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By Chef Terry
Waking up to the smell of bacon cooking in the morning is
very special to me – as I remember growing up with Mom fixing bacon with other
good food for breakfast. My four-legged
friends may perhaps enjoy bacon more than humans. I always love watching them while the bacon
is cooking.
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From the good folks at Wikipedia.com –
Bacon is a cured meat
prepared from a pig. It is first cured using large quantities of salt, either
in a brine or in a dry packing; the result is fresh bacon (also known as green
bacon). Fresh bacon may then be further dried for weeks or months in cold air,
boiled, or smoked. Fresh and dried bacon is typically cooked before eating.
Boiled bacon is ready to eat, as is some smoked bacon, but may be cooked
further before eating.
Bacon is prepared from
several different cuts of meat. It is usually made from side and back cuts of
pork, except in the United States, where it is almost always prepared from pork
belly (typically referred to as "streaky", "fatty", or
"American style" outside of the US and Canada). The side cut has more
meat and less fat than the belly. Bacon may be prepared from either of two
distinct back cuts: fatback, which is almost pure fat, and pork loin, which is
very lean. Bacon-cured pork loin is known as back bacon.
Bacon may be eaten
smoked, boiled, fried, baked, or grilled, or used as a minor ingredient to
flavor dishes. Bacon is also used for barding and larding roasts, especially
game, e.g. venison, pheasant. The word is derived from the Old High German
bacho, meaning "buttock", "ham" or "side of
bacon", and cognate with the Old French bacon.
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50 Ways to use bacon:
1. Make
a good old BLT sandwich, of course.
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2.
Bacon cheeseburgers will make anyone’s mouth water. Meat topped with more meat?
Perfection!
3.
Bacon-wrapped tater tots would go perfectly with that bacon cheeseburger!
4.
Roast a bacon-wrapped turkey for Sunday dinner.
5. Make
delicious bacon pastry slices.
6. Add
a punch of flavor to your creamed spinach recipe.
7. Make
your own hot bacon dressing to use on lettuce, cabbage, or even potato salad!
8.
Entertaining? Whet your guests’ appetites with the bacon-cheese fundido
appetizer.
9.
Indulge in a bar of dark chocolate infused with the flavor of applewood smoked
bacon as a special treat.
10.
Maple bacon cupcakes will make your mouth water.
11. And
if you liked those, try a bacon chocolate chip cookie with maple cinnamon
glaze.
12.
It’s not real, southern cornbread unless there’s bacon grease in it.
13.
Visit The Plaid Mushroom’s e-shop to smother your lips with bacon lip balm made
with real bacon oil, refined from bacon. (The link is to a listing that was
reserved for a certain buyer, but contact theplaidmushroom to ask for your own
listing.)
14.
Join the bacon of the month club to have artisan bacon delivered to your door
12 times a year.
15. The
beautiful city of Charleston, South Carolina gives us bacon-flavored cotton
candy.
16.
Enjoy a bacon martini with any meal.
17. Use
bacon to dress up your leftovers for a second visit to the dinner table.
18.
Whip up a tasty bacon asparagus quiche with Swiss cheese for dinner.
19.
Cook bacon into the shape of cups and fill with lettuce and tomato for a
breadless BLT.
20.
Stay warm by wrapping a giant fleece bacon scarf around yourself.
21.
Even if you’re a vegetarian and/or keep a kosher diet, you can still enjoy the
taste of bacon salt, because, as the manufacturers say: “Everything should
taste like bacon.”
22. If
pork-covered pork appeals to you, you may also enjoy the bacon-wrapped
deep-fried hot dog.
23.
Trim your holiday tree with joyful ceramic bacon ornaments.
24. Add
a new twist to stuffed peppers by wrapping them in bacon.
25. Get
the morning off to a good start with beer cheese muffins with bacon cream
cheese frosting.
26.
Impress your guests with deceptively simple bacon-wrapped “crabette”
appetizers.
27. A
bacon-y take on an Asian favorite: bacon and bok choy potstickers.
28.
Weave and bake bacon into edible placemats.
29.
Then, use the woven bacon to augment your grilled cheese experience.
30. The
Bacon Explosion is to die for!
31.
Bacon and date appetizers will be the hit of your party.
32.
Bacon egg salad croissants put a new spin on an old favourite.
33.
Then, have a bowl of bacon ice cream for dessert.
34.
Then use an actual bacon bandage to cover your own boo-boos.
35. Or
wake up to cooking bacon with the bacon alarm clock, which is appropriately
shaped like a pig’s face.
36. Add
it to your bathroom in the form of bacon-printed toilet tissue.
37. Then,
use it to wash up afterward.
38.
Bacon popcorn is a deliciously salty, crunchy snack!
39. Try
your hand at making your own bacon.
40.
Enjoy barbecue-baked beans with bacon alongside your BLT.
41.
Cook up a bacon buffet every imaginable party appetizer you ever dreamed about!
42.
Corn and bacon chowder sounds like the perfect soup to warm you up on the last
chilly evenings before summer!
43.
Strawberry bacon spinach salad will make you the star of any potluck.
44.
Salty bacon will complement the sweet honey dressing in this imitation crab
salad.
45. Try
poached pears stuffed with blue cheese and baked with bacon.
46. Or
try the same combo of flavors in a pear, blue cheese, bacon pizza.
47.
Take a look at this bacon-filled quiche. It’ll really make your mouth water.
48. See
who comes out on top with an action-figure wrestling match between Mr. Bacon
and Monsieur Tofu.
49.
Smooth caramel topped with crunchy bacon: Does that sound delicious or
disgusting? Try it and let us know.
50. Try
many other bacon dishes suggested by foodnerd, including bacon fluffernutter
sandwiches, bacon cups with macaroni and cheese, bacon-pepper-cheese scones,
and more!
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What are some of your favorite
ways to enjoy bacon?
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References and Links:
