Not sure how to choose the best bacon at the grocery store? Learn some common things you should look for on a package of bacon determine if it is quality bacon. We will also talk about the different types of bacon.
What to look for when buying bacon? You want to choose bacon that has been naturally smoked, not just having liquid smoke added to it. Look at what type of smoke was used to find what flavor you prefer. Also you may want to consider buying from the deli counter, center cut bacon, and what uncured means.
Bacon is one of America's favorite breakfast foods. It's amazing that we have been able to take what seemed like a useless piece of the pig to a lot of people and turn it into something delicious.
When purchasing bacon there are some things that you need to consider if you want to get the best quality bacon and avoid the poor stuff.
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🧍 Buying from the Deli or Meat Counter
💡 Tip #1 - Some stores offer you the chance to buy bacon at their deli or meat counter. You can choose exactly how much you want and the quality is typically beter. Some stores even smoke their own bacon.
The best bacon in your supermarket may not be where you typically buy it, next to the sausage in a refrigerator section. The best bacon may be at the meat or deli counter. Some places have a whole slab of bacon that are uncut in their cases. This gives you the advantage of having the bacon cut to your preference which is great if you are a fan of thick-cut bacon.
I also like being able to buy as much bacon as I want. Sometimes I just need a couple rashers for a recipe,
Every single time I have purchased bacon from a counter it's always better than the cheapest bacon you will find in the packaged bacon section. I am not saying it's always the best bacon in the store but I have never been disappointed. Some stores even smoke their own bacon in house.
💲 Why Not to Buy Cheap Bacon
💡 Tip #2 - Cheap bacon is not worth your money. Shortcuts are taken to produce bacon super fast to keep the price low but what you end up with is flimsy bacon that doesn't have much flavor at all.
You get what you pay for, and that is so true with bacon. Creating a truly great bacon takes time. And in the food industry time is money. The large factory produced bacon is often not really smoked but has liquid smoke added instead of actually smoking the bacon. You will for sure taste the difference.
Also I find the texture of cheap bacon to be very disappointing like if I choose to eat a piece of paper. I love my bacon but I think the cheap stuff just isn't worth it.
🔥 Different Types of Smoke
💡 Tip #3 - Take the time to discover what type of smoke you like the best. Hickory, apple wood, and cherry wood are the most common but there are many others you can seek out to try.
Besides the quality of the meat itself, there is nothing more important for good bacon than the smoke that is used. This is where the flavor comes from. If you taste different bacon side by side you can for sure taste the difference, unless it wasn't really smoked.
Hickory, apple wood, and cherry wood are the most common. The later two add a sweetness to the bacon and hickory can produce a stronger smoke flavor, although I have had a lot of hickory bacon that wasn't that good. I find bacons labelled as apple wood and especially cherry wood to be more consistent in flavor.
The fun thing is finding some different types of smoked bacon. I have seen a few in my travels around the country. Up in New England I found some maple wood smoked bacon that is sweet and smoky. Kayem produces one that has a touch of maple syrup added.
In the south, you can find pecan wood smoked bacon that picks up some of the nutty flavor of the wood. And one of the most interesting ones I ever found was this one:
This bacon was smoked using corn cobs instead of wood. What does this do for the flavor? It had a stronger smokiness. I loved eating this bacon on it's own but it would be a great one to use in recipes like Potato Leek Soup, because it packs a stronger punch.
🔪 Center Cut
💡 Tip #4 - If you are looking for a leaner bacon, then consider center cut bacon.
Center cut bacon is bacon that is made from the more leaner, meaty part of the pork belly. If you wanted something a little leaner it's worth checking out.
Now, I have had mixed results with the center cut bacon I have bought. Some has been terrible. When I do buy center cut I look for it to also be thick cut as well.
🚫 Uncured Bacon
💡 Tip #5 - Choose whether you want uncured bacon which is bacon that hasn't had sodium nitrate or sodium nitrite directly added but instead uses celery which naturally contains nitrates.
During the curing process of bacon, producers add sodium nitrate and/or sodium nitrite. This is used to prevent bacteria growth. There has been a movement for bacon that is uncured, which just means that you didn't add those but instead used most often celery juice or powder which contains nitrates that occur as a result of photosynthesis. Uncured is kind of a strange word because the bacon is still cured.
There has been debate whether or not bacon labelled as uncured is better or not. Sodium nitrite is synthetically made, which is the main difference. I think bottom line is that we probably should enjoy bacon in moderation and not eat it for every meal, every day!
Typically I have found that "uncured bacon" is typically not your lowest quality bacon, but just because it's "uncured" doesn't mean it's going to be the best either.
🐷 Jowl Bacon
💡 Tip #6 - Try Jowl Bacon. This is a type of bacon that is not made from pork belly but instead from the jowl of the big. A great bacon option for those like a meaty bacon over a super crispy bacon.
Let's talk about some different bacon experiences you can have. There is a bacon called jowl bacon that is produced from the jowl or cheeks of the pig. This bacon has some crispy bites but with a texture that is more meaty, kind of spongy for a lack of better word.
Most of my family doesn't like this bacon because they are super crispy bacon fans. Fine by me, as when I do get jowl bacon it's all for me!
Hands down the best jowl bacon I have tasted is the one made by Smoking Goose. It's so flavorful. The bacon is rubbed with black pepper and coriander.
🐄 Beef Bacon
💡 Tip #7 - If you have tried beef bacon before and don't like it, give the dry aged one from Porter Road a try.
Yes you can make bacon with beef instead of pork. You use the same part of the cow as you would the pig. The texture of that meat is different and the fat is also different, it has a stronger flavor, which some people may be put off by.
I have been skeptical of beef bacon. I didn't really care for it the first time I had it. Then I tried the one from Porter Road. Yes it has some beef flavor, but it gets more crispy and tastes more like standard bacon. Their beef bacon is made with dry aged beef which I think is the key difference between theirs and other beef bacon out there.
📦 Bacon of the Month Club
💡 Tip #8 - Want to try a wide range of bacon? Look for the bacon of the month club.
If you are a really big bacon fan and you want to try out some different kinds, check out joining a bacon of the month club. One I recommend is the Zingerman's Bacon of the Month Club. Celebrity Chef Michael Symon has been a member of this club!
I once worked for Zingerman's and have gotten to sample some of the bacon from the club and it's really amazing stuff. It's not a cheap thing but it's a really fun gift to give the bacon lover in your life.
Benton's bacon is one of the bacons featured in the club. I got it last year down in Tennessee for Mother's Day and we all loved it. If you like country style ham you will really love this bacon.
🍽️ Bacon for Dinner
💡 Tip #9 - Want to try out a more expensive bacon? Serve it for dinner instead of breakfast.
You know, bacon is not only for breakfast. Why not have it for dinner? We do breakfast for dinner sometimes. We often spend more money on protein for dinner than we do breakfast. So take that opportunity to try out a fancy bacon.
In the morning we are often feeling rushed. It's easier to screw up the bacon. When you are trying out a new bacon, do it when you have the time, so you cook it perfectly without a time crunch or distractions.
Another tip, always start your bacon in a cold pan. There is no reason to wait for a pan to heat up, plus you can start to slowly render the bacon as the pan does heat up. If you need to cook more than 1 batch, you don't need to cool the pan first just continue cooking.
🍁 Canadian Bacon
💡 Tip #10 - Great to use on a biscuit.
How does Canadian Bacon differ from "American Bacon"? And isn't it just really ham. While it may taste very similar to ham, Canadian bacon is actually taken from the back or loin of the pig, while ham comes from the leg. But the flavor and texture is similar, although Canadian bacon is sliced thin.
I don't really call it a sub for bacon, but more a sub for ham. It's great to quickly brown up and use for a biscuit or homemade English muffin sandwich.
Now, sometimes you hear that Canadian bacon is the same as back bacon. However look at this picture of some back bacon I got from Porter Road.
This looks more like someone attached traditional streaky bacon to a piece of ham. This is what happens when you keep the fat cap on a smoked and cured pork loin.
For simplicity, back bacon is cured & smoked pork loin with the fat attached while Canadian bacon is cured & smoked pork loin with the fat cap removed.
👨🌾 Hillbilly Bacon
💡 Tip #11 - If the smokiness of bacon is your favorite part, try out Hillbilly Bacon.
What in the world is Hillbilly Bacon? I asked myself that when I first saw it in Pennsylvania. This is smoked pork that comes from the shoulder of the pig. The shoulder is what you buy when you want to make pulled pork. The meat is darker in color. Eating Hillbilly bacon is more like eating a smoked pork chop than eating traditional bacon, but it still can be a tasty experience. You can still serve it alongside your eggs or use it in a BLT.
✂️ Ends & Pieces
💡 Tip #12 - A great way to pay the price of cheap bacon without getting cheaply made bacon is to buy ends & pieces.
A great way to save money on bacon is to look for ends and pieces. These are pieces of bacon that aren't perfect rashers. They are the ends that were cut off or just not full pieces.
Brands will vary but sometimes you can even find near whole pieces of bacon that you can totally just eat up.
Other times you get really fatty pieces that are really just good for rending for the bacon fat (I hope you are keeping and storing your bacon fat in the fridge!). I usually buy this bacon for when I want to use it in recipes where I don't have to have an entire full strip.
My favorite thing to do is cook up pieces of bacon, then remove it, add in some sliced or shredded Brussel sprouts. When the Brussels are done, I crumble the bacon and add it back to the pan with Brussels. I can't begin to tell you how good it is.
🐖 Heritage Pork
💡 Tip #13 - Look for bacon made from heritage pork breeds or from pigs that eat a diet that involved foraging for acorns.
Today's pork is a lot leaner than the pork of yesterday. Pigs were bred to be leaner. But that doesn't mean they taste better at all. If you have the chance, try out bacon made from heritage pork. Meyer is a brand that raises Heritage Duroc pigs. These pigs produce meat with better marbling. Look for their bacon at stores like Sprouts or Whole Foods Market.
Speaking of Whole Foods, during my last few months of working for one, I saw that they were carrying acorn-fed pork. When pigs eat acorns it enriches their fat, giving the meat an unique flavor that has needed to be enjoyed, especially if we are talking bacon where fat really matters.
👐 Make Your Own Bacon
💡 Tip #14 - Buy your own pork belly and smoke bacon yourself.
The best place to buy boneless pork belly to make bacon is Costco. Last time I saw it there it was going for $3.99 a pound and you can buy it in bulk. If you are going to go through the whole process of making bacon you want to make a lot of it.
I haven't tried this yet myself as I don't have a smoker, but you can find plenty of videos on YouTube that will walk you through the process. The best part is you get to choose yourself what wood you want to use to smoke it to get that perfect flavor you will love. Plus anything you make yourself is going to taste better, right?
🛒 Best Grocery Stores
💡 Tip #15 - Buy bacon from a store that has a meat counter or carries higher end products.
Here are my favorite grocery stores to buy bacon at:
- Costco
- HEB/Central Market
- Sprouts
- Hy-Vee
I have already mentioned Costco for pork belly, but you can also buy bacon in bulk for a great price. It's also where I get the Canadian bacon I talked about earlier.
We have a hard time getting my youngest to eat a lot of food. So we got the big bag of Kirkland Bacon Crumbles from Costco and just put some on her plate for lunch to get some more calories into that kid.
Hy-Vee stores have one of the best meat counters that include bacon and all sorts of sausages.
HEB and their high end stores Central Market have an amazing selection of packaged b bacon and was the place I found the Cob Smoked bacon.
Sprouts has a meat counter where you can get apple wood or hickory smoked bacon by the pound.
I hope you found a lot of useful tips from this blog post. I want to hear from you! What is your favorite type or favorite brand of bacon? Leave a comment below.
Jeff
I dunno. I've had some pretty awful deli bacon from local supermarkets. And the bacon of the month club is very expensive (about $25/month) and I would say unreliable. For example, Broadbent's was a selection a while ago. I stopped by their store in Kuttawa, KY, and got a package for like $5, and it was so salty that we couldn't eat it. I hear their ham is wonderful, though.
Jasper Whiteside
It is good to know that the best meat comes from the center part of the belly. I would agree that more meat and less fat is the better combination. I am glad to see a rating system used for bacon like the rating system used for steaks. I just needed to know what the ratings meant.
Eric Samuelson
Glad my information could help you. I see your link, do you raise pigs yourself?