For those of you out there, still trying to gauge exactly how HUGE today’s swelling trend of “Baco-Mania” has gotten, let this help you get a clearer picture of exactly how big and important bacon, at least “Gourmet Bacon”  has become in our society over the past few years.

Today our good friends over at “Better Homes & Gardens” dropped by to let us know that their new Holiday Menu Suggestions and Holiday Recipes have now officially been posted, so that we can pass the news on to all of you deeply dedicated “Baconistas” or as “B.H.G.” likes to refer to you as, “Baconites,” which is a pretty clever and cool term that I think I’m going to help them spread around the Bacon World as a proud and popular “Badge of Baconism” around the globe.

They also had some nice things to say about our featured recipes, which was very cool of them to take the time to mention … but that’s just the point, isn’t it? Bacon, at least the truly good, premium quality stuff, is now so popular throughout every single strata and niche of our Western Culture, that long standing, traditionalist periodicals that probably wouldn’t have thought to come by and visit even 5 years ago, are stopping by to be quite genuinely friendly and we truly do value and appreciate “B.H.G.s” for being so cool and neighborly!

Truthfully, I believe that this says as much about how much cooler, open minded and universally expanded the new “visionaries” over at “Better Homes & Garden’s” are, in comparison to many of their stodgier, more traditionally set in their “olds days ways,” competitors.

So really I want to offer up a big, sincere “10 Snout Salute” to the very awesome people over at “B.H.G.’s” and recommend that all of you go check out some of their awesome new features, including a LOT of great “Holiday Recipes!”

YES, of course some of these menu items do include the all important bacon and / or pork and others can simply and easily have some delicious bacon added or substituted in for some other less glorious and “Hog Heavenly” protein!

I highly recommend that you go check out the new, delicious menu items featured over at our new, official “Bacon Friendly” buddies website and be sure to get back to us and tell us what you think! As always, were looking forward to hearing your thoughts and sharing this whole “Bacony” experience with our “Baconite” Brethren and Sistren!

OK, in order to prevent potentially passionate pork patrons from walking away from this most enjoyably enticing epicurean experience before they fully realize just what a truly amazing meal this really is, let’s quickly clarify a couple of terms that sometimes gets some people making that quizzically stumped face while muttering the words “What The Huh?” to themselves.

Confit: is a term borrowed from French cuisine, actually pronounced as “con-fee.” The culinary term designates a piece of meat that has been immersed, marinated, cooked and even stored in it’s own fat, sometimes with the augmentation of other additional juices and / or spices, for the bountiful benefit of both immaculate flavor, as well as superior preservation.

Pork Belly: Though mostly heard these days in reference to piggish spending and / or political pigeon-holing of funds, Pork Belly is precisely what the term would logically designate, the belly section of a pig, from which most continental bacon is traditionally cut.

Alright, now that we’ve got tat out of the way, this is a savory, slightly sweet and salty, subtle and sapidly scrumptious recipe created by Jimmy, the “gastronomical genius” over at “Eat It, Atlanta,” a blog dedicated to “Cooking, Dining & General Food Philandering, Mostly in ATL.

Intended to serve four people, with a nice glass of slightly chilled Pinot, here’s Jimmy’s story about how the whole thing went down: I first acquired my pork belly. I found out the hard way that Whole Foods Buckhead doesn’t carry it. I asked the butcher why they didn’t have it, he laughed and said, “We cater to Buckhead”. No fat back either. So I picked up a small piece from Star Provisions. It was much smaller than the 2.5lb slab recommended, but my 1lb piece was plenty as an appetizer for four people.

”

The pork brines for about 12 hours before cooking. This was a cooked brine of rosemary, thyme, pepper, garlic, parsley, honey, and salt.The next morning I set my alarm for 5AM, dragged my ass downstairs, then melted some lard and duck fat, submerged the pork, went back to sleep, and let the pork cook at 200F for five hours.Then I poured the fat into a firm container, covered it with wrap, set a heavy can on it to press it, then it went into the fridge for six hours.When I was ready to sear the pork, I took it out of the fat and cleaned it off fairly well.I scored the fat side, then cut it into squares.Then I seared the belly, fat side down, on low heat for 15 minutes. After that, it went into the oven for 10 minutes to warm through.Then we dug in.Divine. With each bite, the fat melted and pressed into the flesh of the pork, creating a warm, and savory bite of the best pork belly I’ve had to date. This is the way fat was meant to be consumed.”

Bon Appetit!

One “not so healthy” thing that tends to happen to us all during the hot summer months, is that we are often so very busy and on the go all the time, we begin to neglect or need for healthy veggies to healthfully balance out all the fast food and quick snack “carbs” and proteins that we continue to consume to fuel our flight and fancy while constantly on the run from morning to night.

Here’s a great recipe to fix that scenario in a very tasty, time sensitive treat that is as good for us as it is delicious.

Baby Bubba’s Braised Veggies & Bacon Bonanza.

(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

1 tbsp unsalted butter

8 slices of Baby Bubba’s Butcher Block Hickory Smoked Peppered Bacon chopped into ¼ inch segments.

1 lb. chopped potatoes

8 oz. chopped carrots

8 oz. chopped onions

sea salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

¼ cup chicken broth

1 lb. green beans, trimmed and cut into 1- to 2-inch pieces

¼ cup “creme fraiche”

5 sprigs chopped tarragon

Directions:

First melt your butter in a wide shallow braising pan or large, deep skillet over medium heat.

Toss in the bacon and fry for 5 minutes, stirring often until well browned and crisp on the outside but still flexible.

Dump in the potatoes, carrots and spring onions.

Season to taste with salt and pepper

Pour in the broth.

Once the broth begins to bubble at the edges of the pan, reduce the heat to medium-low.

Cover and cook for 12 to 18 minutes, until the potatoes are just tender.

If the mixture seems dry, add a few additional tbsp of broth or water.

Cover and cook for 5 minute, until all the vegetables are tender.

Uncover and add the creme fraiche.

Now increase the heat to medium-high cook for an additional 3 or 4 minutes, stirring constantly until the creme fraiche thickens and the vegetables take on an appealing fawn-colored glaze.

Stir in the tarragon.

Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Enjoy!

Are you getting “sick and tired” (literally) of all those horrendously disappointing and sometimes stomach wrenching “Samo-Samo-Lamo” fast-food “Bacon-Buggers” (pun intended) that continue to promise you a satisfying squeal of delight … but usually tend to deliver nothing more than a desperate moaning, groaning 3-way conversation with yourself and the “Big Guy Upstairs” exchanged over the Ralph’s big, white porcelain phone?

Well we feel you pain and want to introduce you to our good friend Sara over at “Average Betty’s” , who offers up her very own, scintillatingly savory, sense seducing sizzle of a recipe to craftily create your very own gourmet bacon burger, called “The Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno POP Burger.”

For those of you who don’t yet know who Sara is … she’s not only one totally cool and awesome cook who has a deep understanding and penchant for meat, but she is also one truly bodacious “Bacon & Burger Babe!” You might even go so far as to view her as a definite “Betty,” and thus, I suppose the name of her tasty and tantalizing website.

Here’s what Sara had to say, in her very own words:

‘Hi Bacon Today, I love bacon and I love your site!

I wanted to share my latest recipe for the Jalapeno POP Burger and I hope you love it! It is a spicy take on a cheeseburger topped with cheese stuffed, bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers.

Cheers,

Sara O’Donnell

Average Betty’s Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno POP Burger

(Serves 5 – 6 Burgers & 1 cup Jalapeno Relish)

Ingredients For Burgers:

1 pound lean ground beef

1/3 cup chopped jalapeno (majority of seeds and membrane removed)

1/3 cup chopped onion

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp garlic powder

salt, pepper

(try a splash of soy sauce or balsamic vinegar for more flavor)

I typically get five to six quarter pound burgers out of one pound of meat. Like that math? The chopped pepper and onion bulk up the patties. A lot more flavor, a little less meat!

Ingredients for Jalapeno Relish:

2 fire roasted jalapenos

4 fire roasted “wheels” sweet onion

juice of 1-2 limes

salt

(enough relish for six burgers)

Additional Ingredients:

Buns

cheese (jalapeno jack)

lettuce

tomato

Instructions:

We don’t call this the Jalapeno POP Burger for nothing! Start by making the jalapeno poppers. The complete (and printable) recipe can be found here.

Next, make the jalapeno relish. Grill jalapeno and onion. Chop and combine with fresh lime juice and a pinch of salt. Set aside.

To season the meat, add chopped jalapeno, chopped onion, cumin, garlic powder and black pepper.

Shape into patties and season with sea salt right before placing onto a super hot grill or griddle. The salt ensures a nice crust on the outside of the patty.

TIP: Try making a juicy lucy by putting the cheese inside the patty. Watch the Jalapeno POP Burger video to see me make one!

Flip and top with cheese. To help melt the cheese you can cover for the last minute. Allow the burgers to rest while you grill or toast the buns.

Then, add lettuce, tomato, the juicy and delicious burger patty, some of that ultra-spicy fire roasted jalapeno relish and the top bun. Garnish with jalapeno poppers and enjoy.”

Thank You Sara!

This year, the hot new trend for grilling your way through the entire summer includes some interesting barbecue menu items, from grilled turkey to grilled duck and even grilled pheasant.

No matter what fowl you choose to toss up on the “barbie” the one ting that you are definitely going to need is a crown pleasing stuffing to flavorfully accentuate from the inside out.

For that task, may we recommend this delightfully delicious Apple Cinnamon Bacon, Mushroom & Oyster Stuffing. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 pound Apple Cinnamon Bacon

2 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup butter

14 oz. seasoned stuffing cubes

10 oz. oysters – drained and cut into thirds

1 onion, sliced thin

2 cloves fresh minced garlic

4 oz. fresh sliced mushrooms, sliced

1 cup white wine

Directions:

First preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

Then put the bacon in a large, deep skillet

Cook the bacon over a medium flame / heat until evenly browned on both sides.

Place bacon to a paper towel lined plate to allow excess grease to drain away.

Keep the rest of the bacon grease in the skillet.

.

Add the butter to the bacon drippings and allow it to melt over a medium-high heat.

Sauté’ the onion, garlic, and mushrooms in the butter and drippings combo until the onion has caramelized – approximately 12 to 13 minutes.

Pour the wine into the skillet and allow it to warm; and when warm, remove from heat.

Place the stuffing cubes in a large bowl.

Pour the vegetable mixture over the cubes.

Pour in the chicken stock.

Now fold the oysters into the mixture.

Transfer the stuffing to a 9×13 inch baking dish.

Bake in a preheated oven until golden brown on top – approximately 30 minutes.

Now stuff your bird of choice and get grilling!

Bon Appetite!

During the upcoming summer month celebrations, you’re going to want to continue to come up with some truly unique, original and unpredictably unusual taste treats to amaze and impress your guests.

This is a delightfully delicious dish that is so quick, simple and inexpensive to lay out for unexpected guests or hungry visitors who have come by to party or watch the big game, fight, concert or a cool movie.

It’s the perfect “pork power” protein combined with a veritable “Garden Of Eden” of your favorite fresh vegetables, so absolutely everyone is “hoppin’ happy” and in a veritable stated of absolute “hog heaven.”

Enjoy

(Serves

Ingredients:

12 slices of Maple Smoked Country Style Bacon.

16 oz. cream cheese set out to attain room temperature.

1 cup of “half and half”

2 tbsp minced chives.

2 tbsp horseradish

1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice.

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper: to taste.

Directions:

Cook bacon at least till it is ‘moderately crispy” if not fully crispy – your choice!

Remove excess bacon grease after bacon is cooked by patting it down between two layers of a couple of paper towels, stacked on a plate.

Combine the room temperature cream cheese and the “half and half” in a large metal mixing bowl.

Mix vigorously, until the mixture is fully incorporated and smooth.

Now add the chives, horseradish, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce.

Mix well.

Now season to taste with the salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hrs before serving.

Serve with your cut, fresh veggies and a nice punch bowl full of Fruit Sangria.

Enjoy!

You know that amazingly delicious flavor that gets created in your mouth when you sit down to a palate pleasing plate of gourmet bacon  and eggs, served up with pancakes  and maple syrup.

Everyone I know has those amazing memories etched deeply into their minds of waking up to the wafting aroma of pancakes and bacon  cooking in the kitchen and sitting down to enjoy a plate just seems to make the day feel like a pleasant dream come true for so many of us.

Well that’s exactly what this cake is designed to recreate for you during those unfortunate circumstances when a full on pancake, bacon and eggs meal isn’t strategically possible or time schedule feasible.

Enjoy!

Glazed Apple Bacon & Maple Cake

(Serves

Ingredients For The Cake:

10 strips of Bacon Freak “Baby Bubba’s Butcher Block Apple Cinnamon Bacon (8 slices to be used in the making of the cake and 2 slices left over for a topping garnish)

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

6 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature

2/3 cups sugar

3 large eggs

3/4 teaspoon maple extract

3/4 cups buttermilk

1 cup peeled, diced apples

1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

Ingredients For The Glaze:

6 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

3 tablespoons maple syrup

A pinch of cinnamon

Directions:

First, be sure that your oven rack is in the middle / central position.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Use butter or cooking spray of your choice to coat an 8-inch-square pan.

Now In a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon, turning several times, until browned and crisp, 6 to 8 minutes.

Place the cooked bacon on a plate, between a couple of paper towels in order to remove excess bacon grease.

Chop 8 of the bacon slices finely, being sure to set 2 pieces aside for garnish.

Now in a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

In another large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar.

Now add the eggs and maple extract to bowl #2 and beat at medium speed until light.

Reduce speed to low and add the buttermilk. Beat until well-blended.

Now add what you have beaten in bowl #2 to the dry ingredients in bowl #1 and beat till the contents are fully mixed and consistent in consistency.

Stir in the apples, pecans and bacon.

Pour the batter into the pan and smooth out the top with a spatula.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown and a cake tester inserted deep into the center comes out clean.

Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 10 minutes.

Now take the cake out of the pan Un-mold the cake and place on a rack to cool to room temperature before icing.

In a small bowl, whisk confectioners’ sugar, maple syrup and cinnamon until smooth and clinging to the back of a spoon.

Now using a spoon; drizzle the icing in a “back-and-forth” motion across the cake.

Sprinkle with the reserved 2 slices of chopped bacon.

Allow to set for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

The “Bacon Explosion” may very well have been the most massive, media managed, longest lasting “bacon oriented news item” of the past 2 years, all up to the Bacon Explosion’s creators, Jason Day and Aaron Chronister’s release of their “explosion included” first cookbook, “BBQ Makes Everything Better” which is being published by media magnates, Simon & Schuster.

The term “Media Frenzy” would be a definite understatement, as everyone from NBC  to the New York Times  and from The Kansas City Star  to the Today Show is covering explosive bacon story, including the Big Cheeses of Barbecue News, the BBQ Brethren and the BBQ Addicts.

So for all of you Bacon Freaks out there, swimming through the trough of hype and hyperbole, wondering if blue ribbon winning, top quality bacon layered with premium country sausage and then slathered in a rich, fresh gourmet barbecue sauce is actually really worth all of the extensive media coverage it’s getting

Now, finally, here’s your chance to finally finds out for yourself and allow your own taste buds to decide if this truly is big news or yet another big yawn blown completely out of proportion.

Helpful Hint … if there really wasn’t anything special about the Bacon Explosion, would we really waste our time and yours writing to you about it?

The Bacon Explosion

(Serves 12)

Ingredients:

2 lbs. Boss Hog Style Bacon – Hickory Smoked Brown Sugar Cured

2 tablespoons Coastal Vineyards Gourmet BBQ Rub

2 lbs Sausage Freak Fresh Pork – Garlic Sausage

1 cup Gourmet Food Club’s BBQ Sauce

Directions:

First tightly weave a simple 5 strip × 5 strip square of bacon into a net tight enough that the ground sausage won’t be able to fall through/ Rub some of the BBQ rub on top of the bacon weave.

If your sausage came in patties or links, be sure to mash or grind the sausage so that it is malleable.

Take your malleable garlic sausage and layer it directly on top of your bacon weave be sure to press the sausage all the way out to the outer edges of your bacon weave; creating a patty that is the same thickness all the way across. 

Now take the remaining bacon slices and fry or bake them up to your chosen crispiness.

Crumble or chop the cooked strips into bite size pieces and place them on top of the sausage layer. 

Now begin to generously sprinkle the BBQ sauce all over the top of the bacon pieces.

Go ahead and sprinkle some additional BBQ rub over the bacon bits.

Now very carefully separate the front edge of the sausage layer from the bacon weave and begin rolling backwards. Be sure to include all layers, “except” the bacon weave in your roll. Keep the sausage rolled as tightly as possible and be sure avoid air pockets.

When the sausage is fully rolled up, pinch together the seams and ends to seal all of the bacon goodness inside.

Roll the sausage forward, completely wrapping it in the bacon weave, with the seam facing `downward” to help keep it sealed.

Carefully place the now completed Bacon Explosion onto the grill of your barbecue at approximately 225 degrees and BBQ in a constant cloud of hickory smoke until the “thermometer / thermapen” gives an internal temperature reading of 165 degrees.

You should be looking at about 1 hour of barbecuing time for each inch of thickness, thought this can vary a bit, depending on how well you maintain your fire and how many times you open the smoker to take a look or smell, but on average, we’re talking about 2 ½ hours total cooking time.

Just as it appears to be fully cooked, go ahead and use some of the BBQ sauce to “glaze” your bacon weave and cook it for the final 5 to 10 minutes.

Once cooked, be sure to allow it to cool to a safe temperature before serving and then slice the Bacon Explosion in even, half inch rounds.

Enjoy!

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.