in commercial pork, which is most often fed a ration consisting of corn, soybean meal and minerals.
Pig to Table
Finding pasture-raised pork from different breeds isn’t as easy as going to the grocery store. There are options, though, if you’re willing to do some homework. As is the case with tomatoes (consider the taste and texture of an in-season tomato from your yard versus one shipped across the country out of season), meat tastes better when there are fewer steps between production and consumer.
“Try to start with whoever is local to you,” Stewart says. “There are going to be people who make good things, and there are going to be people who make terrible things.” Don’t buy in bulk until you know you’ll like it!
Try the local farmers market or co-op grocery store, and directly contact small-scale farmers.
“Find a source that is focused on where their animals are coming from,” Levitt says. “There are a lot of decent bacon producers out there, but if they’re just buying [confinement-raised pork] bellies, it doesn’t mean anything to me.”
If purchasing bacon sourced from local farmers isn’t an option, look to your local butcher, and learn about the sources of his meats. With a growing interest around the world in understanding food sources plus an unwavering interest in bacon, there’s always the Internet. Then you can taste-test bacon sources side by side to find the breed and the production system that suits your palate best.
Every bacon maker will have his own opinion about the best bacon breed.
Freelance writer Lisa Munniksma assists with caring for heritage-breed hogs on a farm in Kentucky. She is learning about sustainable living, agriculture and food systems around the world and writes about it at www.freelancefarmerchick.com
Less confinement leads to healthier hogs, according to educators and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Tips for Cooking Perfect Strips
You have options beyond the frying pan.
By Cheryl Morrison
bacon can be fried, grilled, baked or nuked. Using any of those methods, you can produce straight strips that are evenly cooked just to the degree of crispness — or softness — that you prefer.
Baking and Grilling
Most restaurants cook bacon in the oven, which produces excellent results more efficiently than frying. Many home cooks also favor this method, which is easier and less messy than frying.
At the Bavarian Inn in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, bacon “goes into our convection oven for 7 to 9 minutes at 425 degrees,” says sous chef Tim Durst. “That cooks it most of the way. Then we drain the fat off.” The bacon is returned to the oven for a couple of minutes when orders come in, with the temperature depending on the order. “We can always bump it up for someone who wants it extra crispy,” he says.
The cooks at Minerva’s Restaurant & Bar in Rapid City, South Dakota, use a combination of baking and grilling. “We parcook it in the oven at 350,” says executive chef Farzad Farrokhi, “about two-thirds of the way. We finish it on the grill. It takes three or four minutes to finish. Then we shake the fat off with tongs.”
Farrokhi says he and his wife use their oven for cooking bacon at home, too. “It doesn’t make a mess,” he says, “and you don’t get that residual bacon smell in the house that you get with frying.”
Clair’s Family Restaurant in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, uses wood-smoked slab bacon from a local producer and cooks it on a flat-top grill.
“We lay it out on the grill, flip it once and cook it three-quarters of the way through,” says owner Clair Stanley. “Then we put it a cooling rack and let the grease drain.” For each customer order, “we put it back on the grill to make it crisp” or just to heat it through for customers who prefer soft bacon. “If the customer wants it extra crispy, we’ll put a weight on it, just for a few seconds.”
Oven-cooked bacon creates less of a mess than other methods.
How much bacon does the average American eat per year?
A. 10 pounds
B. 18 pounds
C. 30 pounds
D. 5 pounds
Answer: B. Nearly 18 pounds of bacon (17.9) each year.
Full disclosure: I have never met Stanley and don’t know anyone who has, but I’ve eaten breakfast at her restaurant a couple of times, and the bacon was perfect.
At home, I cook bacon in a gas oven, which I preheat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit while arranging the strips side by side on a shallow baking tray. Ten minutes into the cooking, I remove most of the grease from the tray, turn each strip with tongs, and turn the tray 180 degrees. When my nose tells me they’re done, I move the strips to a plate lined with a couple of paper towels to degrease it. It’s almost as delicious as Clair’s, except that the raw bacon I use isn’t quite as good.
Tips:
• For easier cleanup, line the baking tray with aluminum foil.
• To promote crispness, use a baster to remove grease from a baking tray during cooking.
• Arrange the bacon on a slotted broiler tray with a catch tray under it, eliminating the need to remove the grease.
Pan Frying
Many home cooks prefer to prepare their bacon in a pan on the stove, despite the splatters. Here are some tips for those who do:
• Start with a room-temperature pan. Cold bacon slapped into a hot pan is apt to burn.
• Cook a panful of bacon, not just a few strips, so you produce enough grease to prevent burning.
• Line up the strips so they don’t overlap. Overlapped strips won’t cook evenly.
• Flip the strips once when they’re partially cooked.
• To prevent curling, prick the slices with a fork after the fat starts to melt but before the bacon crisps.
Microwaving
Cooks in a hurry can use microwave ovens to turn out crisp, tasty bacon with minimal mess. Lay paper towels on a plate, arrange the bacon strips on them side by side, and cover them with another paper towel
