Slinging Bacon Hash

And, now we come to the grand finale of the Bacon of the Month Club adventure – Zany’s holiday gift that keeps on giving.  This was a three-month sampler membership, but the company knows just how addicting having bacon dropped on your doorstep each month can be. This final package includes a tempting love note that says, “It doesn’t have to end here …”

We’ll see.  I’ve never been good about long-term commitment, but could be convinced to re-up if it meant never worrying where my next slice of bacon came from.

For now, I’m focused on my final delivery, a gorgeous hunk-of-ham called Arkansas Peppered Bacon. Yes, this hickory-smoked bacon from the foothills of the Ozarks is hand rubbed with cracked black pepper.  Look at that luscious, glistening fat!  

It is a truly a thing of beauty, and I take a deep, intoxicating whiff of the fumes of smoky fat and pungent pepper.  Besides being rather fond of bacon, I’m a bit of a pepper addict, so this is a match made in heaven – or the Ozarks, to be geographically correct.  

For my third and final baconfest, I turn to the recipe offered in the “manual” supplied by Zingerman’s Bacon Club – a savory Bacon Hash.   Because, if pepper bacon isn’t enough, why not just toss some potatoes, Worcestershire and heavy cream into the skillet?  Diet?  What diet?

The full recipe can be found here. 

It is a savory cacophony of carbs and fat.  I’m in hog heaven.  Zany, I can’t thank you enough!  You’ve probably ruined me forever when it comes to pedestrian bacon!  

By the way, if you happen to have leftovers of bacon hash (which seems highly unlikely) and store it in the fridge overnight, eaten cold, it tastes like the best potato salad ever.  

©2014 T.W. Barritt All Rights Reserved

A Porcine Jam

In this season of excessive snow and ice, perhaps the only thing that keeps me going is the knowledge that there will once again be another Zingerman’s “Bacon of the Month” delivery awaiting me at the doorstep.

Bacon and hope spring eternal. My pal Zany certainly knew what she was doing when she arranged for a monthly gift of buttery rich fat and smoky goodness delivered directly to my front door.

Delivery Two is Dry Cured Kentucky Smoked Bacon from the Broadbent Company in Kuttawa, Kentucky.  The porky creation of Ronny and Beth Drennan, is dry cured for one week in a mixture of salt and sugar, and then smoked over hickory for 72 to 96 hours.

So what kind of culinary adventure might be inspired by the delivery of my Dry Cured Kentucky Smoked Bacon?   Perhaps the sugar cure is the connection? My recent adventures in jamming used copious amounts of sugar, so a batch of bacon jam might hit the spot.  Of course, a pointed suggestion from my buddy Louise didn’t hurt. 

Savory bacon jam is less a traditional jam, but a nouveau jam – a dark and smoky, salty condiment that simmers briefly in the slow cooker and is stored in the refrigerator. 

The bacon is chopped and cooked until crispy brown, and then simmered with onions,  garlic, maple syrup, brown sugar and brewed coffee.  

Perhaps I cooked mine a tad too long.  It is more the consistency of a bacon tapenade then a jam, but no less delicious. A decadent indulgence, indeed.  

Recipes for bacon jam proliferate on the Internet.  I found mine here.  You’ll be happier than a pig in … mud … considering all the tasty options.  Drop a dollop of bacon jam on a cracker with goat cheese, spread it as a filling for a hot grilled cheese sandwich, or use it as the secret ingredient in a savory omelet.  Just don’t make a pig of yourself.

©2014 T.W. Barritt All Rights Reserved

A Bundle of Smoky Bacon

I’m still debating my favorite holiday gift of the season just past. Was it the Blue-ray disc of the Doctor Who Fiftieth Anniversary special, or the membership in Zingerman’s Bacon of the Month Club sent by my pal, Zany in Chicago?

With all due respect to the good Doctor (who has saved Earth’s bacon hundreds of times over), when it comes to indulgence and sheer crave factor, the Bacon of the Month Club has a lot going for it.

Membership has its privileges. The first delivery comes with a tempting slab of bacon, and a collector’s manual containing a slew of bacon lore to pig out on. 

First up in the cavalcade of bacon is Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Bacon.   Made by Tanya Nueske in Wittenberg, Wisconsin, Nueske’s is wet cured for 24 hours in a brine mixture with sugar and spices and then smoked over Applewood for 24 hours.   It’s described as “meaty, pleasantly sweet and smoky. Bacon artisan Tanya Nueske says her grandfather started selling the bacon in 1933 and today she continues the craft of smoking. The bacon is smoked very slowly so that the flavor really permeates the cut of meat. 

As the Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Bacon is a Christmas gift, I decided to incorporated it into my Christmas Day dinner menu, preparing Bacon Wrapped Potatoes. 

The recipe from Everyday Food can be found here. I wrap petite Yukon Gold Potatoes each in a ribbon of Nueske’s bacon, and bake in a 400F degree oven for 50 minutes.  The Nueske's handles beautifully. Ah, the slick feel, the marbling, and the luscious layers of delectable bacon fat!   

During the baking time, insanity nearly sets in as the intoxicating sweet aroma of smoked bacon fills the house.  The sound of "sizzle" and "pop" repeatedly draws me back to the oven to peer in.   

It is a miracle that I actually manage to refrain from sampling before Christmas dinner is served.  

Hot from the oven, the Bacon Wrapped Potatoes are kind of like glistening little Christmas gifts! 

I know the tradition is “visions of sugarplums,” but as I gleefully anticipate the next Zingerman's Bacon Club delivery, there are visions of bacon strips dancing through my head! 

©2014 T.W. Barritt All Rights Reserved