Important matters concerning the existence of Humanity - BACON

Capt MJ said:
And if you can find this salt, invest in it. It’s a finishing salt, not to be cooked with, but that final touch. My Spanish pilot friend’s family was from the Balearic Islands, and it was a staple in their house.

Funny - my usual hostess gift was a pound of the best American bacon I could find in the Commissary. They loved the smokiness. Meanwhile, I loved the jamon serrano they would have set out with drinks.

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Of course you, the master chef, have a special finishing salt... while the rest of us make do with plain old table salt. 😄 Bon appetite!
 
kinnem said:
Of course you, the master chef, have a special finishing salt... while the rest of us make do with plain old table salt. 😄 Bon appetite!
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I take pleasure in small things, and nearly 6 years living in Spain and Italy and watching the attention to detail when it came to food, made a real impression. I have good ol’ Morton’s for its appropriate uses, but also the pink Hawaiian salt for grilled items, this Ibiza stuff in a little olive wood container near the cooktop, some Welsh smoked sea salt (google Halen Môn Anglesey sea salt) I picked up on a trip there, and the grinder flake sea salt for DIY at the table. My mom told me in her 90’s that the older she got, the less she could taste anything, so take the time to enjoy it along the way. There, I played the Mom Card.
 
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Capt MJ said:
And if you can find this salt, invest in it. It’s a finishing salt, not to be cooked with, but that final touch. My Spanish pilot friend’s family was from the Balearic Islands, and it was a staple in their house.

Funny - my usual hostess gift was a pound of the best American bacon I could find in the Commissary. They loved the smokiness. Meanwhile, I loved the jamon serrano they would have set out with drinks.

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Pretty awesome!!

Now...if they'd sprung for some Iberico...

Steve
 
flieger83 said:
Pretty awesome!!

Now...if they'd sprung for some Iberico...

Steve
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He was a teniente. Now, at the almirante’s casa, some seriously good tapas, including platters of iberico and queso Manchego, were on offer. I ate that every chance I got.
 
Oh, to ensure I check the bacon block, that smoked Welsh sea salt with bacon on top of any salad or fresh vegetable dish or a bacon-chopped tomato mix on top of grilled crusty bread, is magical.
 
Warning: This is not actually about bacon, but is a happy partner of bacon. This is for all of you who like the flavor of smoke and like to experiment with smoking various things (in your smoker or your grill, of course).

I know I can get carried away writing about food, otherwise known as “waxing poetic,” but stand by for the direct-from-website description of the smoked Welsh sea salt I mentioned above.

Halen Môn Gold Smoked Sea Salt

Flakey crystals with complex oak aromas and a clear flavor, this salt is wonderful on hearty soups, pastas, cheeses, salads, and vanilla bean ice cream. From the pure ocean currents of the Welsh coast, Halen Môn finishing salt has a large and immensely complex gemstone structure, making for extraordinary texture in the mouth and exceptional deftness, coaxing every nuance from virtually any dish it finds. When an ancient landmark Welsh Oak tree fell on the premises of the company that makes the salt, they turned the upsetting moment around and celebrated with this oak-smoked variation of their excellent salt.

The making of Halen Môn marries centuries-old craft with high technology. Pure seawater from Wales’s Menai Straits passes through two filters, a mussel bed (nature’s finest filter), and a sandbank before being charcoal-filtered. The filtered seawater is gently heated in a vacuum which encourages it to almost boil at a low temperature. As the water releases steam it is concentrated into very salty brine. The steam that is produced is used, in its turn, to heat the brine. When the concentration of salt in the water is high enough it is released into shallow crystallization tanks.

In the quiet of the night delicate crystals begin to form, first on the surface then sinking as they grow. In the morning the salt is harvested by gently scooping out the flakes. They are then rinsed in brine until they shine with snowy brilliance. Finally, the salt is carefully dried. Now, ten days after being drawn from the sea, the salt is ready.

Halen Môn’s trapezoidal flakes give off a fiery amber glow, and intense notes of Celtic ocean-side bonfire dissolve into a sublimated yet somehow full-bodied flavor that works wonders on the most sublime winged creatures such as pigeon or guinea fowl, or sea creatures such as rockfish, abalone, and mussels. The flake also performs miracles on ice cream and creme brulée, and provides a curious twist to the increasingly popular use of sel gris on chocolates, caramels, and marzipans.

Halen Môn Gold is a Soil Association Certified Product finishing salt, and was awarded the silver medal for the 2006 NASFT award for Outstanding Savoury Condiment, Pasta Sauce, Salsa, Cooking Enhancer or Spice.

Ingredients: sea salt, smoke
 
^ Ahhh! If only I could sneak a purchase past my ever present and strict VP of purchasing. I already have half a closet full of spices and coffees I need to keep hidden away. Getting them into the house is an art form in itself, and would be deserving of a separate thread. And no... i don't keep bacon in my closet. 😄
 
@kinnem @THParent

DH gets fun specialty food items, as do I, in Christmas stockings and for other gift occasions. We don’t need more “stuff.” Fun consumables that boost morale and improve QOL, of course. Perhaps there is a negotiable strategy nugget there.
 
Brother-in-law and his wife live in Seattle. At their wedding reception, one of the party favors was little vials of Salish Salt from the San Juan Islands in Puget Sound. They were big but light flakes. My palate isn’t great, but my take was that it’s a milder, more rounded flavor than that of the kosher salt I typically use. Many guests left their vials, so we hoarded a bunch. It’s all gone now, and I’m back to basic kosher stuff. Maybe someday I’ll have the patience and nuance to become a salt connoisseur.
 
For those who know and appreciate the joys of the house-made “pop tarts” in DTA (Downtown Annapolis) at the beloved Iron Rooster, this week they are featuring the always-enjoyable Triple Berry RoosTart, and also the siren allure of the Candied Bacon and Salted Caramel RoosTart.

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kinnem said:
^ Ahhh! If only I could sneak a purchase past my ever present and strict VP of purchasing. I already have half a closet full of spices and coffees I need to keep hidden away. Getting them into the house is an art form in itself, and would be deserving of a separate thread. And no... i don't keep bacon in my closet. 😄
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you could hide the pricey salt in the harry potter closet under the stairs. Just a thought.
 
Capt MJ said:
Warning: This is not actually about bacon, but is a happy partner of bacon. This is for all of you who like the flavor of smoke and like to experiment with smoking various things (in your smoker or your grill, of course).

I know I can get carried away writing about food, otherwise known as “waxing poetic,” but stand by for the direct-from-website description of the smoked Welsh sea salt I mentioned above.

Halen Môn Gold Smoked Sea Salt

Flakey crystals with complex oak aromas and a clear flavor, this salt is wonderful on hearty soups, pastas, cheeses, salads, and vanilla bean ice cream. From the pure ocean currents of the Welsh coast, Halen Môn finishing salt has a large and immensely complex gemstone structure, making for extraordinary texture in the mouth and exceptional deftness, coaxing every nuance from virtually any dish it finds. When an ancient landmark Welsh Oak tree fell on the premises of the company that makes the salt, they turned the upsetting moment around and celebrated with this oak-smoked variation of their excellent salt.

The making of Halen Môn marries centuries-old craft with high technology. Pure seawater from Wales’s Menai Straits passes through two filters, a mussel bed (nature’s finest filter), and a sandbank before being charcoal-filtered. The filtered seawater is gently heated in a vacuum which encourages it to almost boil at a low temperature. As the water releases steam it is concentrated into very salty brine. The steam that is produced is used, in its turn, to heat the brine. When the concentration of salt in the water is high enough it is released into shallow crystallization tanks.

In the quiet of the night delicate crystals begin to form, first on the surface then sinking as they grow. In the morning the salt is harvested by gently scooping out the flakes. They are then rinsed in brine until they shine with snowy brilliance. Finally, the salt is carefully dried. Now, ten days after being drawn from the sea, the salt is ready.

Halen Môn’s trapezoidal flakes give off a fiery amber glow, and intense notes of Celtic ocean-side bonfire dissolve into a sublimated yet somehow full-bodied flavor that works wonders on the most sublime winged creatures such as pigeon or guinea fowl, or sea creatures such as rockfish, abalone, and mussels. The flake also performs miracles on ice cream and creme brulée, and provides a curious twist to the increasingly popular use of sel gris on chocolates, caramels, and marzipans.

Halen Môn Gold is a Soil Association Certified Product finishing salt, and was awarded the silver medal for the 2006 NASFT award for Outstanding Savoury Condiment, Pasta Sauce, Salsa, Cooking Enhancer or Spice.

Ingredients: sea salt, smoke
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That makes my mouth water. Such prose for something as 'common' as salt. Clearly not a common type of salt. I am intrigued.
 
"The Hungarian word for barbecue is szalonnasütés, which means “bacon cooking,” because the traditional way to cook bacon in Hungary is to hold a piece over an open fire while it cooks." Provided by FactRetriever.com

Good idea to learn this word in case it is in next year's SATs or the national speling bee.

Anyway, it could be a worthwhile technique of cooking bacon, though I would consider using a stick or tongs rather than holding it over the fire with your hand (or my hand).
 
How to keep baked chicken breasts from drying out...add bacon!

Then add a side of fresh-from-the-garden squash with butter and garlic AND homemade sourdough bread (DH's contribution).
 

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I had fried potatoes, onions, bacon, cheese and two hen fruit all scrambled together this morning. I heard angels singing as I sipped my Cafe El Aguilla espresso.

I mention the brand of espresso, because the last time we were in Pensacola, we bought 10 bricks of the stuff for $1.85 each. I would have bought more, but that's all they had in the store.
 
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