What's with All this Flavorless Bacon?

Who doesn't drool at the mention of a BLT with fresh picked tomatoes?  Who stomach doesn't start growling at the sweet aroma of bacon coming from the kitchen?


Ours.  This is depressing!  Now that the tomatoes are coming on, I've been buying bacon, only to end up with ZERO flavor.  It doesn't even have the bacon aroma while it's cooking.
I've bought Wright's, Brand X, and Oscar Mayer.  All flat tasteless, odorless, blah!  

Oh- I switched from buying slab bacon, but that shouldn't make a difference where flavor's concerned.  

So what up with that?  Y'all having the same problem, or am I buying the wrong bacon?

@FatBack, can ya help me out here?   @HawkTheSlayer?  Anyone?

2cent wrote:Who doesn't drool at the mention of a BLT with fresh picked tomatoes?  Who stomach doesn't start growling at the sweet aroma of bacon coming from the kitchen?


Ours.  This is depressing!  Now that the tomatoes are coming on, I've been buying bacon, only to end up with ZERO flavor.  It doesn't even have the bacon aroma while it's cooking.
I've bought Wright's, Brand X, and Oscar Mayer.  All flat tasteless, odorless, blah!  

Oh- I switched from buying slab bacon, but that shouldn't make a difference where flavor's concerned.  

So what up with that?  Y'all having the same problem, or am I buying the wrong bacon?

@FatBack, can ya help me out here?   @HawkTheSlayer?  Anyone?

Bacon is just too expensive and I seldom buy it anymore. $3.99-$4-99/12 oz pack ON SALE for most brands like John Morrel and even store brands. A 12 oz pack of bacon barely makes 2 sandwiches when cooked crispy. Oscar Mayer is way too expensive and no better than any other brand.

I do buy 3lb. Packs of bacon ends and pieces to cook with. Wright's is very good. Used to be $6.99-$7.99 at wal mart. But its around 8-999 pack now.

About 3 weeks ago, I bought a 3lb pack of bacon ends and pieces at a local independent grocer. I have it in the freezer at the shop. It was a brand I was unfamiliar with. $6.97, thought I'd give it a try.

There are odd pieces, sometimes. Sometimes it's all slices. Some thick, some thin. Lol.
Make no mistake . These "ends and pieces" are just as lean as fancy packed bacon. Sometimes leaner.
If you pan fry bacon, you might want to give a pack a try.

I also buy 10 lb boxes of thick sliced bacon.
Wright's is the best. Covered Wagon bacon in 10 pound boxes is about all I can find here. It's a TDS product. Tyson Distributors.
It has an off flavor that is different from packaged bacon. You probably would not like it. But it has its uses.

It comes frozen in a cardboard box with no wrap. Just some waxed paper between the layers. I defrost it slightly and package it in one pound Ziploc to use as needed.

It sells for $20-$21/10 lb box. But I will never pay that for that bacon!
Lately, it goes on sale for $16.99 a box. Sometimes, $12.99 box.
But sometimes, it gets down to $9.99/10lb box! That's a dollar a pound(not 12 oz, lol) . I'll buy three are 4 boxes

Hawk, I hear ya on the Oscar Mayer.  Pricey.  And like ya say, no better than the other brands.  But, I was desperate, so splurged, thinking MAYBE it'd provide some flavor.

FAIL!  

But, jsyk, I generally buy Wright's, and now that you mention it, have had Covered Wagon, as well.
Got a Dent 'n Scratch that sells those 10lb boxes, but haven't been that way in a long while.  It's the kind of place that's hit or miss when it comes to what's on the shelves.


You put SIX OUNCES of bacon on ONE sandwich??!!     Thaz a lotta bacon.  lol

When you get around to cooking up some of your more recent buys, let me know how it tastes?

2cent wrote:Who doesn't drool at the mention of a BLT with fresh picked tomatoes?  Who stomach doesn't start growling at the sweet aroma of bacon coming from the kitchen?


Ours.  This is depressing!  Now that the tomatoes are coming on, I've been buying bacon, only to end up with ZERO flavor.  It doesn't even have the bacon aroma while it's cooking.
I've bought Wright's, Brand X, and Oscar Mayer.  All flat tasteless, odorless, blah!  

Oh- I switched from buying slab bacon, but that shouldn't make a difference where flavor's concerned.  

So what up with that?  Y'all having the same problem, or am I buying the wrong bacon?

@FatBack, can ya help me out here?   @HawkTheSlayer?  Anyone?

I have not noticed....?

FatBack wrote:

2cent wrote:Who doesn't drool at the mention of a BLT with fresh picked tomatoes?  Who stomach doesn't start growling at the sweet aroma of bacon coming from the kitchen?


Ours.  This is depressing!  Now that the tomatoes are coming on, I've been buying bacon, only to end up with ZERO flavor.  It doesn't even have the bacon aroma while it's cooking.
I've bought Wright's, Brand X, and Oscar Mayer.  All flat tasteless, odorless, blah!  

Oh- I switched from buying slab bacon, but that shouldn't make a difference where flavor's concerned.  

So what up with that?  Y'all having the same problem, or am I buying the wrong bacon?

@FatBack, can ya help me out here?   @HawkTheSlayer?  Anyone?

I have not noticed....?

When's ya last have some bacon?  Knowing you, probably 15 minutes ago - no matter what time a day a person would ask.  lol.

Have not brought a whole lot lately but I did just buy 24 ounces for 7$

2cent wrote:Hawk, I hear ya on the Oscar Mayer.  Pricey.  And like ya say, no better than the other brands.  But, I was desperate, so splurged, thinking MAYBE it'd provide some flavor.

FAIL!  

But, jsyk, I generally buy Wright's, and now that you mention it, have had Covered Wagon, as well.
Got a Dent 'n Scratch that sells those 10lb boxes, but haven't been that way in a long while.  It's the kind of place that's hit or miss when it comes to what's on the shelves.


You put SIX OUNCES of bacon on ONE sandwich??!!     Thaz a lotta bacon.  lol

When you get around to cooking up some of your more recent buys, let me know how it tastes?

Could this be a medical issue, can you still taste your husbands flatulence ?

FatBack wrote:Have not brought a whole lot lately but I did just buy 24 ounces for 7$

Lemme know how it tastes, and what brand?  Decent buy, btw.

2cent wrote:Hawk, I hear ya on the Oscar Mayer.  Pricey.  And like ya say, no better than the other brands.  But, I was desperate, so splurged, thinking MAYBE it'd provide some flavor.

FAIL!  

But, jsyk, I generally buy Wright's, and now that you mention it, have had Covered Wagon, as well.
Got a Dent 'n Scratch that sells those 10lb boxes, but haven't been that way in a long while.  It's the kind of place that's hit or miss when it comes to what's on the shelves.


You put SIX OUNCES of bacon on ONE sandwich??!!     Thaz a lotta bacon.  lol

When you get around to cooking up some of your more recent buys, let me know how it tastes?

Wright's vacuum packed bacon is excellent
6 oz of raw bacon might be 2 oz of crispy bacon when I finish with it. Lol. There's about 10 or 12 slices of super thin slices in a 12 0z pack of bacon . When you cook dat in a skillet or "tree" microwave cooker, the end product is about one third to one quarter the original size. But have no fear! I save all dat bacon grease. But I don't mix package bacon grease with 10 lb box bacon grease. Package grease is far better tasting to cook with.

I come from GratonLand ! Fresh Cracklins Rule Here!
Cracklins are just fresh( unsmoked bacon sides with attached skin) bacon sides about an inch and a half or two thick and cut into about 1 inch cubes and rendered out( slow fried in a large cast iron, rounded bottom kettle)  until crispy and done.

You were mentioning "slab bacon".
My parents and grandparents were in the grocery business for 73 years. (1931-2004).

In the 60s, no one bought packaged bacon. Bacon was sliced fresh in store to the customer desired thickness from smoked slabs of real bacon sides.

Slab bacon went out of favor as people got lazy. Lol.
Unlike bacon today, it still had the skin attached.

People would freak if they bought a pack of bacon and the skin was still attached.

HawkTheSlayer wrote:

2cent wrote:Hawk, I hear ya on the Oscar Mayer.  Pricey.  And like ya say, no better than the other brands.  But, I was desperate, so splurged, thinking MAYBE it'd provide some flavor.

FAIL!  

But, jsyk, I generally buy Wright's, and now that you mention it, have had Covered Wagon, as well.
Got a Dent 'n Scratch that sells those 10lb boxes, but haven't been that way in a long while.  It's the kind of place that's hit or miss when it comes to what's on the shelves.


You put SIX OUNCES of bacon on ONE sandwich??!!     Thaz a lotta bacon.  lol

When you get around to cooking up some of your more recent buys, let me know how it tastes?

Wright's vacuum packed bacon is excellent
6 oz of raw bacon might be 2 oz of crispy bacon when I finish with it. Lol. There's about 10 or 12 slices of super thin slices in a 12 0z pack of bacon . When you cook dat in a skillet or "tree" microwave cooker, the end product is about one third to one quarter the original size. But have no fear! I save all dat bacon grease. But I don't mix package bacon grease with 10 lb box bacon grease. Package grease is far better tasting to cook with.

I come from GratonLand ! Fresh Cracklins Rule Here!
Cracklins are just fresh( unsmoked bacon sides with attached skin) bacon sides about an inch and a half or two thick and cut into about 1 inch cubes and rendered out( slow fried in a large cast iron, rounded bottom kettle)  until crispy and done.

You were mentioning "slab bacon".
My parents and grandparents were in the grocery business for 73 years. (1931-2004).

In the 60s, no one bought packaged bacon. Bacon was sliced fresh in store to the customer desired thickness from smoked slabs of real bacon sides.

Slab bacon went out of favor as people got lazy. Lol.
Unlike bacon today, it still had the skin attached.

People would freak if they bought a pack of bacon and the skin was still attached.

Dude, that's what we call pork rinds.  Cracklins is a bit different.

My dear heart grew up with all the Mennonite families gathering for pig slaughtering day.  Part of it was putting this huge cast iron pot that fit perfectly over a 55 gal drum where the fire was built.  About 10 gallons of fat would get dumped in that, and what didn't boil down got scooped out, and that is what they called "cracklins."

The part w/some skin on it is what they called pork rinds.  

But yeah, people probably would freak if they saw some skin on their bacon.  They wouldn't know what to do with it. lol