The Care and Feeding of Yourself...WITH BACON!




This bacon was brought to you by two of the finest pigs in Georgia: Berkshire breeds from Gum Creek Farm in Roopville, GA and Riverview farms in Ranger, GA. They were grass- and forage-fed. If you want to try their products yourself, contact Gum Creek through this site. Riverview sells pork every Saturday at the Morningside market, or you can place special orders by emailing wcswan at yahoo.com. A word of warning, though: Riverview's butcher is less than consistent. Their pork is wonderful, but if you want the same cut of Boston butt or ham roast that you get at Kroger, you need to be specific, and will likely have to place a special order. Feel free to ask me for specifics on cuts.



Bacon is the meat from the belly, where there's lots of fat, a little muscle, and no connective tissue. In roast form, this makes it almost impossible to overcook, because it can never really "dry out." It's cured by coating it twice: once with a mixture of salt, sugar and nitrate to suck out the water, keep it a nice pink color, and temper the salt flavor, and again in a seasoning mixture. It's then left for osmosis to work its magic. All of this bacon has been roasted once to a temperature of at least 150°F, but should be cooked to desired doneness before eating. While there's practically no risk of trichinosis or any other food-borne illness in high-quality cured meat, the cautious among us are advised that the FDA recommends a minimum temperature of 160°F. I heat mine to a minimum temperature of hot enough to eat.




Slicing is easiest when the bacon is really cold--just this side of freezing. Stick yours in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes before you slice.



Bacon#1 a breakfast bacon, cured with a sweet mixture of honey and molasses and smoked with a combination of pecan wood and a little hickory. It's just a touch Southern. Slice it for breakfast as thick or thin as you like and can, and if you don't want a long slice, you won't lose anything by cutting it in half and making smaller slices. A word of warning though: the sugar in the cure means that the edges of the bacon will burn before the middle is crispy. Try cooking it in an oven at 250-300°F if you like your bacon crispy. A sheet of parchment paper or aluminum will save the lazy from cleaning the pan. And even when it looks burned, it's delicious.



Bacon #2 was flavored with a mix of fennel, black pepper, and garlic from south Fulton county. It's great to slice into batonets (fancy culinary term for little sticks: 1/4" x 1/4" x 2") or lardons (somewhat less precise), cooked briefly in a little water, and sauteed for salads, sauces (try a traditional amatriciana sauce for your pasta), or ground and mixed with beef for meatloaf or burgers. Not that it's bad sliced into strips and fried, either.




Bacon #3 is the "Rendezvous Roast." Coated with a dry rub from Charlie Vega's Rendezvous Ribs in Memphis, it's best browned on its sides and roasted at 350°F until you decide that it's done. It's great sliced against the grain (the opposite of the way that you slice it for breakfast, or on the short end) and eaten with lots of fall and winter vegetables: bitter turnip greens or spicy mustard greens, sweet roasted turnips or radishes, any vegetable with a strong flavor to complement the salty, intense flavor of the rub. If you want to experience an old-school farm family meal, use the bacon as a condiment and eat most of the meal as vegetables. But if you want something a little more modern and meaty, sliced bacon roast goes great with a slice of pork loin, or other lean pork. You can also coat it in honey-mustard to roast. Just brown it first.