“Everyone has seen me wear the bacon is meat candy T-shirt on my TV show…but it is more than just a T-shirt slogan to me…it’s a way of life. Whenever I am stuck on what to do in a particular recipe, I always think.  WWBD?”

– Chef Rick Bayless

Ingredients (SERVES 4)

4 slices bacon
½ cup hulled, untoasted pumpkinseeds
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/3 cup vegetable or olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled
Fresh hot green chile to taste
(I like 1 large serrano or small jalapeño), stemmed (optional)
1 tablespoon honey
Salt
1 large head Boston/butter head lettuce
(or an equivalent amount of bibb lettuce), leaves separated
2 large ripe avocados
2 ripe mangos
A generous ½ cup coarsely crumbled Mexican queso fresco
or mild blue cheese (Gorgonzola is great)

Directions

Arrange the bacon slices between a double layer of paper towels on a microwavable plate. Microwave on high for 2 ½ to 3 ½ minutes, until crispy. Pour the pumpkinseeds into a small skillet and set over medium heat. When the first one pops, stir constantly until all have popped from flat to round, about 5 minutes. Scoop about 1/3 of them into a blender jar and add the lime juice. Pour the remainder into a small dish.

Return the skillet to medium heat and measure in the oil. Add the garlic and optional chile. Cook, stirring regularly, until the garlic is soft and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Scrape the oil and garlic into the blender or food processor. Add the honey and ½ teaspoon salt. Process until smooth. Taste and season with more salt if you think necessary. (Remember: it should be highly seasoned.)

Divide the lettuce between 4 dinner plates. Pit and peel the avocado, then cut it into slices. Peel the mango, then cut the flesh from the pit. Slice to match the avocado pieces. Arrange the avocado and mango in the center of the lettuce. Drizzle everything with the dressing, then sprinkle with the cheese and toasted pumpkinseeds.

Crumble the bacon and strew it over the top, and the salad is ready.

Find more bacon recipes at BaconCookbook.com and order your copy today!

Not too long ago, a reader came to us with the idea that we should write a bacon book. You know, a book about bacon. We tossed around a few ideas that all centered around bacon and books and how to combine them into a book about bacon but we haven’t nailed down a bacon book concept just yet.

Today we received an email from Boss Hog over at BaconFreak.com announcing that he’s released the first edition of his Bacon Cookbook. What better book about bacon could there be than a bacon book that helps you cook the meat candy?

According to the web site (with the oh-so-catchy URL of BaconCookbook.com) they’ve got recipes from some renowned chefs that will help you get your bacon fix for breakfast, lunch, dinner, appetizers, and even bacon desserts.

We got a chance to peek at the bacon cookbook ahead of time and were impressed with the quality of the bacon recipes included in the book. Don’t be surprised if you see a couple examples of bacon dishes we test out here at Bacon Today. We’re planning to cook up a few of the meals to give them the official Bacon Today taste test.

The Bacon Freak Bacon Cookbook is available in both downloadable PDF and paperback formats. Head on over to BaconCookbook.com and get your copy today!

To an American, there’s little else more exotic than Europeans. They live far away across a big pool of water. They speak in interesting accents that make them sound educated and worldly wise. And quite often, they do it all with pictures.

Americans tend to be very wordy. We like to describe everything in great detail so that everyone knows exactly what’s going on and nobody can get sued. One trip to Ikea changes all of that, though. Their instruction manuals are designed for any person speaking any language. By simply showing us the cartoony exploits of an often frustrated man with rounded corners and a curious (but dedicated) attitude, we’re able to assemble anything from a chair to a bunk bed with just a screwdriver, an allen wrench and some time.

(photo credit)

Which brings us to Arnstein M., who sent us an email to say that he had made chocobacon. Now, chocolate covered bacon is nothing new to BT – we’ve covered it many times before. But Arnstein’s pictoral recipe of his Nordic (or Swiss?) chocolate covered bacon is so beautiful in its simplicity, that we just had to share it with you.

Here’s a sample shot…

(photo credit)

And you can check out the whole picture story at Ninjas Killed My Family.

– Mr. B

The legend of the Turbaconducken continues to grow year after year. From the moment creator Corey James first published the article the bird(s) seemed to take on a life of their own. Now, Bacon Today reader Kyle M. brings us a nearly perfect example of what the meal should be. It’s both inspiring and mouth-watering at the same time. This is the story in Kyle’s own words.

“Back in 2008, my friend sent me a link to a mysterious website called Bacon Today. On the page he sent me was the awe-inspiring Turbaconducken and, as soon as I laid eyes on it, I knew I had to make one for myself.  Thanksgiving and came went while went while I was too busy in class (and too poor) to make such a mythical beast, though I did visit the page and look upon it longingly.

During these visits, I noticed that many people complained that you had not made a true Turbaconducken because it was not really a set of nested birds. In your “The Year in Review” article, you mentioned sites where people had again attempted to make the real deal, but they once more fell short, failing to wrap each bird in bacon. This renewed my vigor and I became determined to make what would be hands-down a 100% authentic Turbaconducken.

Six hours of amateur bird-hacking and 12 hours of baking later, the 19 pound beast was born.  (These) are pictures in which you can see that each bird is wrapped in bacon, with a few strips thrown inside the chicken just for good measure.”

Okay, BT Readers, Eugenia P. needs our help and needs it fast. Here’s the email she wrote…

Hey there – I work at a pretty well known company in WA and have been tasked to come up with an ingenious breakfast event that does not resemble the standard boring breakfast display of bagels, fruit, and muffins. I had an ephifany moment when I thought “who doesn’t love bacon?” – to which my co-workers response was “even vegeterians love bacon”

Anyways, I would love to start a quick dialogue with someone at Bacon Today about creative ideas (including what to serve) for this event. Any takers to help me?

Quick summary:
Event will take place on the first floor atrium of a 4 story bldg from about 8am – 10am. Purpose is to get people interested in stopping by our table to chat with us about ‘our services’ we are presenting. The majority of employees in this particular bldg are professional males in their late 20’s to mid 40’s. Attendance is TBD – we most likely can anticipate 100-200 people during the course of the 2 hours and our budget would be no more than $700.

Thanks for your time!

For our money, there’s nothing better than the bacone, which we were first introduced to during Baconcamp 2009 San Francisco…

The Bacone is basically a bacon cone stuffed with eggs, biscuit gravy, hash browns and topped with a tasty buttermilk biscuit.

But Eugenia needs your help, too. Leave a comment below with your most creative bacon breakfast idea.

– Mr. B

As you know, we love reader submitted articles, pictures, recipes and anything else our readers decide to send to us at bacontoday[at]gmail[dot]com. BT reader Jitan K. is the most recent of our fans to come up with a great bacon idea and then send it our way for publishing on the site. Here’s his recipe and photos of the surely-delicious Panko Crusted Bacon…

Two days ago I had a dream about Panko Crusted bacon, yesterday I tried it, here are a couple of before and after pictures. I searched the web for someone else who might have tried this, and came up blank. Please share this info with the rest of the bacon world.

Simple:

1) Dip bacon in egg wash
2) Cover both sides with Panko bread crumbs
3) Bake at 400 for 20 to 30 mins or until crisp
4) Devour

Result: Double crunchy bacon

.

– Mr. B

Once again, the power of our Readers’ palettes has proven to be a valuable source of new reading material. Becca R. is a bit of a chef, and she has whipped up an amazing recipe for bacon apple crumble pie that we wanted to share with you today. Unfortunately, she didn’t send us any pictures, but YOU can help with that. If you get creative and make her recipe, just snap a shot and email it to us at bacontoday[at]gmail[dot]com. We just might post your photos in a future article.

– Mr. B

BACON CRUMBLE APPLE PIE

1/2 lb sliced bacon
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup light brown sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
1/2 cup extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
3 golden delicious apples, peeled, cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon peel, grated(OPTIONAL)
1 (9 inch) store-bought pie shells, prebaked according to package directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp; remove bacon., and crumble o not drain fat!
(I altered the recipe and i sauteed the apples in the bacon grease briefly , just to add that extra baconness)
In medium bowl, combine the flour and brown sugar, add the butter and, using your fingers, incorporate the butter until the mixture is crumbly.
Stir in the bacon and cheese; refrigerate.
Line a baking sheet with foil.
In medium bowl, toss the apples with the granulated sugar (if you choose to use lemon, add now, i personally did not)
Transfer to the pie shell and sprinkle with the topping.
Place the pie on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
Cover loosely with foil and bake until golden and the apples are tender when pierced, 40-45 minutes.(if you choose the saute the apples in the bacon grease you shoul turn the Oven Temp to 425 degreese and you only need to bake the pie for 20 minutes, becuase the apples are more tender, but play aroun with it, see what you like!)
Let cool before serving.

Thanks BaconToday, this site always brightens my day, and I hope this recipe will brighten someone else’s day.

-Becca R.

Frequent contributor Mike G. sent us this link to an article about 100 ways to use a strip of bacon. The article is handily presented as a picture grid of each use of the candy of meats with links through  each picture to the blog or website that wrote about it. Many of the subjects found in that article have been covered in past BT articles, and at least one of them (bacon cinnamon rolls) was invented by BT’s Corey James.

Articles like “100 ways” just melt the congealed bacon fat in our hearts. It’s so wonderful to see the community of worldwide bacon lovers continue to grow and flourish out there on the series of tubes that we all spend so much time exploring.

– Mr. B

Ladies and Gentlemen, children of all ages, friends, countrymen, members of the academy, lend me your ears…

The award for Cutest Appetizer Ever (with or without bacon) goes to…

BLT Bites!!!

How awesome is THAT!?

It’s a breadless BLT that’s bite sized and delicious. It takes the delicious bacon found in a BLT, but turns the usually bland BLT taste on its head by totally juicing up the tomato-to-bread ratio. Each glorious bite is a rush of juice, crunch, salt and flavor.

Made by the folks at Black and Gold Chotchkes Blog (as inspired by an app at their wedding), this looks like the perfect crowd-pleasing, conversation-making, bacon-craving-assailing appetizer treat.

Thanks to Paul W. for bringing this to our attention.

– Mr. B

A mouthful both in name and flavor-packed taste, the Baja Chipotle and Sun Dried Tomato Bacon Wrapped Chicken I made tonight was absolutely killer. Here’s a meal fit for a king but simple enough even for the court jester to pull off with ease.

Start with two or three medium sized chicken breasts. Marinade them in a tangy chipotle marinade. Slice the breasts open sideways, kind of like you’re filleting a fish. Do the same thing with an equal number of string cheeses and slide the cheese halves into the chicken pocket you’ve created.

Get yourself some quality bacon. I recommend Rocco’s Sun-Dried Tomato bacon to add a little zest to your meal. Wrap the stuffed chicken breasts with the bacon and place in a baking dish.

Bake the bacon-wrapped chicken in a pre-heated oven at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. While the chicken is baking, make your side dishes. You’ll probably have a couple extra slices of bacon after wrapping the chicken, so I suggest making some sauteed carrots with fresh garlic, pepper, and tasty bacon. Combine all those elements along with a couple tablespoons of butter and a some olive oil and let all that saute for 15 minutes or so.

I also warmed up a few sweet potatoes to balance out the meal. Overall this was an amazingly delicious and extremely simple meal to make. It will be sure to impress bacon lovers and casual porcines as well.

Smaste™ rating: 49.842