in the pan, then turn on the burner to a low to medium temperature. Cook slowly to desired crispness, cook in batches, and drain each batch on a paper towel or brown paper bag. You can also cook bacon in the oven, as my daughter does, or in the microwave (good if only a few slices are needed for a single sandwich or to crumble for bacon bits for a salad).  Line a microwave-safe dish with 4 layers of paper towels, arrange the bacon in a single layer, and cover with 2 more layers of paper towels. Microwave on HIGH for 1 minute per slice of bacon and check for doneness. If not done to your preference, microwave in additional 30 second bursts. 

 

Bacon Cookbook


101 Things To Do With Bacon cookbook cover
And, finally, every bacon lover needs a Bacon Cookbook for times when just a few strips of bacon with eggs isn't enough for our bacon cravings.

From old favorites to inventive new recipes, the 101 Things To Do With Bacon cookbook will give you plenty of tasty bacon dishes to try.

Bring home the bacon with these delicious recipes from appetizers to salads to dinners.... and even desserts!




Happy Bacon Day and "International Bacon Day"!




Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”


20 comments:

  1. Funny how I have never been particularly fond of bacon itself, but I love using the bacon grease to season vegetables. I also wrap meat in bacon to add a bit of delicious flavor. However, my husband loves bacon. So, he gets the bacon and I get the grease. Works perfectly! Btw, we most often fry our bacon, but we have been known to microwave it for a faster serving when making sandwiches or something like that.

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    1. Bacon definitely had a flavor that's irristable, especially good as a vegetable flavoring. Thanks for visiting my bacon story.

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  2. Oh man... now I have a bacon craving. I LOVE bacon. This was a fun article.

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    1. Thanks, Dawn Rae. It was a fun article to write! :)

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  3. Love your family's bacon stories! I've never cooked bacon in the oven, but I definitely like that idea. These days I mostly buy frozen pre-cooked bacon from Schwan's, which works well for our family of two. Appreciate your including my BLT Pasta Salad as well as the other related links. Fun post!

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    1. You're welcome, Susan. I enjoyed reading your recipe for your bacon pasta salad.

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  4. It surprises me how much some people absolutely LOVE bacon - It's not one of my fave foods (I think because it's salty - I'm not much for salt, weird huh?) - Cookie bacon in the oven is a great idea! Ill have to remember that when we do cook it for a gang of people

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    1. Cooking bacon in the oven is a quick and easy way to prepare it, Barbara, especially when you have a large group of people to cook it for.

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  5. Oh!! I'm all about the bacon, anything with bacon is certainly for me. You would think that I would have known about such and important day! I do agree with your daughter, in the oven is the same way that I cook my bacon.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed my bacon story, Sam. I already know how much you like bacon. :)

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  6. We have a saying in our house - everything tastes better with bacon - well okay we weren't the first to say it, but we've taken it and made it our own! We fry ours and my husband saves all of the grease to make me fried bread as a very special treat (maybe 3 or 4 times a year), my English upbringing means I love this very unhealthy food as it takes me back to traditional Sunday morning fry ups!

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    1. Louanne, I've read several stories about how much the English love their bacon. Glad you still get to have your 'fried bread' a few times a year. I have mine as French Toast fried in bacon drippings. :)

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  7. I am not big on bacon but I make it for my family.

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    1. I don't have bacon very often, but I DO love it. :)

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  8. I did not know I was supposed to start with a cold pan when frying bacon. Thank you for that tip. When I worked in a restaurant as a teen, the bacon was cooked while pressed flat with a heavy cast iron thingamabob. Your Bob would have appreciated having that swearless kitchen helper. Always fun to hear your family stories. I do like me some bacon.

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    1. Diana, I actually have one of those heavy cast iron thingamabobs. Bob just liked to swear at inanimate objects! :)

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  9. Pat, you didn't mention after Bob (my dad) would finish swearing at the bacon, he would then fry eggs in the hot grease. That's how I grew up with bacon and eggs. Although I don't cook my eggs that way, I do insist on pan frying. It just seems to turn out better. I'm sure everyone has their preferred brand but Hormel Black label is my fav. And as an Iowan now, I think we have some of best pork anywhere..... Biased opinion.

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    1. Eggs cooked in the bacon grease are really tasty. And, I agree, Chris, that Hormel Black Label is the best commercial bacon on the market. Always consistently good.

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  10. I would vote for bacon as the national food.

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