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Archive for the ‘BACON GIFT IDEAS’ Category
CMMG Tactical Bacon
So we all know that the zombie uprising is pretty much inevitable. If you’re anything like me you’ve got a plan, a stockpile of ammo and a bug-out bag filled with all of your necessary survival items when civilization collapses. Well just because you’re holed up in your bunker waiting for tactical air strikes to clear the undead menace or you’ve emerged from your bomb shelter to nuclear winter doesn’t mean that you have to go without bacon.
Enter CMMG, manufacturers of Mil-Spec AR-15 battle rifes, accessories, and, possibly most important of all, Tac Bac, formally known as Tactical Bacon. It is 9 ounces of “Fully cooked and fully prepared” bacon with a 10+ year shelf life. The can looks sturdy enough to use as a blunt weapon too, should you run out of ammo.
Stockpile a few cans today and make sure your bug-out bag has a can opener. Because nobody should have to live in a world without bacon. That’s not a world worth living in.
Old Mountain Cast Iron Bacon Press
As mentioned previously, I recently tied the knot with The Vegetarian. As many of you know, the pre-wedding period involves showers, where the couples receive gifty things. Well, my now mother-in-law, well knowing of my shadowy superhero-esque alter ego of BetterThanAndrew, vigilante baconologist, was appalled that I didn’t have a bacon press. Being the upstanding enabler that she is, she rectified the situation by begifting me an Old Mountain cast iron press.
It’s quite the beefy (err, porky) unit. I’m not sure where it tips the scales but it strikes me as being around the 4-5 lb mark. Then again, I’m a terrible estimator so I could be way off. (Edit: confirmed at around 4 lbs) It’s hefty, though. It measures in at about 7.5″ in diameter and centers nicely in the flat portion of a 10″ skillet. It’s got enough surface area to cover 4 good slices vertically. It was pre-seasoned, which was convenient. No fussing with baking it in the oven for a couple hours before I could use it to smash some swine.
Construction is solid, IMHO. I don’t have other presses to compare it to but my meter is that I’m pretty sure that if I was attacked by a secret agent assassin in my kitchen I could use it to deflect his gunfire and then smash his face in, Jason Bourne style, with no consequential damage to the press. The handle is attached by two beveled flat head phillips screws, flush with the pressing surface so there’s no concerns with scratching your cookware, and secured topside with a washer and nut. A crush nut or split-washer would instill more confidence but I’m not terribly concerned about the nuts coming loose, even after assassin attack. If they did it’d be a quick fix with a screwdriver and a wrench (or pliars, or what have you, if you’re not someone with a Bob Villa-endorsed workbench). The handle is a nice chromed steel with a coiled grip. I’ve never had issues with it heating up during use and it has excellent knuckle clearance from the press surface. Some of the “competing” units I’ve since seen online have a stubby wooden knob or similar grip that’s looks like a quick ticket to blisterville if you’re not careful. The only downside I’ve found is that the heads of the screws can get grease packed up in them during the cooking process. All that really means is an extra couple seconds during the cleaning process, though. It’s of very small concern in the grand scheme of things.
It does what it was designed to do very well. It prevents curling, speeds up cooking time and evenness, and reduces spatter, even better than my old pan screens did. Clean up is a breeze. Hot water and a bit of Dawn and she’s all ready for another round with that smiling pig looking up at you as if to say “Anything I can do to help, sir!” It’s the quintessential bacon preparation tool, besides tongs, and I’m ashamed it’s taken me this long to own one. Bacon tested, BetterThanAndrew approved!
This bad boy is available from a number of online retailers for under $20.00. Do your bacon proud!
BaconScotch Apparel! NOW AVAILABLE!
Bacon Bracelet
Bacon Bracelet
Ran across this Bacon Bracelet. Almost look too real. For $32 I would be too tempted to eat it! ahahahah
VIA: http://onchmovement.bigcartel.com/product/the-bacon-bracelet
The Sticky Pig: Candied Bacon Confections
Candied bacon?!? Who dreamed up this stuff?!? You asked.
Tara Simon did. And the bacon loving world is a better place for it.
You might have seen Tara and The Sticky Pig Candied Bacon Confections on “Outrageous Food” on the Food Network. With flavors like S’mores (Graham cracker crusted candied bacon filled with chocolate and hazelnut butter and topped chocolate, a tiny marshmallow and dusted with graham cracker crumbs) and Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel (chocolate, peanut butter and pretzels, then hand dip each piece in more chocolate and top with pretzel “dust” and our very own peanut butter drizzle), these sweet and savory nuggets are to die for. I mean, COME ON! How yummy do they sound?
As a friend, naturally, when I was invited to contribute to BaconScotch, I thought of Tara. Tara metamorphosed her love of food into a successful candied bacon enterprise complete with her own original, one-of-a-kind candied bacon creations. The Sticky Pig’s candied bacon confections are made in house in Orange County, California, right when you order to ensure quality and freshness. Each piece is made by hand by Tara herself and baked with love with the best possible ingredients she can find, including organic ingredients and make things from scratch when she can.
With the Bacon Vixen as a friend, I have had the benefits of tasting some of her products over the years.
To find out more about Tara and her creations, I sat her down for a quick interview.
OakMonster: I’m sure you get this a lot. What inspired/possessed you to make bacon candies?
Tara: Back in maybe 2004 I had my first bite of candied bacon and I was hooked! Never had I experienced the awesomeness of sweet and salty, like bacon baked with brown sugar and cayenne pepper. I began making it for parties and family gatherings and watched in amazement how quickly my bacon was consumed. Everyone went bonkers and I was always the hit at any party. I’m pretty good with pairing flavors, so I decided to give a few a try, like curry, and then I started filling the candied pieces to create the candies that I sell now on my website.
Where do you find inspiration for new flavor combination?
Everywhere from reading dessert and cocktail menus when I’m out to keeping up with the dessert and chocolate industry, and by tasting whatever I can get my hands on.
Which one of your creations is your personal favorite?
At the moment I am in the works of revamping my entire candied bacon collection, but right now my favorite is The Elvis, which is bacon filled with half banana ganache and half spicy peanut butter ganache with toffee crunch and covered in milk chocolate and topped with banana chips.
The Elvis is my favorite too! (Followed by S’mores.) Finally, you probably have tasted a lot of bacon in your line of work. Any favorite?
I like my bacon crispy and crunchy and not too thick or smokey, so some of my favorites are Albert’s Organics Sunday Bacon and Farmland bacon.
To learn more about Tara’s confections and how to order them, visit The Sticky Pig website at TheStickyPig.com.
P.S. Tara informs me that the website and the line of confections are being revamped. So the flavors may not have the same ingredients as mentioned here. Just letting you know. 
