Paper-thin bacon is fine for some things--wrapping around a Cadbury Creme Egg, for instance--but if you're going for the simple, undeniable pleasure of straight-up bacon eating, thicker is almost always better. Those few extra millimeters give you a crispy outside, chewy inside, and all-around better flavor.

You can procure a package of Oscar Mayer's Super Thick Cut stuff (available at fine grocers everywhere!), but your best bet is to head to your local butcher or specialty-grocer meat counter and have them slice for you. The beauty at left was born at Gene's Sausage Shop in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. They smoke the lean, Danish-style bacon themselves and offer it up for $4.99/lb. (about what most grocery-store brands will run you, but with MUCH higher quality). Just ask the nice man in the paper hat to slice it about 1/3 of an inch, take them home, and bake them in the oven.

The only tradeoff with thick bacon: Patience. Your average thin-slice strip will take about 12-15 minutes when baked in a 350-degree oven. For thick slices, add about 10 minutes to that. The wait, however, is well worth it.

serves four


For the Beef Cheeks:
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 x 9 oz. pieces beef cheek, well trimmed
2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 pint red wine
2 pints beef stock
2 thyme sprigs
2 rosemary sprigs
5 oz. piece of smoked bacon, rind removed and diced
5 oz. button mushrooms, wiped clean
Maldon sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
chopped flat-leaf parsley, to garnish

For the Celeriac Mash:
½ celeriac (about 1lb 2oz.
10 oz. floury potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 pint milk
1 oz. butter

Preheat the oven to 170C (325F), gas mark 3. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large, flameproof casserole (with a lid) over a medium heat. Add the pieces of beef and brown all over for 4-5 minutes, turning regularly with tongs. Transfer to a plate. Add another tablespoon of oil to the casserole, reduce the heat a little and add the carrots, onion and garlic. Cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring, until golden brown.

Return the beef and any juices to the casserole dish and pour over the red wine and beef stock. Add the herbs and season with salt and pepper to taste, then bring to the boil. Cover the dish tightly with foil and a lid. Cook in the oven for 3 hours until the beef is really tender and melting.

Carefully remove the beef cheeks from the braising juices, allow to rest on a warmed plate and cover loosely with foil. Strain the cooking juices into a medium saucepan and allow them to simmer rapidly for 40-45 minutes until reduced by a quarter.

Meanwhile, make the celeriac mash. Cut the top and bottom off the celeriac, cut it into quarters and, using a small, sharp knife or vegetable peeler, peel away the thick, knobbly skin. Cut it into 1cm (1/2in) chunks and place in a large saucepan with the potatoes. Pour over the milk, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the vegetables are completely tender.

Drain the cooked vegetables in a colander set over a bowl to catch the cooking liquid. Tip the vegetables into a food processor along with the butter, and whiz for a few minutes until you have achieved a smooth puree, adding some of the reserved cooking liquid if necessary to give a soft dropping consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm over a very low heat.

Meanwhile, heat a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add the remaining oil and sauté the bacon and mushrooms for 4-5 minutes until golden brown. Drain off any excess oil and stir into the reduced braising juices. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Divide the celeriac mash among wide-rimmed bowls and carefully arrange the cooked beef cheeks on top. Ladle over the braising juice with the bacon and mushrooms. Garnish with parsley to serve.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Neven Maguire, Neven Maguire: Home Chef, HarperCollins UK, 2010 | RTÉ.ie Raidió Teilifís Éireann, Ireland's National Public Service Broadcaster, Donnybrook, Dublin 4, Ireland

Guess what was being passed out at Sam’s Club today…

Security had to drag me away.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

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WTF? Soooooooo wierd. Well, unless the Jello tasted like Scotch! Boom! Yum, yum, yum. Down into my belly! VIA: http://myjelloamericans.blogspot.com/2010/04/bacon-and-eggs.html Bacon and Eggs. Knox. Homemade Bacon Vodka. Maple Syrup. Gummy Eggs. Enjoy. Print Friendly

makes four servings


1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 habanero chile, seeded and minced
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 1/4 pounds cleaned squid, bodies cut into 1/4-inch-thick rings and large tentacles halved
1/2 pound dried large lima beans, soaked overnight and drained
1 bay leaf
4 thin strips of lean bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
2 teaspoons Jan's Spice Mix (recipe below)
1/2 cup Calamata olives, pitted and halved
Lemon–Shallot Vinaigrette (recipe below)
1 pound watercress, large stems discarded (12 packed cups)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Jan's Spice Mix
makes about 1 cup

7 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ancho chile powder
1 tablespoon dry mustard
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

Mix all of the spices in a small jar. Cover tightly and store at room temperature for up to 1 month.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Lemon-Shallot Vinaigrette
makes about 1/2 cup

1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons minced shallots
1 1/4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 1/4 teaspoons white wine vinegar
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper

In a blender, combine the lemon zest and juice, shallots, mustard, vinegar and garlic and puree until smooth. With the machine on, slowly add the olive oil until emulsified. Pour the vinaigrette into a bowl and season with salt and pepper.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

In a large glass baking dish, combine 3 tablespoons of the olive oil with the garlic, jalapeño, habanero and lemon zest. Add the squid and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, cover the lima beans with 2 inches of water. Add the bay leaf, cover partially and simmer over low heat until the beans are tender, 40 to 50 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the beans stand in their cooking liquid. Drain just before using and discard the bay leaf.

In a large, deep skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the bacon and cook over moderate heat until crisp, about 4 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a plate. Increase the heat to high and cook the bacon fat until sizzling. Add the squid and its marinade in an even layer and cook, without stirring, until the squid begins to turn white, about 1 minute. Sprinkle the spice mix over the squid and cook, stirring, until just tender, about 1 minute. Gently fold in the bacon, lima beans and olives and cook just until warmed through. Stir in half of the Lemon-Shallot Vinaigrette and remove from the heat.

In a large bowl, toss the watercress with the remaining vinaigrette and transfer to plates. Top with the warm squid salad and serve at once.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Jan Birnbaum "A Cook's Guide to Wine Pairings, Editor’s Picks: Marcia Kiesel’s Favorite F&W Recipes, California Wine Guide: Napa," Food & Wine, October 2002

Seriously, this is a sweet sweet…

Sorry – I’ve been watching too many episodes of “Cupcake Wars” lately. 

via Cupcakes Take The Cake.

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makes four servings


8 slices thick-sliced bacon
3 medium sweet potatoes, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
salt and ground black pepper
2 to 4 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
8 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1 .9-oz. envelope hollandaise sauce mix
1 tablespoon chopped canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
fresh chives

In 12-inch skillet cook bacon until crisp; drain on paper towels. Crumble half of bacon. Drain all but 3 tablespoons drippings from skillet. Meanwhile cook sweet potatoes in boiling salted water for 3 minutes or until just tender; drain.

In skillet, cook onion in hot drippings until tender. Add sweet potatoes and cook until potatoes begin to crisp and brown. Season to taste with salt and pepper; transfer to bowl. Stir in crumbled bacon and maple syrup; keep warm.

Rinse skillet and fill half full of water. Add vinegar to water; bring to boiling. Reduce heat to simmer (bubbles should barely break the surface of the water). Break one egg into measuring cup. Holding the lip of the cup as close to the water as possible, slide egg slowly into water. Repeat with remaining eggs, allowing each egg an equal amount of space. Simmer eggs, uncovered, for 3 to 5 minutes or until the whites are completely set and yolks begin to thicken but are not hard. Remove eggs with slotted spoon and place them in large pan of warm water to keep them warm.

In small saucepan, combine milk, butter, and hollandaise sauce mix. Whisk and heat over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Stir in peppers.

To serve, transfer sweet potato hash to serving plate, top with two poached eggs, and cover eggs with hollandaise. Top with bacon strips and chives.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Better Homes and Gardens/BHG.com, Meredith Corporation, 1716 Locust Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50309-3023

It’s finally here after a whole year of waiting, the 4th Annual Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival.

If you want to see whats happing at the event you can follow me on twitter, follow the event @BRBaconFest, and/or follow the hashtag #brbf4. I am going to try and get other people at the festival to use the same tag so we can get a nice snapshot of whats going on. It’s so big I can’t cover all the bacon goodness on my own!

Since its the day before the big festival Sean said I should post up his “Twas the night before Bacon Fest” poem. Here here is the first part of it:

‘Twas the night before Bacon Fest and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse
The frying pan was placed on the stove top with care
In hopes that Mr. Baconpants would soon be there

The children were nestled all snug in their beds
While visions of thick cut bacon danced in their heads
And Mom in her bacon bra and I in my bacon tie
Had just settle down for a rerun of Bacon Live

When down from the kitchen there arose such a clatter
I could smell something cooking and hear the sizzle and splatter…

Read the gripping finally here.

1 lbs bacon, cook it pretty crispy
1 C complete pancake mix (the kind where only water is needed)
1/4 C water
1/4 C half & half
1 egg

Filling:
1 8oz brick cream cheese
4TBS maple syrup (I use the real stuff)
2TBS half & half

For ultimate bacon flavor, cook your bacon the night before and mix half of it with your cream cheese filling (just add all ingredients and beat until fluffy)

Combine the pancake mix, half & half, egg and water until well blended. If you are a bacon lover like I am, add the other half of your cooked bacon to the batter. Scoop even amounts of batter and pour onto a cookie sheet that is either greased or lined with parchment. Depending on the scoop sizes, this should yield 6 to 10 scoops. [3 to 5 pies]
Bake at 375 for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the tops start to show light golden brown. Remove immediately from pan and allow to cool slightly. Once cool enough to handle, spread a heaping amount of filling on one cake, and top with another.

Article and Recipe submitted by Laura Crawford.