Posted by Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
, April 04, 2008 17:50
This photo appeared on the front page of today's Roadfood.com, representing the Restaurant of the Day, Beside the Point Cafe in Akron, Ohio. Michael Stern's description: "The Nueske's smoked peppered bacon is sensational. Its smoky sweetness and hot kick lingered in my taste memory all day." We totally agree, not that we've ever been to Beside The Point. We've been ordering Nueske's (pronounced New'-skees) bacon for years, directly from the source. If you love smoke, and love bacon, we recommend you do the same, here. Be sure to request the thick-sliced versions, or the slabs if you like to slice your own. The regular slicing is just too thin to fully express this smoked meat's porky goodness. Bacon freezes very well, so don't worry abut buying multiple pounds (you save money on shipping that way; also, once you become a customer, you'll occasionally receive notice of free shipping sales, a great time to stock up).
We like to cook our bacon in an oven, using a half-sheet pan, at about 325-350F. It'll be done in about 15-20 minutes or so, but take a look every now and then until it's done to your liking. The relatively low heat has the added benefit of not burning the drippings, which leaves them in great shape for all those wonderful bacon fat uses; just pour them into a jar when they're cool but still liquid, and refrigerate.
One other note: Nueske's also makes sausages, and the thin, very juicy, hot-dog-like Ham and Bacon sausages are particular favorites of ours. Like most sausages, cook long and slow.
