Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with bacon

Hey, pig piggy pig pig pig...

spinifex23 — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:13:36 -0800

So, I had probable Swine Flu (H1N1) - do I still need the vaccine? If so, when should I get it? I'm a 40 year old non pregnant woman with high risk issues (namely asthma and neuromuscular illness.), so I'm one of the prime candidates for the Swine Flu shot. However, it just became available in my area (Seattle), and before I could get it, I came down with probable Swine Flu.

I say 'probable' because I didn't get tested; I was able to handle the entire stretch of the illness with NyQuil, chicken soup, and herbal tea with honey. I didn't even see my doctor for this, nor go to the hospital. However, when I called my doctor's office for advice on treating this, they said that chances are that, listening to my symptoms, I had the Flu, and that it was probably H1N1 to boot, because that's over 95% of the flu cases going around. I'm all better now, and I didn't (thank God) have complications.

So, should I get my H1N1 vaccine? If so, should I get it now with the high risk groups, or wait until it's available to everybody? I already got my seasonal flu shot in October. I'd like to get vaccinated for H1N1 in case that's not what I had, but I also don't want to deprive someone else of badly needed vaccine.

Get in mah belly, belly

chalbe — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:58:03 -0800

Safe to eat raw refrozen meats that've been defrosted several times? I bought a slab of vacuum sealed raw pork belly and tried to turn this specimen into delicious BACON, but due to scheduling problems, etc. never got around to actually cooking it.

I'd defrost the meat in the fridge in the morning, only to find out later that night that I couldn't cook and 3 days later end up throwing it back into the freezer. The slab's gone through about 3 of these cycles of defrosting and refreezing.

Is it still safe to eat?

It smells tasty and I want to eat it!

Arbac — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 13:37:43 -0800

What do I do with smoked rib bacon? So I've been going to this fantastic deli near my house and trying all their different meats, cheeses, and bacon. Today I decided to try the "smoked rib bacon."

I was sort of expecting it to be sliced like the other various bacon I've bought there (gypsy bacon, danish bacon, regular bacon, apple bacon, etc) but instead it's a large chunk of meat (sort of like a pork belly, but with bones in it) and I have no idea what to do with it.

So what do I do with smoked rib bacon? How do I prepare it? Can I just eat it? Do I need to fry it or cook it in the oven like normal bacon? Do I cook it like it's pork belly?

Any ideas are welcome. Thanks.

Yell thou ye might, I shant desist from makin' bacon!

foooooogasm — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 09:52:03 -0800

SmokeDetectorFilter: When my smoke detectors go off and I press their happy buttons, why don't they shush? How do I make them shush? You know the drill: Bacon for breakfast, smoke, fire alarm goes off, you manically run around the apartment, trying anything to turn it off, etc.

I've seen:

1. battery powered fire alarms. You could just remove the battery (after you knock it off the ceiling with a broom handle) and they would shush.

2. more recent ones, connected directly to the building's electrical system (not just battery powered; when removed from the ceiling, you see electric wires connected to (what I assume is) the building's electrical system via an electrical relay thingie). These you could shush by killing the main power switch in the switch box.

The ones in my loft (brand new building) are 2., but even worse. Not only are they connected to the electrical system, but to the building's main fire alarm system. If you can't shush them in 30 seconds (and I can't!), they trigger the main alarm system in the entire building.

That's a problem, not only for me (who's done it once), but for a lot of people living here. I've been here for 2 months and have had to evacuate 5 times so far (~20 minutes each time). These are the false alarms, btw, that send out the fire department.

Possibly worse is the "fire alarm that cried wolf" effect: I don't believe there's a fire when the fire alarm goes off anymore. I just plug my ears with foam ear plugs and walk out onto my balcony to check for smoke.

Why doesn't the button turn the alarm off? Is it just a testing button? Am I supposed to press and hold?

Ideas on how to turn them off?

They're the usual white "oversized hockey puck" smoke detectors.

I can't find documentation on the model, otherwise I'd just RTFM.

The super here is clueless.

Help!

I want bacon!

Is eternal damnation worth a little bacon?

Max McCarty — Sat, 23 May 2009 12:53:17 -0800

What's the story behind this picture? Just exploring the internets one day and came upon this odd photo and either my google-fu is off or no one really knows. Hive mind, yours is the superior intellect!

Calling all chefs!

Anonymous — Sun, 17 May 2009 07:30:27 -0800

Calling all chefs! I would like to make this recipe for dinner tonight. Can I make the bacon/vinegar/cream sauce a couple hours ahead and reconstitute it right before I serve the dish, or will it end up lumpy and weird?

Anon because it's a surprise for someone who might read AskMe.

Where did the bacon meme start?

bjtitus — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 16:49:06 -0800

Where did the bacon internet meme come from? Everyone knows the phenomenon of bacon on the internet. It has become a cult classic in internet memes and continues to pop up across the internet. What are its roots? Where did the first hint of a bacon meme appear?

What to do with all this bacon

billysumday — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 09:01:39 -0800

What's the best way to freeze bacon? Or should I just leave it in the fridge? So, just got back from Sam's Club where I splurged and bought the box of bacon. There are four 1-pound packs in the box. Now, the thing is, okay, see, I eat bacon. In fact I love the stuff. But there's just no way I'm going to be able to get through the stuff in less than a month - at the earliest. So, can I stick three of the packs in the freezer? I'm worried that the bacon will expand while freezing and break the tightly sealed plastic wrap. Also worried about how it will affect taste. I can always put some bacon in ziploc baggies to give them some extra room. That would help also in rationing out more appropriately sized servings of bacon, which I could then thaw and enjoy when desired.

However, this may be a moot point if bacon lasts essentially forever in its sealed package in the fridge. I don't know exactly what the shelf life is on sealed bacon, but I'm assuming it's pretty long.

Lastly, perhaps it would be wiser still to just make something with all four pounds of the bacon and then work on preserving that. The original idea was to make chocolate covered bacon with my new double-boiler, but the Sam's Club bacon is too thin, so it's off to the store to get thick cut bacon for the explicit purpose of making some delicious piggy confections. That means I've still got a lot of leftover bacon to make soup, bacon bread, bacon salad, bacon whatever.

Mmmmmm - bacon! Any ideas are welcome. Thanks, mefiers.

Do I tell the vegetarian she ate bacon last night?

Sweetie Darling — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 18:24:07 -0800

A meaty dilemma: I think we served bacon to a vegetarian last night. I organized a barbecue for the office and was standing at the buffet when a co-worker was going through the line with her husband. She pointed at the baked beans and said, "Are these vegetarian?" I turned to the caterer and said, "Are these vegetarian?" He said yes, quite confidently.

Later that evening, when packing up leftovers, I discovered that the beans were actually chock-full of bacon. (Mmm, bacon.) But now I feel guilty. I'm hoping that she and her husband discovered the bacon before they ate it, but I'm wondering about whether I should 'fess up to her on Monday.

Vegetarians, would you rather know or not know? She is from India and I don't know her reasons for not eating meat, nor her level of commitment to it. Other than making sure we get truly vegetarian beans next year, what is my obligation here?

Booze + chocolate pairing question

availablelight — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:33:09 -0800

Booze + chocolate pairing question. What kind of alcohol (can be a beer, wine, or liquor--though I'd like to stay away from the complexity/expense of a cocktail if possible) would you pair with a chocolate + bacon cupcake? (Chocolate used for the cupcake = Ghirardelli cocoa powder + butter + buttermilk, etc.; bacon is a smoked Canadian import browned to a crisp).

Bonus points for not costing too much, or being to hard to find.

Makin' Bacon

arcticwoman — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:20:48 -0800

I just opened up my box of pork bellies (to cure my own bacon, duh) and discovered that the skin in still on. This wasn't mentioned in my recipe and I can't find any real info about it! Do I leave the skin on? Remove it? Remove it before it's been cured (wet-cure), before it's been cold-smoked, or before I eat it? I'm using the recipe from this episode of Good Eats.

How much bacon should be added to Rice Krispies treats?

troybob — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:03:24 -0800

What is the right amount of bacon to add to Rice Krispies treats? I've read online that bacon can be successfully added to Rice Krispies treats, but I can't find a recipe to figure how much bacon would be good to add--how much is too little or too much. Also, would I replace some of the butter with bacon grease, or does that matter as far as flavor?

I'm trying to make a trio of bacon treats for a road trip & music show this weekend, and would l like to have this one to go with the bacon cookies and bacon brittle. Thanks!

Why yes, I do fancy a fry-up.

thedaniel — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 14:42:19 -0800

This mefi post made me hungry. Are there any restaurants in LA that serve a Full English breakfast? I consulted one of my old coworkers who was in town from Ireland for a while, and the closest he got was buying the fixins from the Irish store on Vine and making it himself.

Do you know my friend?

Gungho — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:37:58 -0800

Mathematics filter: What are the odds of a pair of my friends meeting another couple who are also my friends, but they have never met before? Bonus. This happened on vacation in another city where neither of them, nor I, have ever lived... Is this an example of six degrees of separation?

Foodies: ID this soup!!

CreativeJuices — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 11:35:18 -0800

Foodies: Please help me ID this soup!! Also, what are some of your all time best soup recipes? Foodies, help me ID & find a recipe for a pea soup I had in Paris last year. It was the best soup I have EVER had! It was like agreen pea soup with a fried egg and bacon floating on top. It also had some sort of diving nectar (maybe great quality balsamic vinaigrette??) What is this? Just a ritzy French version of pea soup? If you can, point me towards a recipe!! On 2-for, what are you fav soup recipies? Thanks!

How to make vodka bacon-flavored?

d. z. wang — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 20:54:35 -0800

How can I infuse bacon flavor into vodka? The product doesn't need to be vegan or kosher or anything special---just want to go into a kitchen and whip up some bacon-flavored vodka. I know you can leave, say, lemon zest in a bottle of vodka for a few days and get lemon-flavored vodka, but will it work with bacon? My primary concern is whether the lovely greasy flavor of bacon is fat-soluble, in which case it probably won't partition out into a polar environment like water and ethanol. Has anyone tried this?

I'm only interested in methods that can be done in a reasonably stocked kitchen, without even specialized bartender-ware, if such things exist, so please no industrial or laboratory sep-funnel-and-reflux solutions. Although if bacon-flavored vodka exists, I would dearly love to know how they make it.

Takin' bacon to the next level

slogger — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 11:00:03 -0800

I am looking for new, interesting and (perhaps) unconventional bacon flavors. Inspired by this thread, I have begun exploring the joys of curing bacon at home. My initial attempts have been quite successful: a sweet maple bacon, a savory garlic and black peppercorn bacon, and a simple bacon--all apple wood smoked.

Now that I have a few slabs under my belt, I want to take my bacon to the next level. I've been poking around the grocery stores for some inspiration, but have only seen more traditional flavors (maple, molasses, peppercorn, etc).

So, what interesting bacon flavors have you seen/tasted/made? What flavor of bacon would you be most curious to try?

Did somebody say bacon chocolate?

mostlymartha — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 13:20:09 -0800

Where in San Francisco can I acquire a Vosges bacon chocolate bar for my birthday? My birthday in on Thursday, and all I really want is a Vosges bacon bar. I am absolutely entranced by it. I've bought other Vosges bars in various places at various times, but I haven't seen the bacon bar anywhere, and I don't have time to order one from their website. Any ideas for places in the city where I could hunt down this particular Vosges bar so that I might celebrate the day of my birth with sweet, salty, bacony chocolate deliciousness?

Curing Blues

ninazer0 — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 22:42:38 -0800

Where can I find food-grade potassium nitrate (A.K.A. saltpetre")? I've got some recipes for cured meats that I want to make. The recipies include potassium nitrate/saltpetre. Where can I find a source (in Australia)?

(I'm aware that potassium nitrate is poisonous in the wrong amounts, that there are various health issues associated with nitrates in food and that home-cured meat produces have their own risks.)

I know that there are a variety of home-cure products (rubs and such) that are available on the US market. They don't appear to be available here. Searches for potassium nitrate lead either to fertilizer suppliers, food research papers or articles on home-made bombs. Ditto saltpetre.

Is there a product or industry name that I should be looking for instead of the chemical name etc?

Ideally, I'd like to purchase a small quantity (no more than a couple of hundred grams at most, and probably less - if possible) of food grade potassium nitrate in a standardised mix (so much X weight per Y of product). The places I've checked thus far (specialist food retailers, restaurant suppliers and a couple of chemists) have either not known what I'm talking about or have lecturered me on the perils involved. None of them actually appear to carry the stuff.

Any brilliant suggestions?

A burning bacon question.

_sirmissalot_ — Wed, 23 May 2007 18:48:21 -0800

So, bacon. Did it used to be a wholly different foodstuff? I often run across descriptions of bacon as a wartime staple in the 19th and early 20th century--i.e. before refrigeration--wherein it would appear that the bacon was shelf/wagon-stable for months on end. With the bacon we get today (at least in America) refrigeration is absolutely necessary, and once the seal is broken, you have about a week of usability. So what's the deal with old-school bacon? Did the bacon change, or did the people? I must know.

I <3 my bacon

hindmost — Fri, 11 May 2007 19:46:00 -0800

What are some good choices for meat and meat products that do not require refrigeration for 2-3 days? I am going on a trip where I will be one of the few non-vegetarians so it is up to me to find some interesting sources of meat for the carnivores. There will be no real refrigeration (it will be about 70 degrees, I have a cooler, but I do not know how often I can refill it with ice). I'm looking for something more inspired than beef jerky, spam, and those dehydrated meals you can buy at camping supply stores. Cooking is limited to a small camping stove.

Is modern bacon created to be shelf stable? Any interesting recipes you can suggest? Maximize for deliciousness after a long day of activity. There are no space and weight restrictions barring the ability to fit in the trunk of a car.

BLT Lite?

jaysus chris — Sat, 26 Aug 2006 15:02:58 -0800

BLTfilter: If I cook up a package of bacon there is a ton of grease left in the pan. Are the calories in the grease included in the nutrition information? The package says it contains 800 calories without any "as packaged" or "as prepared" notation. I'm guessing there's ~50 grams of grease left behind. Can I multiply that by 9 (calories per gram of fat) and subtract it from the 800 calories for a better representation of what we're actually eating?

The other white meat.

zardoz — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 17:45:16 -0800

I have a question about bacon. And sausage. I currently live in Japan, and the bacon here is...well...different. Try to fry it like American bacon and it just sort of scorches--it's more like regular ham in that respect. The sausage here too is strange, like hot dogs but not as good (if that's even possible). But it's not just Japan... Once I hopped to Vancouver and the sausage there was a little weird--yellowish with an almost gamey taste. The bacon was strange as well (and it was different from the "Canadian bacon" Americans get on pizza.) Years ago in the States, I made some Jimmy Dean sausage links for a British friend, who had to muster the courage to eat them, saying they looked shriveled up and dry (but changed his mind completely upon trying one).

So why all this disparity with pork products? It's all from the same animal, so what is the difference in the curing process? Anyone eat any really weird pork in a foreign country?

English Bacon, Canadian Bacon . . . Who knew there was so much to a pig?

Medieval Maven — Thu, 16 Mar 2006 05:00:24 -0800

While abroad last fall, I had really awesome sandwhiches. It seemed like every pub we ate in had a brie-and-bacon-on-some-sort-of-bread available. Now that I'm back in the states, I want to know where to find English bacon, or how to substitute for it. I've found a couple of things online, but I'm not getting enough detail (like, a picture of it cooked, since that's the only way I've ever seen not-American or not-Canadian bacon). This looks promising. Bonus Points: If you live in or around Atlanta, is there a local butcher or other shop that you know of that sells this stuff?

Beefy bacon

feelinglistless — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 15:03:19 -0800

I was eating a bacon butty this evening and I was wondering why beef isn't traditionally cut that thinly and cooked in the same way.