A RECORD SETTING EATING CONTEST happened last week with a fellow eating 182 slices in five minutes. The cool part about it is that the guy, Matt "Megatoad" Stonie (what a name!) really likes bacon! Great article and video here. In the photo, check out some of the folks on the stage and the expressions on their faces! The contest was put on by Smithfield, whose rep would not agree to be interviewed by me, unfortunately.
Stonie shattered the previous record set in 2010 by Mark "The Human Vacuum" Lyle —a measly 54 pieces in five minutes.
“I’m a huge bacon fan, so I jumped at the chance to team up with Smithfield to set the bacon-eating world record,” Stonie told WXIA Atlanta. “As one of the youngest competitive eaters on the circuit, I’m always looking to push myself so I aimed to eat 150 slices, but when I passed that and got to 182 slices, I knew it must be because I’m fueled by bacon!”
The Smithfield Pig Out Chase, sponsored by Smithfield Foods, took place in Dayton, Florida over the weekend. The contest is an amateur eating competition and is just one of several events leading up to the “ultimate eating showdown” set to take place this November at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Stonie reportedly holds world records for eating the most gyros, birthday cake, frozen yogurt and pumpkin pie, and is ranked second in the world according to Major League Eating.
FINALLY TRIED SOME PHILADELPHIA BACON-FLAVORED CREAM CHEESE and it was just fine. Splurged and had it on a nice toasted bagel from Einstein's. Mmmmmm.
UPDATE ON MY HOME MADE BACON. I got a lot of reviews, ranging from "it disappeared immediately" to "best bacon I ever tasted". I personally thought it was a little too smoky, but my 'customers' enjoyed it!
ON TO THIS WEEK'S BACON. This week's bacon is from the Publican, a Chicago purveyor of quality meats at 825 W Fulton Street. Our friends the Oakleys dropped off three packages for us and I finally got around to cooking them up on Sunday.
FIRST UP: PUBLICAN'S "PUB BACON"
It weighed in at 15.0 ounces, but the most striking thing was the thickness: a full 1/3 of an inch! And the 15 ounces consisted of only five slices - three ounces per slice! I let it come to room temperature and placed it on a room-temp griddle; followed by slowly cooking on medium heat. That's the best way to cook bacon, in my opinion. This bacon was very sticky - it wouldn't let go of the surface! In addition to tongs, I had to use a spatula. The bacon was the most tender of any bacon I've ever made - kind of like 'falling off the bone' tender, really coming apart. It was a challenge to keep the bacon looking like intact pieces.
Pre cooked, it was 15 ounces; post, 10.4 (minimal shrinkage) and only 25 ml of rendered fat. The meat's consistency make it seem like "the fish of bacon" according to my older son, Sam. He's right - it had the consistency of properly cooked fish. Flavor was out of this world, but it didn't taste like regular bacon. This would be perfect for salad or a garnish for virtually anything.
NEXT CAME PUBLICAN'S "BEEF BACON"
This came in at 1 pound 4 ounces pre cooked; 8.6 post with 170ml of rendered beef tallow. It had a very very very very strong beef odor, and it permeated the entire house. Some comments from my evaluators included that it was like "a slice of steak", "beef jerky on steroids", "would be great on a BLT" and "superior sandwich bacon". All good. Well worth trying again!
I wasn't able to cook up their SLAB BACON due to technical difficulties, but will do so in the future.
SMOKED UP SOME TROUT this weekend too; pre-cooked picture on planks, below. Excellent. Used my UDS again!
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