I DO THINK THERE WAS A TYPO IN THE BIBLE, in the Lord's Prayer, where it says "Give us this day our daily bread..."; I do think he meant bacon instead of bread. Bread is just not good for you.
THE SUNDAY BACON CHRONICLES this week features two packages of commercial bacon. I had hoped to be able to review Carl Edgar Blake III's bacon, which I ordered about ten days ago. This boy knows pigs! However, ole Carl must be swamped with orders after this awesome New York Times article. It really looks like he's raising awesome pigs. Let's hope I get his bacon this coming week!
HERE WE GO with the continuation of last week's Oscar Mayer review; this week including their "THICK CUT", along with Hormel's Center Cut.
FIRST THE OSCAR. Read up on Oscar Mayer in last week's posting; a historic company. The package said it was 16 oz of bacon, and sure enough, before cooking it weighed in at two one-thousandths of an ounce over 16 ounces. We got our money's worth in weight. I immediately noticed that the slices were unevenly cut. It wasn't only one piece, but several in the package. The slices were also tapered at one end, which was exacerbated during cooking.
The bacon produced 130 milliliters of rendered fat, and post cooking the bacon weighed exactly 5 ounces. It produced classic bacon wrinkles, just like in the Michael Jordan commercials, where they decry "bacon neck" in T-shirts. (By the way, the only negative reference to bacon out there.) This is classic bacon!
Crisps up very nicely with little bubbles of succulent fat. Smell and taste were bacon as it should be - an awesome everyday bacon for use on sandwiches, with eggs or just by themselves. Very satisfying flavor; not overpowering. The weak spot was actually in the flavor; there really was no smokiness to it or much richness. But great, overall, everyday bacon.
ON TO THE HORMEL. The Hormel Foods Corporation is a 122-year-old food company based in Austin, Minnesota. Like Oscar Mayer, George A. Hormel got his start in Chicagoland. Best known for SPAM, a product whose name has become synonymous with junk email, Hormel also introduced Dinty Moore Beef Stew (1935), and microwaveable bacon (1988). This is an historic, old-time meat company, and I had high expectations for their well-packaged "Center Cut" bacon.
Sadly, I was disappointed. The bacon, out of the package, smelled 'piggy'. It didn't smell bad, and I can't think of another way to describe it. But it didn't smell good, either. The package indicated 12 ounces, and it weighed in at 12.1 ounces; a slight bonus. But a nearly ten percent overage on weight doesn't bode well for Quality Assurance. It produced 50 ml of rendered fat, not much for 12 oz. Post cooking, the bacon weighed in at 4.9 ounces - a strong net weight, reflecting that the bacon was high in protein and lower in fat.
However, it scored poorly in several categories. It didn't crisp up at all (was limp, and that's never good). It had no succulent fatty areas. It was flat, limp and looked like Canadian bacon. The taste reflected the appearance. Although I wouldn't give it zeros in every category, I'm not buying it again. I'll be using this cooked bacon in recipes and miscellaneous activities. I'll be putting the Oscar on Jack's sandwiches (he likes BLT's minus the tomatoes - we call 'em "BLT minus T").
OVERALL REVIEW.
The Oscar was SERVICEABLE; the Hormel Center Cut, WORTHLESS & WEAK.
Oscar Thick Cut
|
Hormel Center Cut
|
|
Crispiness
|
4
|
0
|
Flavor
|
3.5
|
1
|
Succulence
|
4
|
0
|
Smell
|
2
|
1
|
Rendered Fat
|
High
|
Low
|
Overall
|
3.5
|
1
|
NOW FOR MY SAD NEWS. My good friend, Jim Collins, lost his battle with a terminal illness on Saturday night. Jimmy always beat me in golf, but I usually won at poker. Jim joined the Tunnel Association on its annual Money Island golf and poker weekend, an annual retreat for chosen few. He was a good friend, generous with his time and treasure. We'll be re-naming the annual outing in honor of Jim, and include a toast to Jimmy as part of our opening ceremonies. Safe journey, Chief.
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