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How Bacon Is Made (and Cook With Ed!)

I think it’s important for everyone to know and understand where their food comes from and how it’s produced, not only so you know how to avoid mad cows or bird flu but because it gives you a greater appreciation for the things you eat.  You’re probably more likely to eat better the more you learn about food.  Bacon, for example, is made like this.

Fair warning, though.  Once you start watching YouTube clips from How It’s Made, you may find yourself wondering where the last several hours went.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tvx_CKB7uI

Still looks great, right?  Admittedly, bacon is one of those things that’s always delicious no matter how it’s produced or made.  Usually when something is factory processed, it doesn’t look all that appetizing floating around on metallic racks.  Finding out how standard issue wacky mystery pink sausages are made usually causes people to swear never to eat them again but that bacon looked delicious every step of the way, proof that bacon is always awesome.

So what’s the difference between your regular supermarket bacon and that slab of small batch, artisanal bacon at the fancy butcher shop?  Apart from the flavoring, the difference is usually water.  Ever wonder why your supermarket pack of bacon feels like holding a jellyfish or why the strips shrink 80% when you cook them?  That’s all the water, which is usually the second-most ingredient behind pork in bacon.  That expensive bacon you found at the farmer’s market is most likely just pork and salt.

Purists would probably tell you the water content means your bacon is boiling or steaming in addition to pan frying but seriously, it still tastes pretty darn good.  True, not all bacon is created equal, but all bacon is created delicious.

…well, that is if it isn’t made from turkey…or worse, tofu.

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We’ve been posting some fun, easy and delicious pork recipes here and that’s something I would like to continue…with a twist!

In addition to posting recipes, I’ll be cooking many of them.  I have exactly zero Michelin stars but I’ve got pretty decent skills in the kitchen.  I could stand to refine my abilities and learn a thing or two.  Not everything will go as planned, I’m sure.  I’ll probably still set myself on fire at some point but if you have a recipe you’d like to see me cook or even just the name of a dish you want me to find a good recipe for, leave a comment here, on Facebook or send me a message on Twitter!