October 25, 2015: Home Made Bacon and the World Health Org's Misguided Guidance

MY LIFE WITH BACON continues this week with a more complete review of my own bacon - from a raw pork belly, self-cured with tequila, and smoked on my home made smoker.  Picture above.

BACON IN THE NEWS

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Apparently the World Health Organization is going to designate bacon as a dangerous substance. An article here. I can't think of anything that is a more of a waste of time, or misguided. There is plenty of evidence that bacon fat is healthy. There is some evidence that eating lots of smoked meats produces bowel cancer. Here's another article: they say that pork and red meat are likely an actual cause of cancer.

But what about that awful chemical di-hydrogen monoxide? It's everywhere and drinking it to excess has caused deaths. Here's the website: dhmo.org.

Hey, on a more serious note - world organizations, news flash: how about doing something that really has meaning - how about providing guidance to every nation and culture that women worldwide are to be treated equally to men and have control of their reproductive rights???

That change - EMPOWERING WOMEN WORLDWIDE -would alleviate more health issues than anything I can think of. Don't be insulted by the first 58 seconds of this video. Watch it all the way through. The WHO and other UN-led organizations should think about the empowerment of women FIRST.

Perhaps I shall lose a few readers as a result, but so be it. Christopher Hitchens, in his last public appearance before his death due to cancer, may be his best here.

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THIS WEEK'S BACON IS MY VERY OWN: Frozen for a few weeks in a vacuum sealed bag, I defrosted it and cooked it up.

Upon opening, I detected a strong tangy, sweet and smoky scent. Very nice. It weighed in at one pound four ounces, and after cooking the finished bacon weighed 8.8 ounces - very little reduction. It produced 155ml of rendered bacon fat.

Obviously, the thickness varied considerably - from 1/8 inch to very thin - due to its artisanal nature. In other words, I cut it by hand. That qualifies as artisanal.

It did cook quite unevenly, but I took slices off as they were done.

This bacon offered something for everyone - crispness, chewiness, and succulence - depending on which slice one chose. Excellent overall bacon flavor and probably the best looking bacon I ever had! And I'm trying to be objective. Just look at the  picture at the top of the page - is that perfect bacon, or what? Cancer be damned!