Just the smell of cooking bacon is enough to draw everyone into the kitchen and to make even the most dedicated herbivore reconsider the carnivorous pleasures that cured pork presents. There are many excellent bacons to try, and the supermarket bacon most of us grew up with isn’t nearly as good as some other varieties. Bacon still in a slab tends to be better than commercially sliced bacon and gives you more control over the thickness. At Bubby’s, we serve a very thick cut of bacon. We buy bacon in a slab and slice it ourselves, but you can ask your butcher to cut it thick for you. We like it at least 1/8-inch thick. In addition to traditional slab bacon, here are a few other varieties to try.

　　

Ingredients

　　

Pancetta

Step 1

Italian bacon, pancetta is not typically smoked; instead, it is cured with spices and salt. Used very often in Italian cooking, it’s a favorite in sauces because it has a flavorful and slightly salty taste. You can buy pancetta in a roll or sliced by your butcher. Slice pancetta and cook it in a pan just as you would regular bacon.

　　

Canadian Bacon

Step 2

Made from smoked, cured pork loin, Canadian bacon has become a staple with brunch, especially in the classic preparation for eggs Benedict. But it is just as good as an accompanying brunch meat, like Smithfield ham, slab bacon, or sausage. At Bubby’s, we have our Canadian bacon smoked by our local hog man. This Canadian bacon is far and away superior to the storebought kind. It is smokier, juicier, and more interesting in texture. More like ham than regular bacon, Canadian bacon comes from the tender, lean eye of the pork loin. While more costly than regular bacon, it is also leaner and it shrinks less so you get more servings to the pound than with regular bacon. It is worth it to find a local smokehouse. There are several good places online to buy real Canadian bacon, such as Authentic Peameal Back Bacon from Canada, or Burgers’ Smokehouse in California, Missouri (www.peamealbacon.com and www.smokehouse.com).

　　

Step 3

To prepare Canadian bacon, slice or cut the cylindrical chunk anywhere from 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick. Get a large skillet hot enough to sizzle a drop of water, put a little butter in the pan, and lay the Canadian bacon slices evenly in the skillet. Sizzle until crispy on one side, then turn and let the other side get nice and crispy. Serve hot.

　　

Irish Bacon

Step 4

Similar to Canadian bacon in that it is a cured pork loin, Irish bacon is generally not smoked and comes with a layer of fat around it, unlike Canadian bacon, which is usually quite lean. When cooking Irish bacon, fry it in a pan, but don’t make it entirely crispy. Irish bacon is not so popular in America, and it can be difficult to find. One place to buy Irish bacon and other Irish meat products is Tommy Moloney’s (www.tommymoloneys.com).

　　

Baked Bacon

Step 5

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lay out the bacon slices in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes; then remove the pan from the oven and flip the bacon slices with tongs. When you flip the bacon, take a moment to pour off some of the grease, being very careful that it doesn’t spill or splatter. This way you won’t end up with a very full pan of bacon fat at the end. (If you like to cook with bacon fat, reserve the fat in a jar in the freezer.) Return the pan to the oven and continue to bake for another 3 to 4 minutes, or until the bacon is nice and crisp. Drain on paper towels before serving. Baking is a good method to use when preparing bacon for a crowd since you can cook a lot more at a time than with the panfrying method.

　　

Panfried Bacon

Step 6

Place the bacon strips in a single layer in a large skillet. Cook the bacon over medium heat. Turn the slices over when they’ve nicely browned on one side, and continue frying until nice and crispy. Remove the bacon from the skillet to a paper towel–lined plate. All told, plan on anywhere from 8 to 15 minutes, depending on how much bacon you’re cooking, how thick it is cut, and the size of the pan.

　　

Maple-Glazed Bacon

Step 7

Maple glazing works best with the baking method. About halfway through the cooking, when you flip the bacon slices, carefully drain off all the fat. Evenly drizzle the partially cooked bacon slices with good-quality maple syrup (about 1 teaspoon per slice) and return the pan to the oven. Continue baking for 5 to 7 minutes, until crispy and caramelized, keeping a close eye on it so as not to burn it.

　　

Notes

Step 8

There are a few options for cooking bacon. Something to consider is how crisp you like the bacon. Some people prefer it so crisp that others would consider it burned, while many like chewy bacon that still has a few ripples of visible fat on it. No matter which method you choose to cook bacon (and there are several), after cooking it, be sure to drain the slices on paper towels to maximize crispness. Here are the methods that I prefer for cooking bacon.

　　Bubby’s Brunch Cookbook by Ron Silver and Rosemary Black. Copyright © 2009 by Ron Silver and Rosemary Black. Published by Ballantine Books. All Rights Reserved.