It seems that the bacon we find at the supermarkets and butcher shops has just gotten worse over the last year or so. Yesterday, I smoked some Texas Twinkies and had a terrible time getting the slices apart. They had so much fat, and so little meat, that they just fell apart at the touch.
I like to wrap a lot of protein, such as shrimp, scallops, and some steaks. The thin, fatty bacon just won't work.
Your suggestions on brands that you like would be appreciated.
In my neck of the woods, Fletcher's is my favorite. If I need something different, I go to my local butcher. It's worth the extra money for me, as I can really dial in what I want.
LSG Adjustable Grill/Smoker, MAK Pellet Grill, Large BGE with Several Attachments from the Ceramic Grill Store, Weber Gasser, Cast Iron Pans & Griddle, Grill Grates, Mostly Thermoworks Thermometers, Anova SV Stick, BBQ Guru Controller and Fan
Cookers:
Oklahoma Joe Offset (older thick steel version!)
Camp Chef Woodwind
OK Joe Bronco
Weber Genesis
Ooni Karu
Weber Kettle
My goal is to eventually have at least one of every style of cooker….. I have work to do. Lol!
Thermometers:
ThermoWorks Thermapen MK4
ThermoWorks Thermapen ONE
ThermoWorks Thermopop
ThermoWorks RFX
ThermoWorks IRK-2 Infrared
Maverick XR-50
TempSpike Plus
Other Gear:
Megaforce 3000 Meat Grinder
Weston 7-pound sausage stuffer
Jerky Gun for making poppers. (Game changer!)
Amaz-N-Tube
Original SnS with drip n griddle
Weber Chimney
Fuels Used:
Splits/Chunks, whatever I can get. Usually B&B competition. Favorites are Cherry, Apple, Post Oak, and Hickory.
Pellets, Lumberjack.
Charcoal, whatever is on sale. Currently have a bunch of KBB. Will eventually try B&B. Use whatever lump is on sale in my Ooni.
Propane, Blue Rhino.
Rubs:
Usually make my own riff’s on Memphis Dust and BBBR. Also use Meathead’s commercial rubs and occasionally try something new. I like a couple from Tuffy Stone and Kinder’s. After several surgeries, I’m very sensitive to “spicy” stuff, so I need to be careful about heat levels.
Benton’s is really good, I keep several packages on hand, but I’ve noticed that a lot of our younger family members say it has too much smoke flavor for them. Must be a generational difference in taste buds.
I make my own bacon but even the quality of pork belly has a broad spectrum of quality. The last batch I made really sucked but the batch before was by far the best I had made always using the same recipe. Purchased one from Costco (the bad one) the other from the chefs store formally known as food service. Yes there is such a thing as bad bacon and should not to be blamed on who made it.
I agree with Wrights being a great store bought bacon. But it’s thick cut and not great for wrapping. I tend to buy Boars Head bacon for "regular" bacon. Hormel or Oscar Mayer can be decent but you really need to check the packages as I’ve found huge disparities in the shape and cut. Some have weird notches or thin areas vertically that make it hard to separate without tearing
I will agree, though, there IS such a thing as bad bacon.
I think Chik-Fil-A has bad bacon. I won't ever order another sandwich from them with bacon, it's terrible.
The worst, though, I think has to be the bacon they do in bulk at Embassy Suites to put on their buffet. It's been a couple years since I tried it, but dang... literally see-through and couldn't even taste the bacon flavor whatsoever. It was terrible.
I like Wright's, but as pointed out - its too thick to use for wrapping. For a long time, I found Smithfield thick cut or hometown original to be good for grocery store bacon, but the last time I fried up a pack of that on the flat top, it shrank to half the original size in length and width. Just too much fat I suppose. I like to cure my own bacon, but again - slicing thin is a problem, and it doesn't seem to crisp as much as you want when using it as a wrap.
Mass market bacon is almost always injected. It's quick to produce and inflates the price of the product. And while some brands are decent in a pinch or if I need bacon for wrapping or flavoring beans and such I haven't found a supermarket brand that's actually thick.
I order my bacon from Burger's Smokehouse in MO. They have a thick cut called Bacon Steak and it's 1/4 in. thick. Dry cured and hardwood smoked. The enjoyment factor mitigates the additional cost.
Kiolbassa from San Antonio is pretty decent too, buy I can get Burger's by the case and with the free shipping the cost is better.
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