Text 3411, 86 rader
Skriven 2008-03-05 14:11:20 av DAVE SACERDOTE (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av MICHAEL LOO
Ärende: non disputandum 941
===========================
ML> Rare bacon also is delicious. . . .

It is indeed; and to stay on topic, here is a review of some excellent
Hungarian bacon I picked up at one of the Russian markets in West
Springfield:

I picked up a delicious chunk of Hungarian-style smoked bacon at 
one of our local Eastern European supermarkets this weekend. 
Hungarian Brand Smoked Bacon (Kolozsvári szalonna) is made in 
the US by Bende Inc. of Vernon Hills, IL. The ingredients list 
includes salt, garlic powder, sodium lactate, sodium nitrate, 
and ascorbic acid. This results in a very firm product - not at 
all soft like many supermarket bacons - which can be eaten fried 
the way we Americans do, or sliced right from the package as a 
snack or light meal with brown bread.

When I unwrapped the bacon, I got a better look at it than I did 
in the market. It's a good bit fattier than I usually buy, but 
this is a small-batch product and there is always variation 
between batches. It smelled wonderfully of meat and garlic. I 
put a cast-iron skillet on the fire to heat while I sliced the 
bacon.

I enjoyed the first slice in the traditional Eastern European 
way: just the way it was, thinly sliced from the slab, 
accompanied by some dense and crusty black rye bread. The salt 
and garlic were in just the right proportion to the pork and 
a sprinkle of coarsely-ground black pepper enhanced the 
deliciousness. I can never get my wife and daughter to try 
any kind of bacon in this way, though, so the rest of the 
slab was destined for the frying pan.


I sliced the bacon a little less than a quarter-inch thick 
and fried it in the skillet over medium-low heat using a cast 
iron bacon on top to keep it from curling. I took the first 
few pieces out when the bacon was little more than wilted 
and just starting to turn brown on both sides. It was melty 
and wonderful, the garlic flavor made richer in the gentle 
heat. For the rest of the family, I left the slices in the 
pan a bit longer - not enough to cook them crisp all the 
way through, but enough to make them acceptable to people 
used to eating standard American streaky bacon. It came out 
golden brown and crispy on the outside, tender and just a bit 
chewy on the inside. The garlic flavor was very subtle, having 
escaped with the fat that was cooked out, but still noticeable 
and enjoyable. There was a goodly amount of fat left in the 
pan - you can see from the pictures that there wasn't all 
that much lean in the bacon - and I carefully poured it off 
into a tin I keep in the refrigerator for exactly that purpose.

Bende Hungarian Brand Smoked Bacon (Kolozsvári szalonna) 
Ratings:

Flavor: 8/10
Delicious balance of salt, smoke, and garlic. Truly 
top-notch.

Fat to Lean Ratio: 7/10
This batch was a little fattier than I normally like, but 
individual slabs vary. Next time I'll pay more attention 
to what's behind the cryovac before I head for the cash 
register.

Saltiness: 8/10
Some bacons parch your throat for hours. This one didn't.

Cooking Heat: Medium Low
Bacons that use a dryer cure, leaving them firmer than 
standard supermarket bacon, should be cooked on the low 
side of medium to keep them from burning.

Overall: 8/10
I'd buy this stuff again in a heartbeat. It tastes a lot 
like homemade.



---
http://davescupboard.blogspot.com/ - Dave's Cupboard - Food and 
Restaurant Reviews; If I post it here in NCE, you'll find it 
blogged with photos at Dave's Cupboard.

http://bacon-is-life.blogspot.com/ - Bacon Is Life - Bacon Label
Gallery, Links to Bacony Goodness around the web, and more
 * Origin: Doc's Place BBS Fido Since 1991 docsplace.tzo.com (1:123/140)