Carnivore’s Guide: Bacon!

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Whether you fancy your smoky strips thin and crispy, or thickly cut with a satisfying salty crunch, bacon’s inherent deliciousness is cause for obsession. Here are our picks for the area’s superlative sizzling strips.

The Swinery: Bacon here is a thickly cut, meaty beast—ideal for BLTs. Can’t get enough? Try it in the bacon dogs and burgers. $12/pound

Proper British Bacon & Meats Co.: To make a proper bacon butty (a traditional English sandwich made with back bacon), you need proper British bacon from this Auburn store. It’s a lean, dry-cured sweet, salty and smoky bacon made from pork loin (so it’s more in the shape of Canadian bacon than traditional bacon strips). $8/pound
 
Hempler’s: From Ferndale, Washington, comes this local supermarket favorite. Hempler’s bacon is made from Oregon pork and is free of nitrates. About $6/pound at supermarkets. Look for its packaged bacon ends for bigger savings (about $6/package, depending on the supermarket).

Bacon jam: Skillet’s bacon jam has a devout following, and no wonder: Each jar starts with rendered bacon, spices and onions cooked down slowly for six hours. Add it to any sandwich or burger you make at home. $13/11-ounce jar online, at specialty food stores or at the Skillet truck (check skilletstreetfood.com for locations).
 
Best sides of bacon: Nettletown’s curling strips of Nueske’s Wisconsin bacon ($3) are deliciously crisped through and through. Looking for something a little more local? The thickly cut bacon from Zoe’s Meats is available as a side ($5) at Spring Hill.

Published November 2010 

 

More articles from our Meat issue
Carnivore’s Guide: Bacon!
Carnivore’s Guide: A Burger for every budget
Carnivore’s Guide: Charcuterie
Carnivore’s Guide: Chicken
Carnivore’s Guide: Duck, Turkey, and Goose
Carnivore’s Guide: Game: Venison, Elk, Wild Boar
Carnivore’s Guide: Lamb
Carnivore’s Guide: The Meatless Meats
Carnivore’s Guide: Offal
Carnivore’s Guide: Pork
Carnivore’s Guide: Sausages
Carnivore’s Guide: The Steakhouses
Carnivore’s Guide: The Art of Butchering
Carnivore’s Guide: Butcher Shops and Meat Markets
Carnivore’s Guide: The Seattle Meat Directory