March 9, 2014: Wake up!, Bacon 24/SEVEN and an All-Wisconsin bacon cook-off

MY LIFE WITH BACON CONTINUES with a Oscar Mayer promotion, a new book on bacon, some news, and an All-Wisconsin bacon cook-off.  There is so much bacon news going on I'm going to have to blog more often!

OSCAR MAYER COMES THROUGH with a great promotion - an actual smartphone app that produces the sound and smell (YES the smell) of bacon!  "Who knows where that crispy compass will lead you."
Wake up and smell the bacon! 

You have to enter a contest to get the app and the phone hardware for this.  Thanks to so many of you who have emailed me about this.  Here's a link to the promotion, but you should obviously click the link to the right to watch the phenomenal video.


 
BACON 24/SEVEN!  There are a lot of books about bacon out there, but here's on that is pretty cool: Bacon 24/SEVEN.  It's written by Theresa Gilliam, the guest in this video.  The video has only 8 views, and was produced just before the Super Bowl.  But if you like bacon-themed candy, here are a couple of great ways to make it.   Too sweet for me!  You can get her book, which was just published in January, on Amazon here.

But pay attention to the Bacon-Infused Bourbon - from last week's recipe! And for my friend JD: note the part where she says "if you're camping..."


HOW ABOUT ARNOLD COOKING BACON ON A TANK?  Interested?  This video of the Internet Epic Meal Time show is very entertaining. Arnold makes a Steak & Egger Sandwich - on a TANK.  A must watch. Here's a screen shot.  Entertaining video, only about four minutes, and a good cause too.

ON TO THE BACON!  This week, I am reviewing two of my favorite bacon brands - Nueske's and Usinger's.  They are both outstanding.  In a cook-off in early 2013 (a year ago) I preferred Usinger's.  Let's see if that's still the case!

Both products come in airtight, attractive packaging.  Both are applewood smoked, although Usinger's is "thick sliced" and Nueske's isn't.  But both are about the same thickness.

First, the NUESKE'S APPLEWOOD SMOKED BACON. This bacon had great aroma out of the package and was very easy to peel slices apart (unlike many out there).  As I started cooking, and upon turning slices, the bacon didn't stick to the pan at all - a very nice characteristic.  Very easy bacon to work with.  Net weight 12.0 ounces, but there was an extra ounce in the package - a bonus!  Post cooking, it weighed 4.6 ounces, and produced only 80ml of rendered fat.  You can see the 3-way photo below (before cooking, after turning, finished) the bacon had minimal shrinkage.

This bacon is classic.  Flavor is just about off the charts - I'm going to give it a 4.75 out of 5, the highest score I've ever given any bacon.  It crisped up very well, after draining on paper towels, score of 3.25.  Succulence was only average, but the flavor was unbelievable - I'll give it a 3 here.  Overall, EXCELLENT, Top Shelf bacon.

Next up, the USINGER'S APPLEWOOD SMOKED BACON.  This bacon had a crisper, sharper, stronger applewood smoke aroma than Nueske's.  It was also very easy to work with.  It did shrink significantly more than Nueske's and it curled up rapidly.  I had to lower my normal temperature twice to avoid overcooking... which was odd.  You can also see that the color of Usinger's wasn't quite as attractive during cooking, and the oil on cooked product didn't dissipate as well.  The package was labeled at 12 ounces, but the bacon came in at 12.6 ounces - another bonus.  Post cooking, it weighed 3.4 ounces with higher shrinkage, and produced a whopping 160 ml of rendered fat (double the Nueske's).

Flavor - I'm going to ding Usinger's on this batch.  It was somewhat oily tasting but still above average - score of 3.25.  It had a high degree of crispness, also 3.5.  The succulence factor was better than Nueske's, and I'll score that at 3.25.

OVERALL, I THINK NUESKE'S IS BETTER THIS TIME AROUND.  All of this bacon disappeared rapidly.

Phew.  It's been a busy bacon week. See you next time!