International Bacon Day
Bacon lovers of the world unite for Saturday 1st September 2012 is International Bacon Day! What, you never knew there was a day to celebrate what Matthew Fort calls “one of the finest foods in any form on the face of the earth”. Each year on the first Saturday of September, people celebrate the wonders of bacon. In this post we look at this cured meat & some of the more unusual ways of consuming it.
Photo from our bacon recipes collection by David Griffen
Food writer and Great British Menu judge, Matthew Fort describes not only his love of bacon but how bacon has been revered in literature “The smell of frying bacon would tempt an anchorite, and possibly even a vegetarian, to err. ‘There were Paddock’s crisp sausages and fragrant shavings of bacon and shapely poached eggs’ a hungry Richard Hannay fantasizes in John Buchan’s The 39 Steps. ‘Fragrant shaving of bacon’. ‘Shapely poached eggs’. It’s always been one of my favourite food quotes.
From this I think we can deduce that he was referring to dried cured bacon here, not the coarse, vulgar and flabby wet cured bacon that oozes unpleasing white liquid all over the frying pan, and which never seems to get crisp, let alone fragrant.”
Bacon, egg, tomato and cheddar-garlic mayo club sandwich by Nathan Outlaw
How should one celebrate International Bacon Day? Obviously by eating it. But why not think a little beyond the bacon butty. Not that there’s anything wrong with a bacon sandwich, especially when it looks as good as Nathan Outlaw’s version.
Bacon Day celebrations include throwing parties or get togethers where people create and consume dishes containing bacon, including bacon-themed breakfasts, lunches, dinners, desserts, and drinks. Yes, dessert and drinks!
The record for the number of different bacon dishes belongs to Thomas Green, of Ottawa, Ontario. On the 16th June 2012 he ate 12 different bacon dishes (candied bacon, maple bacon and chevre points, bacon screwdrivers jell-o style, bacon vodka gazpacho, chilli bacon vodka, pork stuffed with bacon, apple and sage, bacon donuts, chocolate bacon brownies, banana bacon cookies, bacon martini, bacon burger sliders and bacon and egg sliders).
We made Nigella Lawson’s chocolate bacon brownies earlier this year and they were surprisingly tasty.
Nigella’s recipe uses streaky bacon, which is actually then candied with golden syrup. This mix is then added to more traditional chocolate brownie ingredients: butter, brown sugar, cocoa powder, eggs, bicarbonate of soda and most importantly dark chocolate.
Nigella said the secret to success with the bacon was to make sure it is “cut very thin, without the rind, and snip it up into small shards. You don’t really want chewy pieces of bacon, but rather nuggets of intense saltiness within the rich, gooey chocolate squares.” For the full recipe visit Emerald Street.com.
Candied Bacon Martini - photo by twitchdotnet
When it comes to “drinking” bacon, why not try a bacon martini? The recipe is simple. Coat bacon with brown sugar and fry or bake until just firm. Let cool and harden. Mix 3 parts vodka, 2 parts brandy and add a splash of apple cider. Garnish with an apple slice and more candied bacon. Nibble the candied bacon while drinking the martini & err….. enjoy!
For more conventional ways of enjoying International Bacon Day there are a number of delicious bacon recipes in our collection and advice by Matthew Fort on how to cure your own bacon.
Now it’s your turn to inspire us. How will you be celebrating International Bacon Day? Let us know some your favourite ways of serving bacon!
