This is the cold that never ends,
Yes, it goes on and on my friends
Some people started catching it, not knowing what it was,
And they’ll continue being plagued by it forever just because—
You understand correctly, I’m going over week #2 with this fricken cold. It moved in to my sinus bone last Thursday and creates these wonderful headaches. The pain from the bright sunlight actually makes the pain almost bearable. Then it’s off to the land of aspirin, yay.
Tee hee, Chilebrown goes on a meat spree in Oregon. Asks me if I want to come over Saturday morning (3 weeks ago) and have a tasting!
What do you think my answer was?
For exact details on where exactly this bacon came from, please visit Chilebrown’s Ultimate Meat Adventure.
The air was crisp off the bay, sun was bright and all speckledy. It was time for the mother of all bacon tastings. CB asked me to bring a few fry pans, each bacon needed to be cooked all separate.
We had 4 burners going plus 2 selections on the griddle. Carefully I turned, ever so gently the little darlings were cooked to perfection. Both CB and I didn’t think the beef bacon was going to come to anything, but the Black Forest slab really looked interesting.
Cool lookin’, eh?
If one is to taste test any amount of any type of food, one needs to have a way of cleansing the palate. This way you give a solid report of taste & texture from each selection. I chose beer, figured that was my best bet. Beer & bacon for breakfast? How could anyone pass that one up.
First up was Gartner’s Maple bacon. Good meaty texture, solid pork flavor, cure & smoke exceptionally light. Sip beer.
Second is Zenner’s offering. Pretty close to Gartner’s Maple, but more cure & smoky goodness. Sip beer.
Otto’s? See Gartner’s, sip beer.
Redmond! Quite a change up here, and a good one at that. A good solid smoky, belly bacon with nice texture. The meat tore well and the fat melted in your mowf. Sip beer.
Gartner’s Beef was next, it was beef bacon. Neither CB, no Ms. Goofy, nor myself cared much for it. If it ain’t pork, it ain’t bacon. Sip beer.
Here’s the one we were all waiting for, the Black Forest strips of dark goodness. This one had the most gooey stickness in the pan. Exceptionally plain flavors, really didn’t spark much. I believe Ms. Goofy offered up some love for it. But CB and I went back time and time again for the Redmond & Zenner’s. Sip beer.
Over the last week or so, CB has mentioned that after tasting some others, he was able to get some flavors out of the strips that he couldn’t find at the tasting, bacon overload I think it was. In any case, my verdict stands, Redmond wins! This is only because A&B wasn’t represented here.
All in all it was a pretty nifty way to start a day. Oddly, I wasn’t hungry until maybe 5pm that day. Thank you CB and thank you Ms. Goofy for making this adventure a tasty Saturday morning, indeed. Finish beer.
xo, Biggles
Hey, I got taste buds and opinions galore. Can I come next time? I’m with you Bigs. If it ain’t pork, it ain’t bacon. But, if it’s Bud, it ain’t beer. See? I GOTS opinions.
I hadn’t imagined “Ï’d”actually get to taste that bacon “we” bought in Oregon. Yum…
Hard to imagine an event more perfect for you! I’m sure you were in bacon heaven! You go, Guy!
I have to assume you was sipping Schlitz ???
I think they all have good qualities. The Redmond Bacon was a smoke bomb that grabbed your attention. ‘The Gold Standard of Bacon’ is, and will be in My memories, “A&B” Market! R.I.P.
Oh my god. That sounds like the perfect day.
So perfect, in fact, that I am trying to organize a bacon quest up in my neck of the woods. If I’m real lucky I’ll find me some bacon donuts, too.
Cold or not, you’ve obviously got God on your side.
Look at all those cast irons! W-o-w!
My only concern is that you may not be able to trust your results, seems like the kinda test you may need to do again and again. Because of variables and controls and, uh, I wasn’t there. 😉
OK, I’m gonna ask (don’t hit me). Have you ever tried the bacon at the Original Pancake House in Bend? I KNOW it ain’t local… but ohmigod it’s meatychewyfattysaltygoodness all rolled into one. But I am driving to Redmond to pick up some bacon… this test reminds me of the book I started “Chewing the fat: testing bacon across the nation”. Hmmm.. I should start writing again. 🙂
That black bacon is scary.
I gotta go eat some guacamole and sip a Bud.
xx
Just ONE beer? You’re slipping. Even if it was just a step up from water for a palate cleanse. For this test, I’d have done water and a saltine. THEN got hammered on REAL beer. 🙂
…and been rolled into my front door by a caring neighbor.
Ahhh, rolled into doors, good times.
I am not one to complain when I am a guest in someone’s home.
mMmMmM, bacon.
Eating meat makes you stink. As a PROFESSIONAL CHEF and a doctor, I know that for a fact (you can read my comments on SeriousEats).
My roommate (who I share my used trailer house with) eats bacon and I have to buy incense to kill the stink.
chiffOnade
@Y’all Meathengers:
I’m in the PDX and these pix are making me want to trip 3 hours down to Bend. Gartner’s pastrami is wicked good.
Hey Chef O,
Odor is a subjective sense. I find heavy cologne or perfume offensive and stinky. Some do not.
Many of the posters here know me personally and can certainly assure you, I do not stink. Your roomate stinks, because they don’t smell good.
Biggles
I can attest: Biggles doesn’t stink. He’s aromatic 😀
Last time I was close enough to judge, he smelled like a wood-burning manly-man. 🙂
Oh yeah! That was awesome! All day cooking meat in a hole in Cookie’s lawn. A great day indeed.
Biggles