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Bacon Everything: Bacon makes everything better! Hardcover – April 20, 2021 by Brooke Michael Bell (Editor) Everything is better with bacon, and this all-bacon book is out to prove it! Bacon Everything features appetizers, sides, main dishes, and even desserts; this is a mouthwatering collection of recipes you’ll turn to again and again.Bacon, bacon, and more bacon! Embrace your love of all things bacon with more than 50 indulgent recipes in this cookbook. From cheesy bacon-topped casseroles and hearty roasts to bacon-filled breads, flavorful sides, and even desserts, Bacon Everything is for the bacon fan in all of us. Bacon is a flavor bomb that transforms every dish it touches. The combination of smoky and salty flavors with that irresistible crispiness makes bacon the perfect ingredient for taking your favorite recipe to the next level. There’s no limit to the delicious dishes that bacon can make even better. Flip through these pages and pick your own favorite recipes that are wrapped, topped, flavored, and baked with bacon.

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A Short History of Bacon

By Peggy Trowbridge Filippone / Updated on 07/23/21

 

Bacon may be the U.S.’s current favorite pork product, inspiring countless 21st-century memes and t-shirt slogans, from “You had me at bacon” to “Keep calm and put bacon on.” But the passion for cured pork stretches far back through history—and to many other parts of the world.

 

Bacon in Ancient and Medieval Times

Salted pork belly first appeared on dining tables thousands of years ago in China. Pork curing methods spread throughout the Roman Empire, and Anglo-Saxon peasants cooked with bacon fat. Until well into the 16th century, the Middle English term bacon or bacoun referred to all pork in general. The word bacon derives from various Germanic and French dialects, including the Old French bacun, Old High German bacho (meaning buttock) and Old Teutonic backe, which refers to the back. But the cut typically used to make bacon comes from the side, or belly, of the hog. In modern England, a side of bacon is called a “gammon” and a thin slice of bacon is known as a “rasher”.

In the 12th century, a church in the English town of Great Dunmow promised a side of bacon to any married man who could swear before the congregation and God that he had not quarreled with his wife for a year and a day. A husband who could “bring home the bacon” was highly regarded by the community for his forbearance.

 

Bacon in the New World

Queen Isabella sent eight pigs to Cuba with Christopher Columbus, but the National Pork Board credits Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto as the “father of the American Pork Industry.” He brought 13 pigs to the shores of the New World in 1539; within three years his herd had grown to 700. Indigenous peoples reportedly fell in love with the flavor and readily accepted pigs and pork products as peace offerings. By 1653, a rapidly expanding, free-roaming and unruly swine population nearly thwarted Dutch construction of a wall on Manhattan Island meant to keep the British and Indigenous peoples out of New Amsterdam. The site later became known as Wall Street. Pigs continued to run wild in New York City into the 19th century.

 

Bacon on the Modern Table

In a health-conscious age, you might expect to find fatty bacon low on the list of preferred foods. But Americans are eating more pork now than they have in decades—and as anyone who dabbles in pork belly commodities can tell you, bacon can singlehandedly boost the pork market. Americans eat 70 percent of their bacon with breakfast, but the crispy, salty meat also stars as a sandwich ingredient and a favorite of chefs in fine dining establishments— causing bacon shortages and price hikes at times. Still, bacon remains a bargain when it comes to adding flavor. Bacon aficionados enjoy the cured meat in everything from classic dishes like chowders to more adventurous concoctions such as bacon ice cream, chocolate-covered bacon, and bacon jam. With low-sodium and lean varieties available, even a dieter can partake in moderation.

 

BACON IS AMERICA’S FAVORITE

Baconfest Washington

Located in historic Easton, PA, the PA Bacon Fest has grown into one of the region’s most popular events. With 150+ vendors, 12+ musical acts, and several stages, the two-day festival attracts more than 80,000 attendees. PA Bacon Fest was named one of the TOP 300 Festivals in the world by FEST300.com!! Regionally, won a Townie Award from Pennsylvania Downtown Center. And locally, voted Best Culinary Event in Lehigh Valley Style magazine’s Best of the Lehigh Valley contest. The Fest is held Rain or Shine!

BACON, BACON, & MORE BACON AT THE NJ BACONFEST NEWJERSEYISNTBORING FEATURED, OCEAN COUNTY, JULY 11, 2016

Bacon Fest 2019 Everything Goes Better with Bacon Saturday, August 17, 2019 at 3:00 PM FREE FESTIVAL Gates open at 3:00 PM FREE MUSIC IN THE PARK 3:00 PM – George Barrie Band 5:30 PM – Honey and Blue Band 8:00 PM – Pandora Effect Don’t forget your lawn chair! Sorry, pets and coolers are not allowed.

BaconFest Saturday, September 21, 2019 from 11:00AM – 3:00PM Hard Rock Hotel and Casino’s Battery Park Siouxland Habitat for Humanity

Location: Devil’s Lake State Park: Baraboo, WI Dates: May 17-19, 2019 Fee: $15 + bundle of wood

BaconFest 2019

 

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POSTED 10:40 AM DECEMBER 6, 2018 BY ERINT228 You’re invited to try some of the best bacon Indy has to offer at the annual BaconFest.  Q95’s Gunner along with John Stanley and Karl Benko from Sullivan’s Steakhouse talk about everything bacon.

Come to the lovely grounds of the Kelley’s Island Wine Co. and celebrate a love of all things Pork.

Jul 21,  106.1 CHEZ Headquarters, 2001 Thurston Drive, Ottawa 106.1 CHEZ’s most anticipated event of the year is back. Doc & Woody’s 7th Annual

Baconfest: VIP Bacon Breakfast By Chaddsford Winery 632 Baltimore Pike, Chadds Ford, PA 19317
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Wisconsin’s own award-winning Patrick Cudahy presents 102.9 THE HOG’s BACONFEST MILWAUKEE 2019 on Sunday, February 17th at the Event Center inside Potawatomi Hotel & Casino.

Seventh annual Sacramento Bacon Fest brings the sizzle

Bacon Bashes

If you fry it, they will come. Here’s where to pig out around the region.

Feb. 16, Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival in Des Moines. The 11th edition of this blowout at the Iowa Events Center features four levels of bacon: a Bacon Education Center, the bacon-sampling hall, a Bacon Strip of six bars and a pop-up bacon nightclub. An after-party features a concert by Smash Mouth.

Feb. 17, Baconfest MKE in Milwaukee. In this city, famous for hogs of a different stripe, top chefs will create bacon cuisine at the Potawatomi Hotel & Casino.

March 16, Bacon and Beer Festival in Fargo, N.D. In the Fargodome, sample bacon dishes from20 restaurants plus more than 100 different beers. There’s also a bacon-eating contest and mechanical-pig riding.

April 5-6, Baconfest Chicago. This is a major foodie festival, with tastings and demos from more than 160 chefs at UIC Forum.

June 15, BACooN Ride Too from Waukee, Iowa. This bacon-themed 72-mile ride starts just west of Des Moines and follows the paved Raccoon River Valley Trail.

Treats along the route include bacon cinnamon rolls and bacon ice-cream sandwiches.

June 29, Bacon and Brews in Madison. This festival at Breese Stevens Field features hundreds of craft beers and live music as well as artisan bacon-infused dishes.

Late June through August, Beer & Bacon Cruises in St. Paul. On the Mississippi River across from downtown, the Padelford Riverboats offer these cruises on some Saturday evenings.

July, Bacon and Beer Classic in St. Paul. This festival at CHS Field includes more than 100 beers as well as 30 bacon dishes, a bacon-eating contest, lawn games and music.

Sept. 14-15, Bacon Bash in River Falls, Wis. In this western Wisconsin town, there are pig races, a pig-calling contest, costume contests, a pig-wing eating contest, an amateur bacon cook-off and many bacon dishes, including ice cream.

There’s also live music, children’s activities and a craft-beer tent.

REMEMBER YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT!