By Scott Nyerges on February 12, 2011 in
Few cuts of meat inspire slavish devotion the way bacon does -- or provoke as fierce a debate over what brand is the best. As we discovered, when it comes to choosing the best bacon there's a lot of sizzle, but not much agreement among pros and foodies.
The skinny on bacon reviews
Why is there so little consensus on the best bacon? It may be that there's so much variety, although aficionados may argue that there's no such thing as too much bacon. For example, Kraft Foods' Oscar Mayer brand sells more than a dozen types of bacon alone. Reviewers have to contend with factors such as the cut (which part of the pig it comes from), the cure (how it's preserved) and flavoring (be it smoke, spice or sugar), not to mention how it's prepared (crisp or chewy?). With so many brands available, a lot of the recommendations we read come down to a matter of taste.
The best big-name bacon is, um, well...
When it comes to national bacon brands, Oscar Mayer is recommended most often, but there's a catch. Reviewers don't always test the same kind of type of bacon, making it difficult to say with certainty that it's THE best brand. Case in point: WalletPop.com and the Florida Times-Union both say plain old regular Oscar Mayer is the best bacon among brands they review. Meanwhile, the food critic at New York magazine recommends Oscar Mayer's Hearty Thick Cut Bacon, and the blog Bacon Unwrapped touts the company's Super Thick Cut Applewood Smoked Bacon.
In tests at the San Francisco Chronicle, Oscar Mayer fares poorly, however. Among 15 bacons tested by the Chronicle, Oscar Mayer finishes in 12th place, behind both big brands like Farmland (which came out on top) and gourmet brands. The foodies at Cook's Illustrated are more forgiving in their review (which is rather outdated, given that it was published in 2004). They recommend Oscar Mayer Naturally Hardwood Smoked Bacon, though it should be noted that among the 10 brands sampled, only one earns the "not recommended" label.
Farmland Hickory Smoked Bacon, which the Chronicle picks, is also a top choice at Cook's, Chowhound.com and at Cooking Light magazine, which names it the best store brand. Editors describe it as "a great balance of sweet, salty, and smoky that makes this an all-purpose bacon." But they also recommend three other brands of bacon: Dakin Farm Cob-Smoked Bacon (best overall), Niman Ranch Uncured Applewood Smoked Bacon (best for breakfast) and Benton's Hickory Smoked Country Bacon (best for recipes). This makes us wonder: Are any of these four brands acceptable with your weekend eggs and toast, or will serving Benton's with breakfast ruin your whole day?
Your guess is as good as ours.
Gourmet bacon an easier choice
We also found several sources that focus primarily on artisanal bacon. Men's Journal highlights seven bacon brands in a slide show that discusses how each brand sources, cuts and cures its meat and offers serving tips — especially helpful for people who keep an eye on how their food is sourced. Bloomberg Businessweek, Rachel Ray magazine and Cook's Illustrated have similar content, but only Cook's picks a favorite.
Among gourmet bacon brands, the closest thing to a consensus we found is for Vande Rose Farms Artisan Dry Cured Bacon. It comes "highly recommended" by the Cook's crew, which raves about its "nice balance of sweetness to salt." Vande Rose also gets the thumbs-up from Businessweek ("fine, meaty, sweet taste") and Men's Journal ("sensational"). We also found a couple of recommendations for bacon from North Country Smokehouse, Niman Ranch and Dakin Farm, but not as many as for Vande Rose.
Our take on choosing the best bacon
Among store brands, it's a toss-up between Oscar Mayer and Farmland. With gourmet bacon brands, the easy choice is Vande Rose Farms Artisan Dry Cured Bacon. It's worth pointing out that big-name manufacturers are far less expensive than gourmet brands. For example, a pound of Farmland Hickory Smoked Bacon costs about $3 and is available at most grocery stores. By comparison, Vande Rose's bacon costs about $11 a pound and must be ordered directly from the company in Iowa.
Bacon links that really cook
Whatever brand of bacon you settle on, there are a number of useful websites that offer tips for cooking, bacon trivia, even a guide to butchering.
Should you find yourself with a whole hog on your hands (and who hasn't?), both Martha Stewart and Gourmet magazine post how-to videos worth watching. Or you can get your hands dirty and take a class.
If there's one thing Midwesterners know, it's pork, and the University of Missouri Extension posts an online primer on home-curing bacon.
Bacon isn't just for breakfast. It's also for soda, chocolate and gumballs. Gumballs? Yep, and a whole lot more, as SlashFood.com discusses.
Wired blogger Matt Blum goes in search of all things bacon in his ongoing Great Bacon Odyssey.
Lastly, About.com's guide to home cooking offers a number of tips for cooking bacon, as well as recipes, health info and trivia. (Note: ConsumerSearch is owned by About.com, but the two don't share an editorial affiliation.)