Artisanal Bacon

Cured with three types of sugar and different spices, this “unique” thick-cut bacon had a “sweet and funky and spiced” flavor profile that “played well with the other ingredients” in the BLT. However, it was “soft” and “a bit too tender” on its own, perhaps due to all that sugar, which helps the bacon retain moisture. Still, this bacon had good “meaty,” “porky” flavor. And for the most part, tasters didn’t mind that it had “barely any smokiness,” though this meant that its effect on green beans was “subtle” and “lacking oomph.”

When eaten plain, this traditional Southern bacon was “exceedingly smoky” and “way too salty” for most tasters. But it was a standout when used to flavor green beans; its “lingering smoke” and high sodium content made the dish “deeply savory”; “rich”; “very porky,” with “umami for miles”; and “just the right amount of salty.” Those who liked it plain and in the BLTs acclaimed its “lovely crisp texture” (“like a pork potato chip,” said one taster) and “mineral-y,” “briny,” “campfire”-like flavors.

On its own, this bacon was “deeply savory,” with “big porky flavor,” a “good amount of fat,” a “nice meaty chew,” and “mild smoke.” But perhaps because it wasn’t very smoky, a few tasters found it “a little bland” and lacking distinction in the BLT and the green beans, both of which came across as “not especially bacony.”