Looking For Great Tasting, Artisinal Bacon

[IEATRIO]

On November 6, 2016 at 11:38 PM, DiggingDogFarm said:

Lots of folks say that.

SO and I must have got some from a bad batch — the smoke flavor was horrible (reminded me of the scent of an ashtray.) 

I bet that wasn't a bad batch and they make it that way on purpose.  That's the perfect way to describe some of the smokier bacons, especially Broadbent, and to a slightly lesser extent Benton.

 

It can be a bit off putting on first sniff, but I think Benton is a world beating product -- their ham is even more magnificent -- and they are practically giving the stuff away, at very reasonable prices compared to other quality charcuterie. 

[btbyrd]

Wrights is city bacon, and it's not especially smoky (and hardly smoky at all compared to Benton's, Broadbent's or Father's.) I don't think "horrible smoke flavor" that reminds someone of "the scent of an ashtray" is "the perfect way" to describe smokier bacon. And it's certainly not the way I'd describe Wright's bacon. If DDF got packaged that smelled/tasted that way, it was a defect and he got a bad batch.

 

Good country bacon smells and tastes like a campfire. It's beautiful.

But +1 on the prices for Benton's. Their bacon isn't expensive at all and it tastes delicious. Father's and Broadbent are also relatively inexpensive (and I love Father's country hams). The only problem is that while the product is cheap(ish), the shipping costs can be high. So it's best to place a big order and spread the shipping costs over a bunch of product. Speaking of which, lookie what just showed up on my doorstep...

 

 

 

 

"End slices" are a tremendous value at $5 a lb. Some can be sort of gnarly looking, and they tend to be fattier than the leaner "proper" bacon, but they're ideal for sandwiches or making lardon or whatever application where you don't really care what it looks like. And frankly, I eat them just like normal bacon since I'm not precious about how the slices look. An even better value is the "bacon seasoning" which are the fatty tips that get sliced off the ends of the belly to make the rest of it easier to slice. They're a paltry TWO DOLLARS A POUND. I use those to make the Momofuku cookbook's ramen broth (which calls for a pound of Benton's) and as a seasoning for beans and greens. Pressure cook them with a couple quarts of water, and it makes for a great bacon stock to cook whatever you want with. (Sometimes I add kombu for a bacon dashi.) I do the same thing with Father's ham hocks, which are also dirt cheap. but I digress...

[Martin Fisher]

6 hours ago, btbyrd said:

Good country bacon smells and tastes like a campfire. It's beautiful.

 

Yes.

[liuzhou]

Not so much a camp fire. More a forest fire in a forest heavily populated with pigs.

A couple of nights ago, a neighbour knocked on my door fairly late in the evening. She had come by, she told me, to drop off some of her home cured and smoked bacon which was excess to her family's requirements. Actually, I think she was just worried that I didn't have any and couldn't possibly survive the winter without it. They are lovely, lovely people except the Stupids who live downstairs, but I ignore them as much as possible.

 

Anyway, this is a dry cured bacon which is then smoked until blackened. It is very smoked. It is a full blown lump of smokiness. I'm surprised you can't smell the smoke from wherever you are.

It is now hanging on my balcony next to an old New Year decoration which I have never got round to throwing away. (Neighbour suggested it could do with a bit more hanging - the bacon, not the decoration.) Unfortunately, this is also where I hang my clothes to dry - no electric driers here - so all my clothes now smell of smoked pig. No one seems to mind. Some get rather affectionate. Forget pheromones!

 

The thing weighs just under a kilo. It's probably not what you want on your breakfast plate or in a BLT. I keep looking at it and thinking "baked beans", but I can't find the beans, The locals, including neighbour, use it in hotpots and soups or sometimes in highly spiced stir fries. We don't go in for the delicate (insipid) Cantonese style of Chinese cooking here. We want our food to punch us in the mouth.

 

 

I will try to let you know what I do with it.

Edited December 5, 2016 by liuzhou
typos and clarification (log)

[Martin Fisher]

On 11/6/2016 at 11:38 PM, DiggingDogFarm said:

SO and I must have got some from a bad batch [of Wright's] — the smoke flavor was horrible (reminded me of the scent of an ashtray.) 

 

I recently tried Wright's again—no sign of 'ashtray' this time. 

[Thanks for the Crepes]

On 11/6/2016 at 11:38 PM, DiggingDogFarm said:

Lots of folks say that.

SO and I must have got some from a bad batch — the smoke flavor was horrible (reminded me of the scent of an ashtray.) 

 

I overpaid for Wright's not so long ago. I'll never waste money that way again.

 

Do you want to know what is the Good Stuff? It's Broadbent's bacon! This stuff will make you remember your childhood when the hickory smoke perfume would actually pull you out of bed. 

 

I have to say I'm not much of a fan of Grandma's country sausage because it's too fatty and aged, when I don't think a sausage needs to be aged. Perhaps this a throwback to before refrigeration, but I don't like it. That said, I'll eat the rest of the two pounds that I froze after the initial experience. It cooks up crispy like cracklin's with some pork meat in there. 

 

Oh, my God! The BACON, though! If you long for the nostalgic bacon of your childhood, this is where you need to go to get it: Broadbents. I also have some country ham from them that I haven't tried, but when I do, you will hear about it.

 

This is the BEST bacon I have ever eaten in my whole life. I like hickory smoke, though, and that is what this bacon is all about. It is a treat that I love to look forward to and it perfumes the house every time I cook it. I cannot get over how good this bacon is. Treat yourself and try it. I cannot imagine anyone not liking this bacon. It is the stuff of dreams!

[kayb]

I can testify to Broadbent's bacon. I get their big packages of bacon seasoning pieces, which I then use to make bacon jam, which is the most divine condiment known to modern man.

 

However, being an adopted Arkansan, I would be remiss if I did not at least get in a plug for hometowners Petit Jean Meats. You won't go wrong with anything you get from them, and that black pepper bacon is sublime. I would also put in kudos for their smoked turkey breast, and their pastrami.

 

 

Edited January 21, 2019 by kayb
to add link. (log)

[rotuts]

I just got a Broadbent re-supply , of ends and things.

 

I posted here :

 

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/149834-mail-order-virginia-country-hams/?page=6&tab=comments#comment-2187149

 

 

perhaps I should have posted here ?

 

bacon was involved

 

the big question 

 

who has had  Benton's , Father's and Broadbent bacon 

 

all hickory smoked

 

at the same time ?

 

Edited January 26, 2019 by rotuts (log)

[boilsover]

I wish there was a better in-vogue word than 'artisanal'.  It even sounds nasty.  Are folks intentionally misspelling it to take the butt out  -anal?

 

Craft?  Micro?  Charcuter?  Premium?  How about "not total dreck"?

 

One time I was driving through a small town, hungry, looking to grab a bite somewhere.  In my windshield appears a roadhouse with one of those old grocery readerboards out front:  "TODAY: 5TH ANAL CHILI COOKOFF"  Mmmmmmmmm, pedal down... 

[Martin Fisher]

Artisan or artisanal and gourmet are marketing buzzwords that definitely MUST die!!!

I'm okay with handcrafted.

 

A few comical things I've seen written on the specials/menu boards at redneck greasy-spoon establishments:

Scalped Potatoes

Half Baked Chicken

Ham and Pee Soup

Certified Anus Beef Burger

Sweat Tea

Coke, Diet Coke, Spite

Brokely Cheese Soup

No Smoking Aloud

 

 

[btbyrd]

Zingerman's is having their spring sale, which includes some bacon products. I stocked up on some apple and cherry smoked Neuske's bacon. I'm looking forward to having it again -- it's been years! The first true country bacon experience I ever had was Neuske's purchased direct at Zingerman's deli in Ann Arbor. My life would never be the same...