92 – APRIL 2020
1
WAIT, WHAT IS BACON?
Bacon starts with fatty, wonderful pork belly, i.e., the
meat from the underside of a pig. The belly gets cured
(seasoned and left to rest for a week or two) with a dry rub
of salt, sugar, and spices (the ol’-fashioned way) or
a liquid injection (big producers). Then it’s smoked for a few
hours or days, sliced, and packaged. It keeps for around
seven days in the fridge once it’s been opened, more like
five if it’s from the butcher, or for months in the freezer.2
If you want your
mind blown, get
thee to the butcherNot only does butcher bacon
usually have a deeper, more
meaty-funky flavor, thanks to
that dry rub, but it can also
be sliced as hefty as you’d
like. Quarter-inch-thick slabs
you can grill and serve as an
appetizer? Done! A single strip
for a pot of soup? Fine. And if
it’s from a fancy-pants/nose-
to-tail/sustainable butcher, the
animal was likely treated better.3
ALL THE TERMS,
DECODED
Bacon packaging is crowded with
a lot of marketing mumbo jumbo
intended to make you think some
is healthier than others. (It’s not.
It’s bacon.) Let’s take a closer look:THICK-CUT
Exactly what it sounds like. It’s
prime BLT material but never
as steak house thick as what
you can request at the butcher
counter. Note: You’ll need to
cook this at a lower heat for
slightly more time to ensure the
bacon gets crispy rather than
chewy. We like to bake it in the
oven (see point 4), then brush
it with maple syrup and throw
it back in for five more minutes
until glazed and caramelized.
Serve with pancakes, hello!NATURALLY SMOKED
When packaging brags about
applewood- or maplewood-
smoked bacon, that’s a good
thing. Originally, the primary
purpose of smoking was for
preservation. Nowadays it’s
also a key factor in the bacon’s
flavor, as the wood lends a
sweet-smoky aroma. Be on the
lookout for ingredient lists
that include “smoke flavoring”
and pass them by: Flavor
from actual wood always beats
the fake stuff from a bottle.UNCURED
Anything labeled straight-up
“bacon” must legally contain
sodium nitrite, which is added
to preserve it, delay botulism,
and create that fresh-looking
pink color. Bacon with no
added sodium nitrite must be
sold as “uncured bacon.”
Confusingly, it’s still cured, but
with sea salt, celery powder,
and a lactic acid starter culture.
These ingredients work together
to make...naturally occurring
nitrites, which aren’t superior.Look for bacon
that’s almost equal
parts white (fat) and
pink (meat). That’s
the good stuff.
Bacon has nothing
to do with Sir
Francis (or Kevin).