I hope you're familiar with the scene from Forest Gump where Bubba lists off the reasons why shrimp is the fruit of the sea, because I could essentially reenact that scene, but instead of shrimp my focus would be about bacon…I LOVE BACON. Bacon is a staple in my diet. I use about a pound of bacon every day or so. There are so many ways to work bacon into your meals. Unique recipes are created everyday. So if you haven't tried using bacon besides the conventional way, perhaps this post will inspire you to explore new ways to utilize bacon.
*I apologize in advanced if you don't eat/like bacon.
IT WRAPS AROUND FOOD
Bacon is every foods best friend, meats especially. Some foods definitely pair better than others, but if you can wrap bacon around something, I suggest try it. I've found that the more contrasting the flavor, the better.
Here are my must tries…
Meats: Turkey Legs, Steak, Hot Dogs
Veggies: Asparagus, Corn, Mushrooms
Seafood: Shrimp, Oysters, Any Type of White Fish
Fruits: Pineapple, Strawberries
Miscellaneous: Twinkies, Mozzarella, Cinnamon Rolls
Seriously, there are endless possibilities. For recipes, search for "how to bacon wrap…"
IT'S A GREAT TOPPING
I'm talking about real bacon bits and not the imitation kind that you buy in stores. Take some time to cook up a crispy batch of bacon in a small pan. The first batch of bacon you cook up, as you know will not be as crispy as the next, so go ahead and enjoy those. I always halve bacon before cooking it, especially when I'm looking to make it extra crispy. I have no scientific explanation behind this, but it just works for me. Tilt the pan while cooking to create a pool of grease and submerge each slice. You're essentially deep-frying each slice. Let the bacon cool and then chop it into bits and use it. You can store the remaining bits in the fridge and use it whenever.
IT MAKES UNPLEASANT FOOD TASTE BETTER
You can call this an addition to the section before about wrapping bacon around things. But if you don't like eating vegetables, toss in a little bacon to make it more palatable. In the end, you're getting your recommended servings of vegetables. Trust me, your parents would be so proud. This method can be applied to other unpleasant food, but vegetables seem to be the most common offender. If you don't think bacon would work with something…Simple, candy the bacon.
Candied Bacon:
1.Toss bacon in a bowl of brown sugar (1/2 cup)
2.Lay bacon on baking sheet (sprinkle any left over sugar onto bacon)
3.Bake for 20 minutes in a preheated oven at 325 degrees F.
4.Enjoy Candied Bacon
THE GREASE IS GOLDEN
I love bacon grease so much that I've eaten bacon grease by itself before, my friends can attest for that. It tasted like bacon flavored mashed potatoes if you're wondering. But eating it straight is not the conventional/recommended use for bacon grease. After making fresh batches of bacon, I always save the grease in a glass jar because bacon grease is liquid gold. Substitute the use of bacon grease for any use of olive oil, canola oil or butter and you'll get a hint of bacon in all your dishes. Your concern with bacon grease should be shelf life rather than nutritional value, because if you're cooking with bacon grease, nutritional value concerns flew out the window years ago. What you should be worried about is oxidation. To reduce the rate of oxidation, you want to keep the fat out of light and air. The refrigerator makes a great spot to put it for this reason.
IT KEEPS YOU AWAKE
Cured meats, such as bacon, contain high levels of an amino acid called tyrosine that boosts the secretion of the brain stimulant norepinephrine. This is probably one of the reasons why bacon is seen as a breakfast staple (even though I think bacon is great for every meal) it gives your brain a nice kickstart. Therefore, the next time you're in a library studying or pulling an all-nighter, don't forget to bring some brain stimulant for yourself. I had no shame. During finals week in college you would've spotted me with a zip-lock baggy full of bacon strips.
For some awesome bacon ideas just do some research. Otherwise keep calm, and put bacon on.
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