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

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– 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.

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

It seems like the concept (and execution) of bacon cupcakes is a popular one that just keeps spreading. Bacon Today has covered bacon cupcakes several times already. When you think about it, they really may be the perfect treat for any time of day. They have cake, frosting, and bacon. Plus, they’re usually bite sized, for when you want a salty-sweet treat but you just don’t want to bake, buy or eat a full-sized cake.

Friend of the site Mike Geno has opened our eyes to yet another version of bacon cupcakes. He found them over at Life with Cake, and they have an awesome twist – french toast! They taste like breakfast meat, but they also taste like breakfast bread! We can’t say enough good things about this new combo.

What’s more, the creators of the french toast bacon cupcakes credit Portland’s Voodoo Donuts for inspiring the creation. We love to see these kinds of connections building in the bacon community-at-large. Bring it together, friends. We can all be one bacon.

You can find more information and the full recipe at Life is Better with Cake.

– Mr. B

Today was a special day. Today I had the humbling experience of being introduced to the greatest breakfast burrito of all time (along with some of the best bacon I’ve ever tasted). This my friends is my tale of a gloriously bacony morning…

It all started with a pack of Wright Brand peppered bacon. From the looks of the bacon in the package the morning was about to get off to a good start. I just didn’t know how good.

Just look at that thick-sliced, black-peppered goodness. The slices are so big they almost overpower the pan. Even before they started to sizzle the bacony smell began to fill the kitchen.

I like my bacon non-crispy. This gives me the added bonus of getting my bacon before the crispy lovers out there.

Scrambled eggs are being carefully positioned on an oven-warmed tortilla. It was at this stage that I grabbed my first taste of that Wright Brand bacon. Salty, tender, with just the right amount of fat and that wonderful pepper coating…if that combination sounds appealing to you please stop reading this post and go buy some Wright Brand bacon. Seriously, it’s that good.

If you are looking at the above picture and say “wow, that’s A LOT of bacon” kindly leave this web site. If you look at the above picture and say “WOW, that’s a lot of BACON!!!!!!!!!!” please read on. You are about to learn the secret of life. Seriously.

What are those yellow and reddish chunks on top of the bacon you ask? You recogonize the shredded cheese but are confused by what lies between it and the glorious bacon. Peppers? Onions? No and no. These are both yellow and sweet potatoes, and one of them will bring eternal happiness to your bacon-loving soul.

Turns out if you slow-roast the yellow potatoes & sweet potatoes with some carlic, olive oil, pepper, and other tasty seasonings (the chef would not reveal all the secrets unfortunately) you get one of the most amazing taste combinations ever known to the human race.

What’s with the over-the-top, dreamily-worded article you ask? Nothing. I’m serious. Although to be perfectly honest I think it’s the combination of sweet potatoes (AKA yams) and the peppered bacon that really does the trick. The sweet and salty interplay made for an absolutely perfect and extremely portable breakfast meal.

Now, if I could only get the lunch truck to start making these…

Smaste™ rating for the Wright Brand peppered bacon: a whopping 43.959

Smaste™ rating for the complete breakfast burrito: 45.999 (I’m not even sure the Smaste™ scale goes that high)

Are you feeling flat, greasy, and extra crispy? Well congratulations, you’re top quality bacon that’s been prepared with the help of a bacon press (which incidentally have been known to also flatten quesadillas, grilled cheese sandwiches, and the occasional burger pattie).

As Amazon.com reviewer Dave K. writes:

“Everytime we would cook a big weekend breakfast, I would remember the grill presses from when I was a kid and mutter to myself that I needed one. Saw it here at Amazon and decided to give it a try.

Pros – It works just like I remembered. It holds the bacon down and keeps it flat while cooking. This produces a very consistently cooked piece of meat, which is what I was looking for. We prefer our bacon crispy, but not overcooked, and this does a fine job. If you like crisp bacon then this press is what you are looking for.

Cons – It is iron, you have to remember to season it. That’s not necessarily a con if you are familiar with cooking with iron cookware, but my darling wife is not and she put it in the dishwasher – repeatedly. Now the darn thing has rust on it that is proving difficult to deal with. That is where the cute little design of a pig on its face comes into being a con. It’s difficult to clean around all of its ridges. The design does not prove a difficulty in cleaning normal food particles off, just in my case with the rust.

The addition of some kind of drip pan would be nice as well, but I live without it well enough. When I am done cooking I just lift it off the pan for a moment and let most of the grease run off. Then, a couple of paper towels folding up as a blotter do well to keep the mess down while we eat and the press waits for a hand cleaning.”

So if you want to keep your bacon flat and your tummy full of bacony goodness, buy a bacon press and start cookin’!

You may remember our last bacon hunt in Elk River, MN. This time we went to new locations but the mission was the same — find the best bacon in town.

We started the day at Elk River Meats. Our hunt took place on Sunday, and unfortunately Elk River Meats was closed. A couple of interesting items though…

1. The hours of operation did not list Sunday. I guess the town just assumes nothing is open downtown on Sundays.

2. A “rabbits for sale” sign was in the window of the meat shop. That was slightly disturbing.

After our bacon fail at Elk River Meats, we went to Sonic Drive-in for our grilled cheese with 30 slices of bacon. That was a complete success.

Our last stop of the day was Cub Foods, a regional supermarket. We wanted to check out their meat counter and see what kind of bacon selection they had to offer.

About 20 different brands of bacon were represented at Cub Foods. From maple to hickory smoked from “Neuske’s” to “No Name” brands, Cub Foods really came through with a quality selection of bacon.

Elk River is definately a bacon-loving town. We’re happy that next time we visit we’ll know exactly where to go.

If you’re over 21, drinking is fun. (And if you’re under 21, it’s illegal in the United States, which some would argue makes it more fun, but Bacon Today neither endorses nor condones the drinking of alcohol by our underage readers.)

So…

You’ll all be happy to hear about this new concoction that was dreamed up by one of our readers. Alex C. wrote in to bacontoday[at]gmail[dot]com with this tasty tease…

“I made a ridiculous discovery the other day, a cocktail that tastes like bacon! It’s a shot of tequila, juice of a lime, and 4 shots of coconut milk.”

I predict that one of the following statements is true:

A) The combination of of tequila, lime juice and coconut milk tastes exactly like bacon and should be enjoyed whenever and wherever you get your drink on;

B) Said combination doesn’t really taste like bacon, and Alex was already a little tipsy when he “discovered” this taste combination;

C) Not only does said combination not taste like bacon, but Alex was actually hammered when he tried it out, and in truth the combo is so disgusting that nobody in their right mind would ever want to drink this shot.

It’s my responsibility to Bacon Today and to the Bacon Nation as a whole to test this theory out. I have a bottle of tequila downstairs, but I’m currently out of limes and I don’t happen to have any coconut milk laying around. Thus, my own trial of this shot will have to wait a day or three until I can get to the local grocery store and buy some coconut milk. 

In the interim, I offer you this challenge – try it for yourself and leave a comment here to let us know what you think. Does the Alex C. creation, which I have preemptively named “Liquid Bacon” stand up to its name? Be sure to let us know what kind of tequila/brand of coconut milk you use.

– Mike

My friend Toni gave me a new food to try: Kraft Easy Mac with Bacon. I couldn’t wait to get the stuff home to pop in the microwave and see just how Smastey™ this macaroni and cheese could be.

The mac & cheese looked great as prepared per directions. The first taste was pretty good. Very cheesy with a touch of bacon. There was one thing it needed however…more bacon.

So, I reached for my trusty can of Easy Cheese Cheddar ‘n Bacon to add more cheesy bacon flavor.

Before adding the Easy Cheese Cheddar ‘n Bacon, the Easy Mac & Cheese with Bacon earned a  Smaste™ rating of 28.943. Decent, but nothing spectacular. After adding the Easy Cheese, the Smaste™ rating was bumped up to a level of 31.432. Not a meal you’d want every day, but a good way to get a quick fix of bacon when you’re out of the real stuff.

Zesty Cook won a pig in a raffle. What Zesty got in the mail was ”a lot of pork including a fair amount of fresh pork bacon“.

Zesty is always in the kitchen thinking up something new, and this is the first dish that was inspired by the prize pig.

Here’s a reprint of the recipe. You can see the full write-up as well as some additional tips in the original post here.

Ingredients
2 Royal Gala Apples (chopped)
6 Strips Fresh Pork Bacon (chopped)
1 Medium Onion
1/4 Cup Apple Juice
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 Tsp. Thyme
Salt and Pepper
Method
Saute onion in olive oil on medium-high heat until translucent and and begins to brown. 

Add bacon, thyme, salt and pepper and begin to brown bacon. (about 7 minutes)

Add Apple juice once the bacon is brown and let reduce.

Toss in apples and let cook down on simmer for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

– Mike

Photo Credit