Bacon- the Mistress Food

All of my friends or anyone on Facebook knows my love of bacon; I rejoice its greatness on this earth every week.  

I can’t remember exactly when my love of bacon came about, but I guarantee you it was way before everyone jumped on the bacon fad bandwagon over the last 5 years.  I’ve always liked bacon as a breakfast side over all the other sides.  No offense sausage, but you’re not crispy and salty, and ham, just forget about it, take your smoking jacket and pipe and go home. 

I think I really turned the corner with bacon about 15 years ago when I was on my own and found I could buy bacon whenever I want and use it for any meal.  During those single bachelor days, I admit it…I experimented with bacon! 

Since I’ve been married, I feel my love for bacon has taken a back seat.  I wonder if other married guys feel like they have to secretly shop for bacon on the side in an underground bacon store in some back alley just so they don’t have to listen to their wives complain about how bad bacon is for you.  I know bacon isn’t the best for you, my doctors told me a thousand times.  But I’m hooked.  And not hooked like cooking bacon to get grease, then injecting it straight into my veins… that’s just CRAZY… or is it….   

The bacon craze is just that today….Crazy.  Where do I begin, there’s a Baconpalooza (which I hope to be the Grand Marshal of someday.)  We have bacon products: band-aids, gumballs, lip balm, popcorn, and mints.  

Then on top of bacon not being that great for you…bacon says, “How about I combine with other things that  aren't good for you?” Now we have Bacon Salt or Bacon Mayo, Bacon Infused Bourbon.  Or how about bacon flavored veggies (wipes away tears…where were you when I was 5, bacon!)  

Today we have bacon food trucks and restaurants dedicated to bacon, there’s even a bar that will serve you baskets of bacon like peanuts for happy hour.  

Bacon wrapped around ground beef, hot dogs and cheese.  A redneck turtle burger!

To me, bacon is the ultimate comfort food.  It’s salty, crunchy, and depending on the kind you get it can be sweet, spicy, smoky, or a combination of all of those.  Bacon is known worldwide and is different in every country.  All of this makes it good to cook with.  Not many foods can be fried then have their grease used to cook other things with, and it totally changes the recipe.  That’s why I feel bacon is the universal ingredient and isn’t just a breakfast item anymore.  

Sure, you’ve had a bacon cheese burger or a BLT, but today chefs are being more adventurous with bacon and myself being one of them.  I personally have wrapped pretty much anything I can think of in bacon:  Meatloaf, jalapenos, fish, chicken, and potatoes.  Just recently, I put bacon in a cookie recipe, and it turned out great.  I’m not convinced on the bacon ice cream, yet but that’s only because my wife says no…. 

Looks like I will be going to that dark alley soon.