Bacon

[sglazier]

Can you reccomend a brand of bacon that does not ooze scummy grey foam when you cook it and does not taste like you are chewing a salty insole?

Is bacon from the butcher's always better than bacon bought in packets from the supermarket?

thanks

[Artemis]

Organic bacon is good but expensive. Try Ayrshire dry cured.

[sglazier]

Thankyou, can you tell me where I can buy it?

[woofgang]

waitrose unsmoked dry cure is pretty good, especially the maple flavoured one. The other thing to do is grill instead of fry. Best advice is to read the packet and find one that doesn't have water as an ingredient

[woofgang]

Ps at about �2.80 for 8 reashers it had better be good!!

[Pinotage]

The authorities that 'look after' consumer interests allow food producers to inject prodigous amounts of water into food. Its theinjected water in bacon that comes out when cooking, causing the white scum and resulting in rashers that can shrink to half their size.

Look for 'dry cured', there are several brands includsing Walls. Often they're packed in waxed paper, rather than clear plastic.

Yes they cost more than the usual stuff, but they don't shrink and they taste good.

[lady_p_gold]

Yes organic ... Duchy (Prince Charles)  or Hazel Browning .. both available at Sainsburys

[Zen]

http://www.jackscaife.co.uk/
Pricey but good.
Large scale factory processors inject their meat with a saline solution by pumping the meat with hundreds of needles. The solution also contains monosodium glutamate, which is an artificial flavour enhancer, needed to cover the injection of the water and salt solution. This process often doubles the size of the meat to increase profit margins. Pork can contain up to 35% water naturally. Saline injection methods can increase the water content to a staggering 65 - 70%.

The white glue-like liquid and water that comes out of bacon when cooked is the water and monosodium glutamate, causing your rashers to shrink as you watch them fry or grill. Our bacon loses only 2 - 3% when cooked, giving you more meat for your money.

[KT84]

What ever you do dont buy the fake stuff (made of the same stuff Quorn is made of)  i bought some thinking, well atleast its not full of fat.  And it tasted like i was eating a leather shoe, chewy and manky.

[sglazier]

Thankyou for all your answers, I hope to be able to enjoy a good bacon butty very soon. Zen , I see Scaife's has an outlet in Brighton, I will be going there on my next day off.

[Peri]

I happen to like chewy salty insoles sglazier, especially nice with parsley sauce.

[commoner]

.....a recent blind tasting on TV gave top marks to Tesco Finest Dry cured..........the cheapo stuff is "cured" by soaking in brine and that's  where the scum comes from when the water and salt ooze out.......Yuk!

[*Red*Queen*]

Mmmmm bacon....I can't eat it anymore, I can't have red meat cos of my illness....but a nice bacon sandwich with brown sauce...mmmmm :)

[Jayemm999]

If you can find a local butcher [or maybe theres a "traditional" town market hall where you live] go there and talk to the butcher.

I've got such a butcher. The bacon is wonderful, cheaper per kg than Tesco and it's cut thicker, the way I like it.

[tell-me-more]

Thanks to all the posters (Woofgang, Pinotage and Zen in particular) and sglazier for asking the original question. I shall be looking out for dry-cured stuff from now on. I'm amazed at the tricks used in the food industry. I frequently see special offers emblazoned on shelves which are not at all special - only marginally cheaper if you buy three times as much as you want and is it just the Tesco's I've been to, or do they all put the things you want like bread, milk, cheese etc. in the back left-hand corner, meaning you have to wade through all the stuff you don't want - like widescreen TVs and clothes? It's like having a whole Tesco high-street, except it's all jumbled up. Sorry, rant over, I should've started my own thread. In fact, I think I might.