Nueske’s Bacon - Wow!

[jfmorris]

Ironically, the day after I chased down a couple pounds of Neuske's bacon at The Fresh Market, for $9.99 a pound, I got an email from them on Wednesday where their house "market style" bacon was BOGO - at $7.99 a pound, buy-one-get-one meant that took the price down to $3.99 a pound. It sits right next to the Neuske's in the meat case, and is cut about the same thickness, and looks similar, so I went back last night and bought 4 pounds for the freezer, while I work through the 2 pounds of Neuske's already in the fridge. Anyway, at $3.99 a pound, if its good, its honestly cheaper than I can cure my own bacon. I'll let you know my verdict.

If you have a Fresh Market nearby, this looks to be a new weekly Wednesday special, much like their other weekly sales that very from day to day, like the ground chuck for $3.99 on Tuesdays (used to be $2.99 before COVID). I'll try and report back on how it tastes before next Wednesday in case anyone wants to chase some down at that price.

[SheilaAnn]

Hey, is this the Wright’s y’all are talking about?

[Panhead John]

Yes ma’am, that’s it.

[texastweeter]

If you gotta get it from the grocery store thats the way to roll

[Sid P]

Hey, is this the Wright’s y’all are talking about?

I sure hope so, because that’s what’s on my Jewel shopping list.

[Panhead John]

Dat be it Sid…

[SheilaAnn]

I remember shopping at Jewel!

[Sid P]

SheilaAnn Jewel is all that’s left from the old days. We shopped at Dominick’s and Eagle for decades, but they’re both gone now.

[jfmorris]

Here they sell Wrights that is apple wood smoked, hickory smoked or maple. I hate maple bacon, although I love maple syrup…

[Murdy]

And how, maple belongs on pancakes or French toast, not meat,.

[SheilaAnn]

Murdy yes! But no powdered sugar on the French toast. I need an intervention. And French toast. And blackberry jam on French toast. My auntie used to make it for me when I was little.

[jfmorris]

@ShielaAnn Mmmm. I just bought blackberry jam yesterday. It was planned for PBJ sandwiches when I am lazy or want a sweet snack, but I'm feeling the french toast thing... I have no syrup in the house, but jam could work!

[fzxdoc]

Ugh, I got some Wrights Maple Bacon by mistake once (back in the lockdown when a friend volunteered to pick up a few things at the store for us while she was there). That stuff is terrible. I finally ended up chopping it up and putting into baked beans, Mr. Bones' Bourbon Beans style, turning sweet into savory.

I swear the Wrights sold at Sam's Club is thicker than what I get at the grocery. Am I hallucinating, or is that true?

Oh, and I asked for a pound of Neuske's Bacon at Fresh Market last week. Wasn't paying close attention. When I got home, the package said Market Bacon $7.99/lb. So I don't know if I have Neuske's with the wrong label or not-Neuske's bacon. Sigh. Life is such a struggle sometimes.

Kathryn

[klflowers]

You can easily tell the difference. The Applewood smoked has a pronounced smokey smell and taste. I agree with you about Wrights, I ate it for years but the last pack I got was not very good.

[jfmorris]

fzxdoc I’ve yet to cook any of the Market bacon from last week - I bought it because it was 3.99 a pound on Wednesday and vacuum sealed it in 1 pound bags and froze it. The Neuske’s is very smoky just coming out of the bag and in flavor. I did smell smoke as I was bagging and freezing the cheaper bacon, but haven’t tasted it yet.

[fzxdoc]

Thanks, Jim, jfmorris , for the additional info. I haven't fried it up yet either. Maybe today.

K.

[Panhead John]

Katherine, you might not be hallucinating at all. I’ve been wondering myself about the thickness of bacon lately. Are they trimming down the "thick cut" bacon these days? I have always bought the thick cut bacon because I don’t like the thin stuff. The last few times I’ve bought and cooked bacon, it looks thinner to me. In the package they look to be normal thickness, but when I open them up and separate them, I swear they’re thinner than they used to be. And this has happened with Wright’s and Kroger store brand. I buy my bacon at Kroger and have for years, so I can’t compare it to Costco’s, but my next purchase will be from Costco. Has anyone else out there experienced this?

[Bkhuna]

Count the number of slices per pound. Anything more than 8 slices per pound isn't thick enough for me. Wright's regular thick and any of the over-the-counter supermarket brands fail miserably.

[klflowers]

The last time I bought some wright's it wasn't very good. The outside slices that I could see were streaked with lean, but the inside slices were extremely fatty. And it didn't taste the same, tasted a little old or stale or something. I couldn't really put my finger on the difference. So I switched back to nueske's at the fresh market and discovered the the publix brand is pretty good. And I am planning a trip to Bentons soon to try theirs out.

[rickgregory]

You're close enough to go to Benton's.... SO Jealous

[Panhead John]

Look what I found everyone and Meathead I was googling articles about thick cut bacon. Be sure and read the next to last sentence. 👍 (curious why he didn’t include a link to your recipe?)

https://www.esquire.com/food-drink/f...con-thickness/

[klflowers]

3/4 of an inch thick bacon is way too thick.

[FireMan]

klflowers , ever have one that thick?

[klflowers]

FireMan no I haven't. Maybe 1/2" or so

[awsop]

The Wright’s packaging at Sam’s claims to be their thickest cut. Don’t know if it’s exclusive to Sam’s.

[Panhead John]

Thanks! That’s good to know, I never realized they had different thicknesses. The 2 pictures above here only say thick cut.

[Bkhuna]

That's some thick cut bacon! Wish it was dry cured.

[awsop]

It’s been a while since I have bought it from Sam’s. If memory serves it’s thicker than my grocery store version but not as thick as Nueske’s triple thick cut which is like a bacon steak.

[FireMan]

Triple thick cut? I’m driving up there tomorrow! Yup

[SheilaAnn]

Ok, so I used some of the Wright’s last night. It’s ok. I think a far cry from Nueske’s, though. Granted, it’s been a while since I have had Nueske’s. Sidebar: Benton’s is on the way……

[rickgregory]

"Sidebar: Benton’s is on the way……"

mmmmmm...

[Meathead]

Panhead John Thanks for sharing that link. Josh was one of the most intelligent writers on meat and my brother by a different mother. Not sure why there is no link but there probably was when he wrote it years ago. Alas, Josh died May 3, 2017 quite unexpectedly. He was in Chicago for the Beard awards and texted me May 3 in late afternoon asking if I had dinner plans. He died that night. I did not see his text til the next morning. My obit is here https://amazingribs.com/ruminations-...-josh-ozersky/

And BTW, I love Neuske's and I am using it as part of a bacon cooking article for my book which I shall share when it is finished.

[Panhead John]

Yeah, I noticed it was written in 2014. Sorry you lost your buddy, he sounded like quite a guy. We’ll be waiting for that bacon article, for sure.

[jfmorris]

fzxdoc and others interested - I finally defrosted and cooked 4 slices this morning of the "Market Style" bacon from The Fresh Market. If you got that by mistake instead of the Neuske's... sadly they are VERY different.

Neuske's was really REALLY good bacon. Perfectly seasoned and smoked. Not good enough to pay $9.99 a pound every day, compared to Wright's or some other good bacons, but really really good. Great even.

The "Market Style" bacon sitting right next to it for $7.99 a pound in the meat counter at Fresh Market is NOT EVEN CLOSE. Is it thick cut? Yes. Is it smoky? Slightly. Is it salty? NO!

The major failing of the market style bacon is that it seems to be low sodium or something. I ate 2 slices (of 4), and ponderered this, then got a salt shaker and salted up the next 2 slices, and they were much improved.

NOTE: My test was using 4 strips microwaved for 5 minutes, but this is the SAME way I cooked the last 4 strips of Neuske's that I had.

So Kathryn, if those folks sold you the wrong bacon, the signs would be it was not super smokey and not very salty and just average bacon.

At $3.99 a pound on Wednesdays (BOGO) the Market Style bacon is probably worth buying, considering that even cheap Hormel bacon at Kroger is $5.99 a pound these days. But it needs more salt. Other than that, its just average grade thick cut bacon.

[FireMan]

Why settle fer average bacon? I ponder.

[Sid P]

Bump for the noobs that might not know about Nueske’s, like me. Today’s batch.

[Panhead John]

Damn! That’s perfectly cooked IMO…how’d ya do it?

[Sid P]

Panhead John Thanks. Pre-heat oven to 400°, lay on wire racks over foiled pans, rotate/swap racks after 10 minutes, check after another 10. Thin slices are probably done, thicker may need 3-5 more minutes. Unfortunately the slices from our Fresh Market are somewhat inconsistent, so we it’s never going to be cut and dried. Also, we have a 30 year old GE stove, so who knows what an indicated 400° is. I only dial in my smokers…