Best bacon recommendations needed...

[Paul_Jaouen]

We had Black Pig one year and it lost miserably. I think it came in fourth or fifth out of five. But everyone has different tastes.

[Jay_Miller]

@Paul Jaouen

@John Davis

I would add Vande Rose farms to anget list. I sold it for a while when I was in the grocery business.

JD

I agree but are they still around. I haven’t been able to find it the last couple years.

We had it at Scott and Anne Marie’s just a few months ago.

North Country, Vanderose, Soaring Swine (though I can’t find it), and the Iberico bacon that deBragga sells are my favorites.

[Mike_Stoneking]

@M.Kaplan

Mike,
I’m old enough to remember when the store was named Meadow Farms.
Our History

Excellent. Glad you still follow them. Great place.
Rating:

[NED_VALOIS]

@Paul Jaouen

I hold an annual bacon party. Applewood smoked from North Country Smokehouse wins almost every year no matter what other bacons are thrown up against it. You can get it mail ordered.

Benton’s is way too salty.

[Brian_Tuite]

@Paul Jaouen

We had Black Pig one year and it lost miserably. I think it came in fourth or fifth out of five. But everyone has different tastes.

ABPBE!

[Paul_Jaouen]

@NED VALOIS

@Paul Jaouen

I hold an annual bacon party. Applewood smoked from North Country Smokehouse wins almost every year no matter what other bacons are thrown up against it. You can get it mail ordered.

Benton’s is way too salty.

BTW, we do this blind. I’m the only one that knows what’s what.

[ToddFrench]

These are great, folks, thank you!

[Robert_Pollard-Smith]

A third vote for Dreymiller & Krey— I buy nothing else. The whole house smells so nice when it’s sizzling.

[Frank_Drew]

A patient at work, a tall, fit mid-twenties black guy told me that his every-single-morning breakfast was a half dozen eggs, half a loaf of bread and an entire pound of bacon; he’d just dump the whole pound into the skillet, cook it while stirring it around enough to separate the strips and then pour the entire contents onto his plate on top of the eggs and use the bread to sop up the fat and all. I almost got acute cardiac syndrome just listening to him.

Does packaged bacon freeze well, those of you buying multiple pounds at a time?

[John_Davis]

Freezes pretty well.

JD

[lsmorris]

@Drew Goin

Benton’s for plain eating, authentic country-style.

Nueske’s is less salty, more generally accepted.

Benton’s is too smoky and too salty for us for general bacon eating. It’s better as an ingredient. Nueske’s is perfect to our taste. We buy 20 lbs at a time, and it freezes brilliantly. I was not as thrilled as others are by Luger’s bacon. It was thick, but otherwise unremarkable.

[Brad_Kane]

Adding to the chorus for Vande Rose and North Country. Having been at Paul’s Bacon Palooza for years, those always come in tops. I slightly prefer the Vande Rose, but both are stellar.

The Luger’s is also very good and thick cut and you may want to look up Schaller & Weber online. They have great bacon, as well as a whole lineup of deli products.

[Scott_G_r_u_n_e_r]

I use a lot of costco 4 pack blue label bacon- but mostly for cooking. When I want really good bacon I get Nueske’s or Hemplers.

[Jay_Selman]

@John Davis

I would add Vande Rose farms to anget list. I sold it for a while when I was in the grocery business.

JD

+1

[awilliamson4]

Kiolbasa Provision Company: http://kiolbassa.com/product-category/bacon/

Bacon is great. Sausage is great.

I’ll jump on the North Country Train.
Mt Petit Jean out of arkansas is great
Broadbent is another good one

[awilliamson4]

Also Vande Rose is fantastic.

[Thomas_Bougetz]

@Thomas Bougetz

@M.Kaplan

Meadow Farms. On Hwy 395 outside of Bishop. http://www.smokedmeats.com/pork-bacon.html

I must be hungry. I just ordered a couple of pounds of the applewood bacon. Thanks for the recommendation!

Got our order from Meadow Farms last week, and with guests in town, well, its long gone! Loved it, and will be ordering more soon…

[b_castner]

Neuske’s fan as well. Matter of fact there are a couple of grocers in WI where it’s available at pretty much normal deli pricing as opposed to gourmet pricing. Need to try the Dreymiller, I’ve seen it around.

Another Wisconsin place that does a nice job at very reasonable pricing is Stoneridge. They have a ton more product than is on the website.

Gluten-Free Meat Sticks | Summer Sausage | WI Cheese | StoneRidge

[John_Davis]

I think I would be remiss for not mentioning these guys… Smoking Goose. Some midwesterners might have seen them around. Top notch smoked and cured meats, sausages. I’ve toured their facility and sold their products and they are as good as it gets.

Nueske’s is one of our favorites but I’ve done a couple of bacon taste tests (one at the Fancy food Show with a dozens of bacons) and when you compare it to others, blind, it can come across as too smokey for some. Again, one of our personal favorites (sold it too) but for those not in love with heavy smoke, it may not be for them.

JD

[Kenny_H]

I encourage trying SV for a prep method. Basically it pre-renders the fat and allows you to crisp it up in the pan very quickly, while having melt in your mouth fat immediately.