At any one point in time, I’m bugging dozens of chefs and bartenders all across the country to let me know what their favorite store-bought items are (like chicken nuggets, croissants, boxed mac and cheese, bourbon, and vodka). This is all in hopes that we, dear reader, can recreate that restaurant-level magic at home. And what better way to start the new year than by seeking out the chef’s favorite brand of arguably the greatest ingredient of all time?
As it turns out, there is one brand, in particular, that really sizzles.
The Best Bacon to Buy, According to Chefs
As far as chefs are concerned, you can count yourself as especially lucky if you’re familiar with North Country Smokehouse’s bacon. If not, it’s time to get acquainted. “I’ve tried just about every variety and brand of bacon available to the general public,” says Chef Gavin Lambert of pop-up restaurant Bon Ami. “If I’m not making my own … I’m buying North Country.”
This is not your average slab, Lambert notes: The delicacy of smoke, and the general care and pride in its production, make North Country’s bacon one of the most versatile for using in stews, braises, and sauces. “Plus, in my house we save every single gram of rendered bacon fat to use for cooking in place of oil — liquid gold, as we call it.”
Chef Brian Poe, of Tip Tap Room and Crane River Cheese Club in Boston, who heard about the brand from acclaimed Michelin-starred chef Thomas Keller, agrees wholeheartedly: “It’s got such a lovely thickness, viscosity, umami, and proper smoke to it,” says Poe. “It’s meant to be snacked upon, as well as an amuse, app, soup, salad, entrée, and dessert.”
Whether it’s at home or in his restaurant kitchen, North Country also has a fan in Chef Morgan Jarrett of STATE Grill and Bar, the flagship restaurant of the Empire State Building. “We use North Country at my restaurant for our “Clothesline Bacon,” Jarrett says of the popular dish, which involves slow-cooking bacon over rye bread (to catch all those majestic bacon drippings).
If You’re Cooking Bacon, a Few Chef-Approved Tips
So you’ve brought home the bacon — what now? You’ve got two main choices: Opt for pan-frying or cook in the oven. As for the chefs, the oven is, overwhelmingly, the way to go. “Stop cooking your bacon in a frying pan — this is Sisyphus’s work!” pleads Jarrett. “Instead, take a small sheet tray and line it with parchment paper. Lay the bacon in a single layer, and cook it at 350ºF.” After about six to eight minutes, much like you’d do while tanning on a hot beach, give that bacon a flip.
No matter how you choose to cook your bacon (in the oven or in a frying pan), don’t forget the flip. “Flipping halfway through cooking is crucial!” Lambert adds. “Cooking the bacon too far on one side will result in crunchy, dry strips, and it will lack that signature chew.”
Across the board, chefs beg you to not throw away that bacon grease. Like, don’t even think about it. Of course, we all have had a jar full of bacon grease (and good intentions) that we’ve forgotten to use in a timely manner, but Jarrett urges home cooks to keep that jar of liquid gold — especially when you’re shelling out for top-notch bacon: “You can then save that bacon fat and keep it by your stove for general cooking needs; I keep it in this container.”
Do you agree with these chefs? Let us know in the comments below.