Thread: Heaven : The One True Bacon -------- Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.


To visit this thread, use this URL:
http://forum.ship-of-fools.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=70;t=029409
Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
Over in Purg they are debating the role of free food in attracting people to church. But clearly such trivia as eternal salvation are as nothing compared to the really important issue - which is the proper composition and correct name for the blessed association of bread and bacon?

I would place a marker for Bacon Bap. Said bap to be round, soft, white (but with extra points for a crusty top), buttered and containing no fewer than two rashers of back bacon.

[ 26. May 2016, 17:00: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]
 
Posted by Kittyville (# 16106) on :
 
In any event - slices of fresh white bloomer loaf.

Trad - buttered, with at least 2 rashers of crisp smoked back bacon.

Mod Oz - aioli in place of butter, possibly some sliced or mashed avo. Good bacon is hard to come by in Sydney, but definitely back bacon still.

Plenty of valid uses for streaky bacon, of course. Bacon sarnies just isn't one of them.
 
Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
Bacon sandwich or even bacon sarnie. White bread from an actual loaf, no butter, two slices of perfectly cooked, not too crispy bacon, tomato sauce. No more, no less. Preferably eaten in the open air because for some reason they always taste better. Though a lazy Sunday morning breakfast with a toasted bacon sandwich on white bread with real (cooked) tomato is another good thing.

Under no circumstances should there be any green salad or mayonnaise in a simple bacon sandwich. No baps, rolls, barms, batches, hoagies, etc - the ratio of bread to bacon will be disproportionate.

The bacon should not be streaky, btw.
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
However, if you do have streaky bacon lying around.

Toast two slices of bread ( your choice, but sliced.)

Either spread each slice thinly with mayonnaise or one slice thickly.

Add a couple leaves of lettuce.

Slice one tomato, blot the slices gently with a paper towel, layer on top of lettuce.

Add a generous* portion of crisp fried streaky bacon.

For extra decadence, add sliced or gently mashed avocado.

Put slices together.

Die of endorphin overload.

* I believe Erin's unit of measurement was "a metric fuckton"
 
Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
If you want to create the illusion that you are eating a Healthy Salad, you can deconstruct the foregoing as follows -

Mix shredded lettuce, sliced tomato, diced avocado and chopped scallion. Fry pieces of streaky bacon until really crisp. Fry cubes of sourdough in the bacon fat. Tip bread and bacon on to the green stuff and toss the lot in a very mustardy vinaigrette.
 
Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I am sad to have to contradict my friend Ariel here and say that HP Sauce or even Branston Pickle™ is preferable to Tomato Ketchup for a proper bacon buttie taste - but as I went veggie over 30 years ago I doubt that my view counts for much.
 
Posted by Ricardus (# 8757) on :
 
I recently came across the Elvis Breakfast Sandwich, quite possibly the cause of his untimely demise:

Toast two slices of toast and fry some bacon.
Spread one slice with peanut butter and the other with honey.
Put the bacon on the peanut butter and chop a banana across the honey.
Press together and then butter the outside of the sandwich.
Fry the buttered sides in the bacon fat. It is vitally important that no cholesterol can be allowed to escape.

I don't particularly like peanut butter so I use Marmite instead ... [Axe murder]
 
Posted by Lothlorien (# 4927) on :
 
quote:
Good bacon is hard to come by in Sydney, but definitely back bacon still.
Kittyville, the secret is getting bacon from the butcher, not the slimy prepacks from supermarket. Ask friends if they can recommend one to begin the search. I used to get bacon with my vegetable order . It came from a butcher in Bondi who smoked the bacon he sold n a small smoker. Given the ethnicity of many around Bondi, this came as a surprise. Different ethnicity but same dietary restrictions in Liverpool but one son bought good bacon from a butcher there when he worked there.

My youngest son makes his own. I have a Scandinavian electric smoker and I gave him the smoker pan from same company. He uses it on his big kettle BBQ. Cures it himself with a variety of different recipes and then smokes it slowly. It does not look like commercial bacon but he and his nine year old son say it is the best bacon in the world.
 
Posted by Kittyville (# 16106) on :
 
Thanks, Lothlorien. I have also thought about smoking my own bacon, but haven't experimented yet.

I am lucky - my local IGA has bacon from both Poacher's Pantry and Schmidt's (a Victorian smokehouse). Both excellent. But my local butcher is not a good source of bacon. I get the impression that it is very much a localised, hit and miss, thing in Sydney.
 
Posted by Lothlorien (# 4927) on :
 
Very hit and miss indeed. Try the good feta from the deli at IGA too. My son works two evenings a week up the road at the Supabarn and buys that bacon thre. I had forgotten it till you mentioned it. Even better with staff discount.

[ 03. January 2016, 11:28: Message edited by: Lothlorien ]
 
Posted by St. Gwladys (# 14504) on :
 
Good quality thick cut bacon, fried, mushrooms sliced and fried with minimal fat, sandwiched between two slices of thick cut bread from a crusty loaf from a local bakery. Mmmmm
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by St. Gwladys:
Good quality thick cut bacon, fried, mushrooms sliced and fried with minimal fat, sandwiched between two slices of thick cut bread from a crusty loaf from a local bakery. Mmmmm
Seconded. No harm is done by toasting the bread either.
 
Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
Mushrooms? What mad Welsh heresy is this? Totally the wrong texture.

Now if you'd said hash brown I could understand.
 
Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
I can recommend a small fresh baguette filled with hot bacon and mushrooms and drizzled with tomato sauce, as eaten on the way to work. Grated cheese an additional option.

However, the perfect bacon sarnie doesn't usually involve mushrooms because the buggers always escape long before you can eat them.
 
Posted by Baptist Trainfan (# 15128) on :
 
I absolutely love black bacon in a bap (although I only use this supplier as an example).
 
Posted by marzipan (# 9442) on :
 
White bread, spread with ketchup and filled with fried bacon. (Grilling it is just too healthy)
Though I used to make a tasty bacon and egg butty as follows
Fry the bacon, then fry the egg in the bacon fat (I like to burst the yolk while its in the pan so it's not runny)
Put the bacon and egg in bread spread with ketchup (you can add grated cheese if you want extra cholesterol)
Finally fry the sandwich in the pan to use up any excess fat!

Here in cork they make 'breakfast rolls' which is essentially a fry up in a short crunchy baton. Bacon, egg, sausage, black and white pudding, tomato, mushroom... The contents can vary a bit but any or all of these can be included
 
Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Kittyville:
In any event - slices of fresh white bloomer loaf.

Trad - buttered, with at least 2 rashers of crisp smoked back bacon.

Mod Oz - aioli in place of butter, possibly some sliced or mashed avo. Good bacon is hard to come by in Sydney, but definitely back bacon still.

Plenty of valid uses for streaky bacon, of course. Bacon sarnies just isn't one of them.
Correct.

And the right name for it is Bacon Butty [Smile]
 
Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
Bread lightly toasted (in other words slightly crisp but barely any colour), then only one slice buttered so the other can absorb the fat from the bacon, which should be crispy. If you like, you can substitute cream cheese for the butter.

And preferably top the bacon with a fried egg - heaven and breakfast in one. [Smile]
 
Posted by Leorning Cniht (# 17564) on :
 
My preference is for some decent wholemeal bread with a bit of flavour to it. I haven't been able to find anything much in the US - bread here is sweet. Incredibly sweet. Even the special bread for diabetics is full of sweeteners.

Probably my first choice would be to begin with a tray of wholemeal rolls fresh from the oven. Cut open, butter, insert plenty of bacon (dry cure, thick cut, not smoked, and back bacon, of course.) Bacon should be fried just enough that it begins to crisp on the edges - we're looking for meaty, not crispy.

Add a little HP sauce, and a large mug of some fairly robust tea.

This isn't a butty - it's a bacon roll.
 
Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Baptist Trainfan:
I absolutely love black bacon in a bap (although I only use this supplier as an example).
Ah, now black bacon is wonderful, though hard to come by. I used to get it at a farmers' market but they've stopped coming to it now.
 
Posted by Og, King of Bashan (# 9562) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
However, if you do have streaky bacon lying around.

Toast two slices of bread ( your choice, but sliced.)

Either spread each slice thinly with mayonnaise or one slice thickly.

Add a couple leaves of lettuce.

Slice one tomato, blot the slices gently with a paper towel, layer on top of lettuce.

Add a generous* portion of crisp fried streaky bacon.

For extra decadence, add sliced or gently mashed avocado.

Put slices together.

Die of endorphin overload.

* I believe Erin's unit of measurement was "a metric fuckton"
This is the way I do it, with two variations.

First, I don't toast the bread, I smear mayonnaise on both sides and brown it on a hot griddle. Don't knock it till you've tried it. Then add more mayo, as described above.

Second, I don't consider most grocery store tomatoes worth eating, the mealy, flavorless things. Every summer, I grow an entire vine of beefsteak heirloom tomatoes for the sole purpose an annual two week bacon-lettuce-tomato orgy. Now if you really want a BLT outside of that thin window, I suppose you can make do, but once you have had a BLT with a fresh off the vine Black Krim or Mortgage Lifter, anything else is just going to disappoint.
 
Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :
 
American bacon sandwich, AKA "BLT"—Kelz pretty well nails it. I'll sometimes do tomato or bacon on the side if it's one of the tart tomatoes I like—have to respect both the fruit and the bacon—and no avocado, but that's personal. I like the crisp of black bacon and lettuce, the twang of good tomato, but not the squish of avocado.

English bacon sarnie—bap roll, two rashers, HP sauce, maybe some cheddar or Red Leicester if you're going for overkill. The texture of the roll and back bacon is already kind of toothsome (as opposed to the crispness of American bacon/sourdough toast/lettuce); the cheese and HP add some contrasting twang.
 
Posted by The Scrumpmeister (# 5638) on :
 
Sliced, brown bread for me, as it comes or lightly toasted, with or without butter (depending on how fatty the bacon is or how moist the bread is). Two or three crispy rashers, and that's it. No sauce. Definitely no tomato ketchup. Ketchup ruins anything it touches and has no place near food, certainly not near a bacon butty.

A bacon barm is also perfectly acceptable, as long as it isn't one of those weird ones with flour all over it, (I don't know who sat down one day and thought this would be a good idea.)

[ 04. January 2016, 19:37: Message edited by: The Scrumpmeister ]
 
Posted by georgiaboy (# 11294) on :
 
And for some of us 'sons of the south' there's the BTE, that is, the Bacon-Tomato-Elvis, which leaves out the lettuce and subs in peanut butter. (Optional to add a sliced banana.)

I looked askance at my first one, but they proved addictive! [Yipee]
 
Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
Once sampled a bacon and maple syrup iced doughnut.

Way to ruin three foodstuffs.
 
Posted by The Scrumpmeister (# 5638) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Firenze:
Once sampled a bacon and maple syrup iced doughnut.

Way to ruin three foodstuffs.
It's part of this weirdness about making meat taste sweet. It's all maple-drizzled this and honey-glazed that. I don't know why people can't just leave well enough alone.
 
Posted by Piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Sadly, we can't get Proper Back Bacon™ here; there is something that they call back bacon, but it's not the same (and costs a bl**dy fortune). [Waterworks]

What I'd call a bacon sandwich or sarnie would be ideally a nice soft, white roll, untoasted, lightly buttered (optional) with at least two or three rashers of back bacon inside. No sauce.

One of the many pleasures of going to Orkney is the bacon sandwiches on the Pentalina ferry, which are much as described above, and a little taste of Heaven. [Smile]
 
Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
Just waiting to see what turns presently under the description 'Bacon Roll' on the east coast service to King's Cross. If the menu is to be believed it will be exquisite rashers from rare breed pig (possibly because they keep killing 'em for sarnies?)

Aaaannd...OK. Roll rather too flabby and bacon flavour best described as 'mild'. Plus not very fatty - and you need the succulence of hot grease for the correct umami.
 
Posted by la vie en rouge (# 10688) on :
 
Proper bacon is one of the reasons British expats all over Paris are on our knees thanking the Lord for the return of Marks and Sparks. While they have all sorts of tasty charcuterie, the French make no pork product comparable to thick cut back bacon.

I’m in favour of toasting the bread because it stops it going soggy. Bacon is fatty enough without the need for butter. Ketchup definitely. While cheese might taste nice, I think the resulting foodstuff cannot authentically be described as a bacon sarnie. It is a bacon sarnie with cheese in.
 
Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Firenze:
Just waiting to see what turns presently under the description 'Bacon Roll' on the east coast service to King's Cross. If the menu is to be believed it will be exquisite rashers from rare breed pig (possibly because they keep killing 'em for sarnies?)

Aaaannd...OK. Roll rather too flabby and bacon flavour best described as 'mild'. Plus not very fatty - and you need the succulence of hot grease for the correct umami.
Ah. I still think fondly of the Virgin Trains hot bacon rolls which used to be available on early morning commutes. They did some delicious smoked maple (I think?) bacon, the like of which I haven't had elsewhere and with which a cold, crumbly Danish pastry served from a trolley (if you can catch it for long enough to make it stop) cannot possibly compare. The SMB in a roll with tomato sauce was an inspiring way to start a winter's morning.
 
Posted by Pomona (# 17175) on :
 
White sliced bread (eg Warburtons Toastie), real butter, smoked back bacon. Maybe some English mustard but that's the only sauce I'd contemplate. Alternatively, smoked back bacon with fried mushrooms and a fried egg in onion bread.
 
Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I too would only butter one slice of the bread. Where I come from, they are bacon butties. Absolutely NO KETCHUP.
 
Posted by M. (# 3291) on :
 
Brown sauce is permissible - even desirable - on one slice of bread, with butter on the other.

Alternatively, add plenty of onions fried in butter, but no brown sauce.

The butter should run down your chin and you should be tempted to go somewhere private so you can lick the plate afterwards.

M.
 
Posted by Piglet (# 11803) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by la vie en rouge:
... While cheese might taste nice ...
CHEESE?????? In a bacon sarnie????? [Eek!]

Heretick! Are you sure you're not American? [Devil]
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Piglet:
quote:
Originally posted by la vie en rouge:
... While cheese might taste nice ...
CHEESE?????? In a bacon sarnie????? [Eek!]

Heretick! Are you sure you're not American? [Devil]
We're getting very foodie here but bacon, brie and cranberry in a baguette, toasted so the cheese melts is excellent.

But it isn't a bacon butty by any means, just lunch in which bacon plays a part.
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by jacobsen:
I too would only butter one slice of the bread. Where I come from, they are bacon butties. Absolutely NO KETCHUP.
I've really never understood the application of ketchup to anything, really. I will mix a little into the mayonnaise I have for my fries, but that is about it. In fact, it has to be a really spectacular kind of sauce for me to be interested in sauces at all.
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
While we're on the subject-- what exactly is brown sauce?
 
Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :
 
Generic name for HP sauce, though there are others—I think Heinz 57 may be our equivalent, maybe with a bit of Worcestershire or A1 blended in. Pretty good stuff.
 
Posted by Leorning Cniht (# 17564) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
While we're on the subject-- what exactly is brown sauce?
There are makers other than HP - Daddies used to show up quite frequently in greasy-spoon type cafes - but HP is the best. It's brown and mildly spicy. Malt vinegar base, with plenty of tamarind and some spices.

You'd expect to find a bottle of brown sauce, a bottle of ketchup, and a bottle of malt vinegar alongside the salt and pepper in a greasy spoon.

It's the kind of thing you eat with chips (fries), cold meats, and cheap meats (it would go well in a sausage sandwich) rather than with better cuts of meat.

ETA: These days, I can buy HP sauce in the US, in the "exotic foreign foods" section of regular supermarkets. Also the British version of Heinz baked beans (the sauce is lighter and sweeter than US baked beans), and a small but curiously random selection of other UK foodstuffs.

[ 07. January 2016, 04:13: Message edited by: Leorning Cniht ]
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
OK-- I kinda like HP, I use it in place of ketchup when I make my mayonnaise blend at the local Pasties-and-chips place. They have a tiny little expat grocery there, too, where Heinz Beans are proudly displayed, among a bunch of other things.

(Actually the SF Peninsula has a fair number of expat conclaves, so you find these little Brit markets scattered around.)

[ 07. January 2016, 06:17: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]
 
Posted by la vie en rouge (# 10688) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Piglet:
quote:
Originally posted by la vie en rouge:
... While cheese might taste nice ...
CHEESE?????? In a bacon sarnie????? [Eek!]

Heretick! Are you sure you're not American? [Devil]
Be fair – I did say that the resulting foodstuff wasn’t a bacon sarnie anymore. Or were you so outraged you couldn’t carry on reading? [Biased]
 
Posted by justlooking (# 12079) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by jacobsen:
.... Where I come from, they are bacon butties. ......
Same here. The first Wednesday of every month is the church 'Coffee Morning' which runs from about 10.30 am to 1.00pm, so covers lunchtime. It serves Bacon Butties, Cheese Toasties, Soup and Roll, plus home-made cakes. The Bacon Butties are two rashers of back bacon, expertly fried until just turning crisp at the edges, within two slices of white bread and with an option of tomato (tinned). Cost - £1. They are very popular.
 
Posted by Piglet (# 11803) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by la vie en rouge:
quote:
Originally posted by Piglet:
quote:
Originally posted by la vie en rouge:
... While cheese might taste nice ...
CHEESE?????? In a bacon sarnie????? [Eek!]

Heretick! Are you sure you're not American? [Devil]
Be fair – I did say that the resulting foodstuff wasn’t a bacon sarnie anymore. Or were you so outraged you couldn’t carry on reading? [Biased]
Fair play - but I'm not sure it would still count as a foodstuff if one put cheese on it ... [Big Grin]

Don't get me wrong - I love cheese, but I can't understand the predilection of my adopted continent to put it on practically everything.
 
Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
I can recommend a bacon sandwich with grated extra-mature cheddar, or bacon and blue cheese.
 
Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
[tangent alert] Blue cheese and a traditional Christmas cake go very well together - maybe we need a cheese+ thread since the stuff is so prevalent[/tangent]
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
Blue cheese drizzled with honey.
Blue cheese crumbled into a dish of nuts.
Blue cheese on a burger...

Yeah, you might be right, this might be a seperate thread.
 
Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
Blue cheese drizzled with honey.
Blue cheese crumbled into a dish of nuts.
Blue cheese on a burger...

Yeah, you might be right, this might be a seperate thread.
It has one. Cross posted in true ship fashion.
 
Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Boogie:
Correct.

And the right name for it is Bacon Butty [Smile]
Or Buttie, alternate spelling. Bacon is always in a buttie, even if the bread is not buttered. Better to dip the bread in the hot bacon fat then add bacon.

Perfect buttie bacon is back bacon, cooked so that the edges, but nit the middle, is just beginning to go crisp. Sorry America, but your little bacon strips just do not work for this. Northern Europe does the best bacon.

Heaven.
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
I think that depends entirely on what purpose you want your bacon to serve. In which case, either one is heaven.
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
This makes me wonder how common bacon in the US became stripey, because all our cuisine ( except frybread ) came from some Mother Land or other. I'm guessing it has something to do with slogging things 2000 miles across a prairie in a covered wagon? Or is streaky bacon a German/ Norwegian/ whatever staple?
 
Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
Smoked or unsmoked? I tend to prefer mine unsmoked but have had good smoky bacon. All I ask is that it shouldn't be too salty. Though it can always be blanched.

(Having read this thread, now I want to make it a priority to get to a farmers' market and treat myself to something wonderful, like Oxfordshire black bacon, or some Gloucester Old Spot choice cuts. There will have to be bacon this weekend. With fried tomatoes, egg and toast.)
 
Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 
Rare breeds? Have you tried boar bacon?
 
Posted by Piglet (# 11803) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Ariel:
... There will have to be bacon this weekend. With fried tomatoes, egg and toast ...
I'll be right over. [Smile]
 
Posted by Leorning Cniht (# 17564) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
This makes me wonder how common bacon in the US became stripey,
Streaky is a cheaper cut?
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Leorning Cniht:
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
This makes me wonder how common bacon in the US became stripey,
Streaky is a cheaper cut?
Could have something to do with the shape and breeding of pigs Over There, as well as the cuts.
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
That occurred to me, too, Sioni, but I also thought thinner strips might handle better in the smoking process, and thus be more amenable when packed in a barrel and slung in the back of a wagon.

I guess I should look it up, huh? [Big Grin]
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
Hmmm. A bit of poking doesn't reveal much. What Americans call bacon was first mass produced by Oscar Meyer in 1924, but it doesn't say why that type of bacon was chosen to be mass produced. I suppose cost might be a factor, but they wouldn't have picked it if nobody would eat it.

There are some interesting comparisons to pancetta, which makes me wonder about the timing-- the turn of the 20th century saw a big influx of Italian immigrants, so what if someone tried to fry up some pancetta and discovered it yielded a pleasing, crispy texture?

After that it's a small step to, "And whaddayaknow, the cheaper, streaky bacon fries up cripsy, too!"

I bow to anyone whose Google-fu is better than mine.
 
Posted by Leorning Cniht (# 17564) on :
 
There's more that you can do with back loin - you can make chops and joints for roasting. Bacon's about the best thing you can do with a pork belly.
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
So basically somewhere along the line the less useful cut started getting used on purpose to get that specific texture. I'm guessing.
 
Posted by justlooking (# 12079) on :
 
Found this: A guide to bacon styles and how to make proper British rashers

quote:
American bacon is invariably made from the belly of the pig, which is not actually its stomach but the fat-streaked padding on the side of the animal...

Canadian bacon is a product you might see in the U.S. from time to time. It is made not from the belly, but from the loin of the pig, ...

British bacon is a bit like a combination of American and Canadian (though obviously Canadian bacon evolved from the British style and not the other way around). With British bacon, you take the loin but leave lots of lovely fat on it, especially the fat cap, and include the part where the loin attaches to the same cut American-style is made from: the belly. So a full rack of British bacon is the pork loin with plenty of pork belly attached to it: the loin section is the rasher (what [this glossary of British food terms] calls "a thin, floppy slice of fatty ham") and the belly is the streaky. Then you take your pick.



 
Posted by Piglet (# 11803) on :
 
I wonder if Canadians (and Americans) do something different (that doesn't involve smoking/salting) with the cut that becomes back bacon in Britain - is it sold as some cut of ordinary pork?
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
I believe that is the cut they (American butchers)charmingly call"pork butt."

Justlooking-- that is a nice breakdown of the cuts. I still want to know where my people's yearning for crispiness came from, because the texture thing seems to be a freaking obsession. (I like crispy bacon, but some of my compatriots can be damn lunatics about the matter.) In abscence of a rational, Googleable explanation, I am going to entertain myself with a theory I will call THE PANCETTA CONNECTION--in short, while in migration, while running short of supplies and creative cooking ideas, someone threw some pancetta in a pan and fried it up. "Crisp is pretty darn good! " they declared (in Italian) and people began gravitating toward cuts of pork that yielded more crunch factor.

[ 08. January 2016, 15:54: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]
 
Posted by justlooking (# 12079) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
.. I still want to know where my people's yearning for crispiness came from, because the texture thing seems to be a freaking obsession. (I like crispy bacon, but some of my compatriots can be damn lunatics about the matter.) In abscence of a rational, Googleable explanation, I am going to entertain myself with a theory I will call THE PANCETTA CONNECTION--in short, while in migration, while running short of supplies and creative cooking ideas, someone threw some pancetta in a pan and fried it up. "Crisp is pretty darn good! " they declared (in Italian) and people began gravitating toward cuts of pork that yielded more crunch factor.
It was a calculated marketing strategy. According to this the bacon boom was not an accident. It came from a surfeit of frozen pork bellies and trading in pork belly futures. Adding crisply cooked streaky bacon as a flavour enhancer to fast foods was a way of selling the stuff by getting you all hooked. This couldn't have happened in Britain on account of our traditional British Bacon being a meatier, and pricier, cut .

[ 08. January 2016, 17:36: Message edited by: justlooking ]
 
Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by balaam:
Rare breeds? Have you tried boar bacon?
No, never seen that on sale but will keep an eye out for it.
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by justlooking:
According to this the bacon boom was not an accident .
Finally! Thank you!

It is a sad day when we have to turn to Bloomberg for this kind of information. Why is this not in the wiki info?
 
Posted by mark_in_manchester (# 15978) on :
 
Boogie used the term 'butty' - but her home in Urmston is not far from Salford (keep it quiet, there are house prices to maintain) where such a creation would definitely be a 'barm' or 'barmcake'.

The first 'a' is very long and sounds like 'a' for 'apple'.

The second 'a' is also long and sound like 'e' for 'egg'.

Carb fans out there might note that the bacon variety comes a very poor second in sales terms to the mighty 'chip barmcake'. You'll be scraping it off the roof of your mouth for hours.

[ 10. January 2016, 15:22: Message edited by: mark_in_manchester ]
 
Posted by The Phantom Flan Flinger (# 8891) on :
 
Can all you hereticks please stop going on about crispy bacon?

Just in the pan for long enough so that it's hot, white bread, butter.
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by The Phantom Flan Flinger:
Can all you hereticks please stop going on about crispy bacon?

No.

Welcome to an international message board. [Smile]
 
Posted by Baptist Trainfan (# 15128) on :
 
We're not hereticks, we just belong to a different denominations. As it happens, I'm MOTR when it comes to crispiness.
 
Posted by Baptist Trainfan (# 15128) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by justlooking:
This couldn't have happened in Britain on account of our traditional British Bacon being a meatier, and pricier, cut .
That pig is looking very warily at the artist ... as well it might, considering its ultimate destiny.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Baptist Trainfan:
We're not hereticks, we just belong to a different denominations. As it happens, I'm MOTR when it comes to crispiness.
FWIW I like the meat succulent while the fat is getting crisp. It's no mean feat to do this, close to getting scrambled egg right.
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Baptist Trainfan:
We're not hereticks, we just belong to a different denominations. As it happens, I'm MOTR when it comes to crispiness.
For my part, the next time I get to England, I probably won't leave the airport food courts before I am demanding a real bacon buttie.
 
Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by The Phantom Flan Flinger:

Just in the pan for long enough so that it's hot, white bread, butter.
No no no no no!

Crispy fat, succulent meat is the only way!

White bap or oven bottom muffin, a little butter [Smile]

I am on a diet where I am allowed bacon but not much bread - so I've been having bacon in a baked potato - lovely!


Oven bottom muffins.
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
Sioni- you are so right about scrambled egg. Through my whole childhood, I had to suffer through overcooked, overmilked, overscrambled eggs. The only time I had them cooked properly was when my grandfather was cooking-- and that was like once a year.
 
Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
A friend of mine likes bacon in a croissant.

Yesterday I caved in and bought supermarket's best bacon, smoked over oak and beech. It's nice but didn't live up to expectations - eat it with anything e.g. toast or tomatoes and you can't actually taste it.
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by mark_in_manchester:


Carb fans out there might note that the bacon variety comes a very poor second in sales terms to the mighty 'chip barmcake'. You'll be scraping it off the roof of your mouth for hours.
When I was Googling around trying to figure out what a bap is, I stumbled across a message board for a liberal Islamic print mag-- they were having pretty much the same barm/ bap/ butty/ sauce debate that y'all are having here, only with chips.

One guy recommended a chips buttie with raita. I almost created an account just to say "NOM."
 
Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
Did they have the bit where the bread has to be slightly dense, the butter cold and thick enough to show the teeth marks, and the chips twice fried in the Belgian manner but liberally dressed with salt and vinegar?

Despite having just had dinner - partridge wrapped in bacon as it happens - I'm now hungry again.
 
Posted by Barnabas Aus (# 15869) on :
 
Leorning Cniht wrote:
quote:
Bacon's about the best thing you can do with a pork belly.
I wholeheartedly agree. Whoever convinced the gourmet writers that pork belly was anything more than a dressed-up cheap cut deserves some sort of marketing award.

Being married to a Yorkshirewoman, our traditional Christmas morning breakfast, regardless of the weather, is bacon sandwiches, crispy, on wholegrain bread.
 
Posted by mark_in_manchester (# 15978) on :
 
quote:
When I was Googling around trying to figure out what a bap is
A potential minefield since as so often in English, despite our allegedly rich latin/germanic etymology, words serve several different meanings and often only the context can enlighten the confused foreign listener.

For example:

'Henry, would you stop staring at that Veronica's baps whilst I'm trying to talk to you?!'

'But I only have eyes for you Hettie, you big barmcake'
 
Posted by Kittyville (# 16106) on :
 
I'll admit, Mark, that that usage of "bap" was what popped into my head on reading Kelly's post.

Uni vocab is for life, apparently.
 
Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
Whereas the main bakery in Belfast has - or had - vans emblazoned with the slogan 'Famous for Baps'.
 
Posted by Landlubber (# 11055) on :
 
I have held out all this time, but cracked in the shop before lunch today. No (bread) baps available, but unsmoked back bacon eaten in buttered, lightly toasted bread. There is bacon left over: what to do tomorrow? I think there will have to be fried bread, to complete my downfall.
 
Posted by Piglet (# 11803) on :
 
If you're going down that road, Landlubber, you may as well go the whole hog (sorry) and have a full fry-up. Don't forget the tomatoes and mushrooms ... [Big Grin]
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Firenze:
Did they have the bit where the bread has to be slightly dense, the butter cold and thick enough to show the teeth marks, and the chips twice fried in the Belgian manner but liberally dressed with salt and vinegar?

Despite having just had dinner - partridge wrapped in bacon as it happens - I'm now hungry again.
I keep reading and re-reading this post because it sounds so good.
 
Posted by Ronald Binge (# 9002) on :
 
A proper rasher sangwidge needs toasted and buttered batch bread, two dry cure back bacon rashers and HP sauce, rather than Ireland's sweeter Chef sauce.

It will blow your mind with bacon awesomeness.
 
Posted by Landlubber (# 11055) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Piglet:
If you're going down that road, Landlubber, you may as well go the whole hog (sorry) and have a full fry-up. Don't forget the tomatoes and mushrooms ... [Big Grin]
I did not get my fry-up. Mr Ll put the leftover bacon in the freezer. I suspect freezing bacon is heresy, but that won't stop me getting it out again. No mushrooms, though, but maybe an egg.

Piglet, should you of all people be mentioning hog?
 
Posted by ArachnidinElmet (# 17346) on :
 
Whatever the true bacon sandwich is, I'd suggest that this isn't it.
 
Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
[Ultra confused]

... bacon and egg ...
... in a cupcake ...

[Eek!]
 
Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
I blame this thread for debauching my tastes. Today I had a fish finger sandwich.
 
Posted by Piglet (# 11803) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Landlubber:
... Piglet, should you of all people be mentioning hog?
Sorry about that. [Hot and Hormonal]

I saw a TV chef do a bacon/egg/bread arrangement baked in a muffin tin that looked sort of OK. It wasn't a proper Bacon Sarnie, but it may have been quite pleasant.

eta: I believe that The One True Bacon ... Piglet has already featured in Famous Last Posts. [Big Grin]

[ 16. January 2016, 23:03: Message edited by: Piglet ]
 


© Ship of Fools 2016

Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classicTM 6.5.0