Cowboy Cut Bacon

[Skip]

This talk of good Meat Lockers around the countryside reminds me why we always carry a cooler along just in case we happen to run into one of these fine establishments in our travels.

[IowaGirl]

You're most welcome, you two. Glad I could share some of my favorite sources of good food.

[skipsdaughter]

Great suggestions! Thanks a bunch! I love meat I've gotten from the Edgewood Locker, too! They've always done a nice job with the meats I've purchased!

[klflowers]

So IowaGirl, I looked up the Webster City Locker and man was I impressed. I think I'll be ordering some of those spicy brats pretty soon. Thanks for the offhand mention.

[IowaGirl]

I haven't dealt with uncured bacon (is that an oxymoron?), but I'd probably do with it like I do with the 5-pound boxes of bacon end pieces that I sometimes buy. (The Webster City and Edgewood, Iowa, lockers make really tasty bacon.)

I slow-cook the bacon ends in the smoker or on the grill or in the oven till lightly browned and rendered, but not crispy. After cooling, I set the nicer slices aside to freeze or eat as-is. I pick out the largest chunks of fat from the irregular chunks that are left -- the fat goes to my pups as treats. The rest gets chopped in the food processor to make real bacon bits for use in beans, soup, quiche, etc.

[ComfortablyNumb]

Thanks for covering me holehogg!

[holehogg]

and Mac & Cheese.

[ComfortablyNumb]

I cube my bacon ends and use them in salads, omelettes, rice dish, tacos, etc.

[skipsdaughter]

I think when it thaws and I can see it all better, it's sliced in several irregular shapes...

[ComfortablyNumb]

Something like this?

[Backroadmeats]

Is it sliced?? Or one chunk??

[lonnie mac]

Was it just a huge bag of irregular shaped thick bacon slices? Usually I just divide it up into smaller bags. You can cook it like regular bacon, or usually I'll cut it up and use it in everything that I need bacon for. It's all good!

[skipsdaughter]

I stopped by a local small meat locker to pick up something for the inaugural roast in my new smoker and there was a special that if you bought 2.5 lbs of cowboy cut bacon, it was 5% off the full order. Since there is never too much bacon in the world, I added some to the list of items I was picking up and on my way home realized I have no idea what I bought or how to use it. I don't think I'll have any trouble using the bacon up, but in researching it a bit more, it looks as though it is likely uncured bacon. I thought I'd ask this group of folks if you had suggestions on how to best use the bacon I've picked up. Currently, it's in my freezer in one large clump of bacon. Thanks!