This is it, everyone.  What the New York Times called the “beluga of bacon, the Rolls-Royce of rashers”… Nueske’s Bacon.  Nueske’s is a specialty meats supplier out of Wisconsin whose tagline is “The World’s Best Applewood-Smoked Meats” – that alone is enough to make your mouth water.

So, my old friend Larry, the GM at Salt7, knows all about my trials and tribulations of giving up bacon for Lent.   He also knows that Sundays don’t count during Lent (maybe because I told him), so what does he do yesterday?

He gives me a slab of Nueske’s Applewood-Smoked Bacon to take home and enjoy today, that’s what!

This piece of uncut meat smells so sweet and savory, I almost didn’t want to slice it.  But when I did, I made sure to slice it nice and thick – thicker than you’ll ever find in any store-bought bacon.

I noticed the difference while cooking the bacon too – higher-quality bacon does not exhibit a lot of far runoff, and doesn’t shrivel up into nothingness.  The thickness of the cut also deters curling.  What you end up with is nice meaty chunks of bacon goodness.

So what did I do with all these amazing bacon?  I decided to top our dinners with it – that night’s being grilled chicken.  That huge piece of bacon almost covers an entire chicken breast!

And I’ve got a lot of uncooked bacon to spare… what to do for next Sunday….

Oh – just to remind you:  Nueske’s is the title sponsor for this weekend’s Delray Beach Bacon & Bourbon Fest… don’t miss it!

Thanks again Larry and Salt7!