Bacon is one of those foods that just about everyone agrees — it’s flipping delicious. My favorite way to enjoy it is with a side of eggs, over-easy, and a buttermilk biscuit with butter and blackberry jam. But you’ll never see me turn down a BLT either, complete with homegrown lettuce and tomato, a dab of mayonnaise, and if I’m really lucky, lightly toasted homemade bread to hold it all together.
I’ve been spoiled the last few years: My father has taken to perfecting the art of curing bacon using pork belly from a local farmer. I thought I liked bacon before — the real stuff Pops makes is on another level. Sometimes he’ll experiment with spices, like curry and cumin, which is always fantastic. But the best is his original recipe.
Every Christmas, my brother and I return home with coolers stuffed full of several pounds of bacon, homemade jams, jars of local honey, and smoked cheeses — another one of his endeavors he’s gotten pretty darn good at.
Bacon being one of my favorite foods, I can’t help but look for recipes that include it in the ingredients. I think I’ve found a pretty good spread here covering several courses of a meal, including dessert. Might sound funny, but chocolate and bacon, it turns out, are a pretty tasty flavor duo.
