Today's Bacon Revue is a Bay Area treat. This is one of the Bacon producers that have taken the cured pork wave and have created a delicious "Artisan" bacon. This is one of the buzz words that the San Francisco Chronicle has used to describe the curers of pork bellies in the Bay Area. "Humanely raised , Locally Sourced, Natural, Certified Sustainable, Heritage, Traditional these are all words to mean expensive. We have a Artisan bacon from Black Pig Meat Company that is located in Healdsburg California. Black Pig Meat Company uses Heritage free range hogs. We gave it a try, fried it in black iron and made some cheddar, bacon and chive biscuits.
This is some good looking bacon. The meat to fat ration is 50/50. It fried up crisp and chewy. There was a wonderful pork flavor.You did not really notice a salt hit or sugar rush. It was a great combination of brown sugar and salt. When you can combine these two ingredients and get a good flavor you have a winner. There was no smoke flavor present.
Overall, We liked this bacon. It needed some more smoke for my taste. Black Pig Meat Bacon will receive a 4 out of 5 star rating. This is a high rating for Artisanal Bacon. I would love to buy a slab, but probably cannot afford it.
Bacon, Chive, Cheddar Bisquits
- slices of bacon fried and chopped
- 4 cups flour
- 1/3 cup of chives chopped
- 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
- 1 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick of butter
- 1 3/4 cups buttermilk
Combine all dry ingredients. Cut butter into flour mixture with a fork. Slowly add buttermilk until sticky dough forms. Do not over mix. Drop dough mixture onto oiled cookie sheet forming bisquite shapes. Leave some room for the bisquits to spread. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes or until bisquits are golden brown.
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Price: 9.99/12 ounces
Where: Black Pig Meat Co.
Ok, now that the smelling salts have brought me back from my pigs eye taco fainting spell...
ReplyDeleteThis is more like it.
Sorry about that...they figured the smoke was a known carcinogen and to use it would have been inhumane to the hog (ha ha).
ReplyDeleteWhat Lea Ann said. Ps:the biscuits look wonderful.
ReplyDeleteThose biscuits look outstanding... SIgh, i agree about the probable price... shame
ReplyDeleteMy Dad always said, "It's only money. You can't take it with you." Why not spend it on lovely food, like this bacon?
ReplyDeleteHighlandsranchfoodie, Do not knock it until you have tried it. I got my 'eye' on you.
ReplyDeleteChris, You may be right. They do list smoke as an ingredient.
Zia, All good ingredients make yummy bisquits.
A Year On the Grill, We have been searching out local bacons for over 20 years, mostly up and down the West Coast. Within the last 3 or 4 years a handful of New Bacon producers have sprung up in the Bay Area. They have been charging triple the price of some of the Best Bacons we have ever found. The Bay Area market has been supporting them and the cost. Not I.
Zoomie, You are right to a point. As you know we make our own bacon from time to time. Pork Bellies, sugar, salt and smoke are not very expensive ingredients. Even if you use Heritage, and or designer pork, I believe the cost should not be that high.
It gots to has the smoke
ReplyDeleteGreg, We were a little shocked too. We would of scored it even higher with just a little hint of smoke
ReplyDelete