Pig -

by Emily

Bacon Fit for a King…or Millionaire

I’ve written about the array of glorious brunch options in San Francisco before, so I’ll get straight to the point: I was back in the Bay Area last weekend and of course I enjoyed MORE brunches with MORE bottomless mimosas and MORE benedicts and MORE bacon. Millionaire’s Bacon, to be exact.

You can find this delicacy at a good handful of restaurants in San Fran, but we first encountered it at Blackwood, an “American Thai Fusion” restaurant in the Marina area. In spite of the name, Millionaire’s Bacon will just set you back a couple extra dollars on top of your $10-20 brunch plate, so it’s not a bad deal. Especially considering the fact that this is no ordinary bacon—it’s super thick and meaty, coated in sweet maple syrup and honey, liberally sprinkled with spicy red chile flakes. After this flavor explosion, I’m never eating regular bacon again.

You can make your own, too! You definitely don’t have to live in San Fran (and you don’t have to be a millionaire, obvs) to enjoy this ultra-rich bacon.

Millionaire’s Bacon

Lodge Cast Iron Goes to the Printing Press

I can attest to the durability and sturdiness of cast iron. It was with a huge cast iron pan that I injured my shoulder last year, while tossing fingerling potatoes, sizzling hot from the 500-degree oven, during a particularly busy Lenten fish fry dinner service. Still, from enameled cast iron to that nice, seasoned, Lodge pan, anything cast iron gets my vote.

And Lodge is the cast iron standard. If you don’t have a Lodge cast iron in your pan collection, go buy a Lodge.

Artsy Photo of the Day

This is what bacon should look like. Just FYI.

in Bacon / Photos / Pig 2 comments

by forkitude

Artsy Photo Of The Day

Dear Italy: your meat is fantastic.

in Food Travel / Pig / Red Meat 1 comments

by forkitude

Artsy Photo Of The Day

I wonder if U.S. customs would notice 30 lbs of speck in my suitcase.

in Bacon / Photos / Pig 3 comments

by forkitude

Artsy Photo Of The Day

And 2011’s sexiest paté award goes to…

in Bacon / Photos / Pig 0 comments

by tvff

Happy National Scrapple Day!

I think it’s hilarious that today is “National” Scrapple Day, considering: (1) you can only get the stuff in a relatively small portion of the country and (2) in places where it is available, a solid 85% of the people won’t touch the stuff. But maybe what this horrendously under-appreciated delight needs is a day of observance to boost its reputation.

For those of you who don’t live in the mid-Atlantic states, I suppose that scrapple deserves a little explanation. Essentially, it’s a meat product made using pig offal. After the butchers have taken the “desirable” cuts off the pig, the rest gets boiled, the meat is minced and grain (cornmeal, usually) and spices are added to thicken the mixture into a loaf.

Once it gets to your kitchen or diner, it’s either pan- or deep-fried and what you get is a wonderful slice that is crunchy on the outside, smooth and creamy on the inside. There is a rich, meaty flavor here that you’re never going to get from a lifeless cut of meat like a quick-fry pork chop. Do yourself a favor and stop in a diner during your next trip through South Jersey or Eastern Pennsylvania.

I understand that scrapple can be scary. Shit, just the word is creepy. There’s the vaguely Germanic sound and the unfortunate inclusion of “scrap” and/or “crap.” But what really gets me is when I tell someone how much I enjoy it and they come back with: “But don’t you know what’s in that?!?” Yes, I do, which makes me like it even more. Here’s why…