BACON IN THE NEWS. The only note worthy of mention this week is a news article that bacon is healthy and can extend your life. I can't find the link right now, but trust me on this.
AUTHENTICO in Lake Forest is a relatively new Mexican restaurant here in Lake Forest. A cool place that makes excellent Margaritas. They have a bacon wrapped shrimp dish that is awesome. The guacamole sauce is a little bit sweet, but the smokiness of the bacon combined with perfectly cooked shrimp is always an excellent combination. From their menu:
Camarones Envueltos en Tocino:
Four grilled shrimp wrapped in jalapeño bacon, avocado salsa, roasted poblano white wine sauce
(gluten free)
On to the BACON BACON-OFF this week.
I'm testing a batch of NORTH COUNTRY SMOKESHOUSE - COB SMOKED BACON against a supermarket brand: JEWEL MARKET PANTRY NATURALLY HARDWOOD SMOKED.
North Country Smokehouse is Claremont, New Hampshire. It was suggested to me by some of my New England friends that I order some bacon from them. The website talks about three generations of smoked meat purveyors and their great heritage. It sounds great, so I ordered some bacon of the month from them. I got a nicely packaged box with still-cold bacon, so I tested it today. Obviously it was more expensive than store-bought.
The package label said 12 ounces, and that's what the gross weight was. After cooking, it weighed in at 4.6 ounces and produced a scant 25 ml of rendered fat.
The bacon had an incredible smokey aroma out of the package, and as you can see, the color palette of dark reddish-browns was beautiful. The bacon clearly had more protein than most, and cooked very quietly as a result. Not sure I like quiet cooking bacon. The taste test results were a little disappointing. It was neither crispy nor chewy (2 out of 5) and not very succulent (average: 2.5) The bacon did have a nice taste, complex yet without aftertaste or greasiness. I'd rate the flavor 3 out of 5. It was good, but not great, and I have three other packages to test in the coming weeks. You can see the uncooked-cooking-cooked picture below.
Next, I tried a value line from Jewel Osco, called the "Market Pantry Naturally Hardwood Smoked". Sixteen ounces on the label, and 16 oz is what I got. Post cooking it weighed in at 5.0 ounces and produced a large 130 ml of rendered fat. Obviously a much fatter choice than the North Country Smokehouse.
There was no pre-cooking odor AT ALL. The bacon was very pink - just like a little piggy, as you can see from the picture. LOTS of snap-crackle-pop and I thought someone poured some loud Rice Krispies next to me. It did crisp up nicely; 3 out of 5. Had nicely popping fat areas; succulence 3/5. And the flavor, while different than the North Country, was also an equivalent 3.
The Jewel bacon is everyday fare. The North Country Smokehouse could be for special occasions. But I'm not seeing the value. We'll see with the next batch!
Until next weekend, when I'm in Philadelphia to see Army beat the Hell out of Navy.
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