The snack of the gods, meat candy, pork belly, edible sex — bacon, by any other name, would taste as sweet and salty. Getting its start as a common breakfast side, bacon has infiltrated every other meal of the day, and even occasionally takes the place of a bowl. Add bacon to nearly anything, and no one questions it (in fact, you might be commended).
Between the bacon wiki pages, bacon-scented cologne and bacon-flavored toothpaste, its easy to get plenty of ancillary bacon in your life. But if all you want is the old-fashioned, edible, from-a-pig-bacon, one of the simplest ways is to order it online. There’s options for monthly subscriptions or order as needed. Either way, you’re introduced to a world of bacon, and that is a good world indeed.
Zingerman’s
Best Subscription Service: Praised by celebrity chefs Mario Batali and Bobby Flay, Zingerman’s bacon is so good it’s said to have turned at least six vegetarians. As a member of Zingerman’s Bacon Club, you’ll get 12- to 16-ounce slabs of different artisan bacons every month: Kentucky Dry Cured Bacon, Arkansas Peppered Bacon and Tennessee Dry Cured Bacon, to name a few. As an added bonus you’ll also get bacon literature with bacon stories, histories and recipes.
Belcampo Meat Co.
Best English Bacon: From the plains to your plate, Belcampo Meat Co. never lets their meat out of sight. Since they’re a farm, processing plant, neighborhood butcher shop, and a restaurant, they keep quality control a priority so you know you’re getting good meat. And if you want to break through bacon borders, their English Bacon is a must. More meaty and more fatty than American style bacon, English bacon can hold its own on a sandwich all by itself, or compliment a classic “Full English”.
Dreymiller & Kray Inc.
Best Variety Pack: In the business of smoking meats since 1929, Dreymiller & Kray know a thing or two about bacon. Although they offer a variety of bacon deals, the best way experience their gourmet bacon is to order the Bacon Satisfier. At 3.5 pounds of Hickory Smoked, Applewood Smoked, Cinnamon, Pepper, and Canadian Bacon, Dreymiller & Kray’s variety pack option delivers on its name.
Snake River Farms
Best Quality Meat: Family owned since 1968, Snake River Farms specializes in only the best meats: Wagyu and Kobe beef and Kurobuta Pork. SNF’s bacon is cut from award-winning Kurobuta pork belly and has the perfect combination of marbling and meat. As far as bacon goes, SNF Kurobuta bacon is the succulent flavor benchmark.
Benton’s Country Hams
Best Classic Rub: Hand rubbed with salt, pepper and brown sugar and hickory smoked for no less than 48 hours, Benton’s Country Hams’ bacon is good enough to eat as a snack all by itself. Each order comes with four single-pound packs, which might hold you over for maybe a day.