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My father in law died of natural causes at the age of 96. His breakfast consisted of fried eggs with bacon, coffee with a little milk and sugar (or just sugary creamer), and toasted bread with burned edges. My mother in law is almost 97 and she's still going around like the Energizer Bunny, but she has changed in recent years since now she includes apple in her diet. If you think that you have figured which diet will take you into old age, I got news for you. I little bacon is not going to hurt you as long as your generics works in your favor.

My mother in law says, "eat a little of everything, and stay active. Just don't poison yourself with too much of just one thing, and don't get too fat." But then other old timers love their beer, pork, and eggs until they kick the bucket.
 
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I sincerely and devoutly hope that discussion on this thread can include such culinary delights such as roasted pork belly, and the sort of bacon one finds in Italian cuisine, such as guanciale (you haven't lived until you have been introduced to guanciale) and pancetta.

There isn't a dish (where the recipe calls for bacon, or lardons) that isn't enhanced, or improved beyond all recognition by the addition of (ample quantities) of guanciale.
 
I sincerely and devoutly hope that discussion on this thread can include such culinary delights such as roasted pork belly, and the sort of bacon one finds in Italian cuisine, such as guanciale (you haven't lived until you have been introduced to guanciale) and pancetta.

There isn't a dish (where the recipe calls for bacon, or lardons) that isn't enhanced, or improved beyond all recognition by the addition of (ample quantities) of guanciale.
Love guanciale, when and where you can get it. In our small town it is very rare to see it but some restaurants with far better sourcing can get it. We’ve been able to get it through one of these as we know the owners pretty well. Normally though, bacon will have to do to represent bacon.
 
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Love guanciale, when and where you can get it. In our small town it is very rare to see it but some restaurants with far better sourcing can get it. We’ve been able to get it through one of these as we know the owners pretty well. Normally though, bacon will have to do to represent bacon.
Initially, I used guanciale when recipes called for it.

Now, however, I use it as a pancetta substitute, whenever a recipe calls for pancetta, or that sort of bacon flavouring, and must admit that it is brilliant. Guanciale with scrambled eggs? To die for.
 
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Then there is this one:


Well it is made from pork too
 
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I sincerely and devoutly hope that discussion on this thread can include such culinary delights such as roasted pork belly, and the sort of bacon one finds in Italian cuisine, such as guanciale (you haven't lived until you have been introduced to guanciale) and pancetta.

There isn't a dish (where the recipe calls for bacon, or lardons) that isn't enhanced, or improved beyond all recognition by the addition of (ample quantities) of guanciale.
My father roasted lots of pork belly when I was a child. Not the average pork belly sold at the local stores, but a pork belly that was roasted in a very large oven that was made with clay-covered firebricks, and fired by wood charcoal. This type of pork belly is called "chicharrón" in Spain and the Caribbean Islands, except that my father roasted it in an oven medium heat for about 12 hours instead of frying it. My father seasoned it with Italian spices (no idea why they are called Italian spices). He used oregano, garlic, and a bunch of other spices, plus some salt. Some of the pieces had small sections of rib attached, and the pork skin too, so it wasn't belly alone, but a mix of belly and rib meat/fat. But one thing for certain is that the free-range pork taste a lot different than the pork meats found in the US stores. It is like comparing Alaska's wild salmon to penned salmon :)

Korean pork belly is delicious too, but this is a very thick pork belly that is similar to bacon slices one can grill or fry.
 
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My father roasted lots of pork belly when I was a child. Not the average pork belly sold at the local stores, but a pork belly that was roasted in a very large oven that was made with clay-covered firebricks, and fired by wood charcoal. This type of pork belly is called "chicharrón" in Spain and the Caribbean Islands, except that my father roasted it in an oven medium heat for about 12 hours instead of frying it. My father seasoned it with Italian spices (no idea why they are called Italian spices). He used oregano, garlic, and a bunch of other spices, plus some salt. Some of the pieces had small sections of rib attached, and the pork skin too, so it wasn't belly alone, but a mix of belly and rib meat/fat. But one thing for certain is that the free-range pork taste a lot different than the pork meats found in the US stores. It is like comparing Alaska's wild salmon to penned salmon :)

Korean pork belly is delicious too, but this is a very thick pork belly that is similar to bacon slices one can grill or fry.
Sounds absolutely delicious.

The pork belly (and ham hocks, and beef shin on the bone, and chickens) I purchase come from a small business that rears their own animals, slaughters and ages (and sells) their own meat.

Higher prices than supermarket meat, certainly, but incomparably better quality; besides, I prefer to pay people who actually do the work themselves, and reward them for adhering to ethical and environmentally aware standards when raising animals and fowl.
 
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Sounds absolutely delicious.

The pork belly (and ham hocks, and beef shin on the bone, and chickens) I purchase come from a small business that rears their own animals, slaughters and ages (and sells) their own meat.

Higher prices than supermarket meat, certainly, but incomparably better quality; besides, I prefer to pay people who actually do the work themselves, and reward them for adhering to ethical and environmentally aware standards when raising animals and fowl.
Agree with you.
There was a TV show I used to watch, "World Travel"? (maybe). Anyway, my favorite episodes were the ones when the hosts traveled, stayed at, ate the foods, and drank the wine in the smallest towns, wineries, small bakeries, and so on..away from the city. I enjoyed the travels through Spain, Italy, Portugal, and Greece, and also the shows where they would eat the street-vendor foods in Asia. Some of the wineries in Spain and Italy have guest rooms for people to stay at (much like AB&Bs). The best foods and wine, at least in my view, are found in those small places and communities.
 
I saw a "milk chocolate pepper bacon bar" for sale in a store last week, but I didn't venture to try one.

I was more intrigued by the bacon socks for sale in the same store. At first I thought it was either bacon somehow shaped like socks, or bacon-flavored socks. Then I realized it was just a pair of socks with a bacon-and-eggs-themed pattern.

Milk Chocolate Pepper Bacon Bar.jpg


Bacon Socks.jpg
 
Here's a very practical tip. About once a week, I fry thinly sliced bacon to have in the fridge and use for BLT sandwiches during the week. I've found the best way to do this is by frying them at low heat, instead of the quick, sizzling fry that makes them curl up and get a very uneven surface of fried/notfried patches.

I start with the pan at 1 or 2 (of 10 max), put the bacon in and increase it to 3. After 20 min or so, the pan is filling with fat from the bacon, and I can turn the slices over. Another twenty minutes, and it's getting there. Effectively, the bacon is deeep frying in its own fat. And it's not curling up terribly because it's not very hot, and that's what makes them flat and a nice brown, and crispy all over, and very easy to arrange on the sandwich.

Not much work at all. 90% of the time is spent doing other things. Three pans of this, and I have enough bacon for a week's worth of sandwiches. Later in the evening, I might turn up the bacon fat pan to really hot fry a nice steak, but I'll leave it there…
 
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