But first, a bit of news!
BACON IN THE NEWS.
The Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED for short) Virus is on the rampage, killing new piglet litters very quickly. Scientists think it has to run it's course before things get back to normal. They think the virus is spreading on transport vehicles; they are recommending that truckers thoroughly clean their trucks after transporting pigs: "You should always follow very strict biosecurity steps," said Dr. Bruce Broderson, assistant professor at U of Nebraska. The virus hasn't hit Nebraska yet.
Bacon Painted Ford Fiesta. Seriously now, this bacon craze has gotten out of hand when you can customize your Ford with a bacon finish. But it is absolutely true. check it out.
In other news,
- Ozzy Osbourne had to call the fire department when he set his house on fire cooking bacon,
Burke's Bacon Bar has opened in Chicago, - Lifehacker decscribes how to cook bacon in the oven in a novel way (which I've been doing for years), and
- A Seattle establishment creates a 'bacon hour', similar to 'happy hour' but happier!
ON TO THE BACON. This time, I'm evaluating only one bacon.
NIMAN RANCH is actually in Alameda, California. So the bacon has to travel half way across the country. They have a nice looking, professional website with an online store. I like the button on their site: "Discover what it takes to produce livestock sustainably." Their definition is: "We believe sustainable agriculture is best described as livestock raising and production practices which balance current resource demands without compromising the future of these resources, from an environmental, economic and human perspective."
The intro to their site says a lot about the way that they look at food production:
Compassionate family farmers raising animals with respect for the land.
At Niman Ranch we believe that in order to produce the finest tasting all-natural meat in the world you must begin with the strictest protocols. That means working with small U.S. family farmers who are committed to raising the highest quality breeds and are dedicated to caring for their livestock traditionally. These guiding philosophies, from the genetics we source, to the feeds we use, to the humane animal raising standards contribute to the consistently, best tasting, all-natural beef, pork, lamb and smoked and prepared meats.
The packaging is clean, not loaded with pizzaz or marketing fluff. It's telling me: "hey, I'm old school bacon, check me out." The brown is faintly reminiscent of kraft paper in old-school butchers; it works for me! Interesting to check in on the history of kraft paper - it's from the German word which elicits 'craft' and 'strength'. Not the food company.
Well stated; now, let's see how their commercial bacon tastes!
Opening the package results in a strong Applewood scent - very nice. The slices are thick and easy to pull apart, and very uniform in thickness and length. Easy enough to place on the cold pan before going on the grill (without grates).
Cooking slowly, and draining off the bacon drippings occasionally, the bacon did reach classic coloration and crispness, as you can see. Net wt 12 oz, pre cooked 12 oz, post 2.9 oz with 175 ml of bacon drippings. Flavor: excellent, 3.5 our of 5. Classic bacon flavor without any sense of additives or salt. Remember, this was uncured.
Crispness: not strong in this area, but above average, 3 out of 5. This is only natural due to the thickness of the slices.
Succulence: well above average, 3.5 out of 5. The fatty areas are nice and juicy, but the bacon didn't produce a ton of grease
All in all, an excellent bacon. It went quickly, and I had to make a package of my old standby for the week: Oscar.
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