Bacon: Homemade, and of-the-month

My dear friends Dan and Cass left New England a couple years ago, and my husband and I miss them terribly. They were our partners in fine food and wine exploration. Many nights were spent at their Boston condo or our home in the ‘burbs cooking together, always lavishly, and tasting new wines and other fun beverages. We were especially keen barbecue, smoking and outdoor grilling fans. (They were always on call when Don tried to smoke yet another piece of meat.) They’re in Ohio now and we are so sad we haven’t visited them yet. Dan’s most recent post on homemade bacon made me nostalgic for old times, and also made me crave bacon (something I’ve avoided for a few months in an effort to get healthy). The mentioned “Don C” is my husband, and he hopes to return the posting favor by making and documenting his own bacon. After all, we do have two full local pork bellies in our freezer, waiting to hit the smoker.

By the way, if you’re big bacon fans or are looking for a nice gift for bacon fans, we were once members of The Grateful Palate’s Bacon-of-the-Month club. It was a gift from a great friend, that just kept on giving each month. Our freezer is still packed with some yummy slabs of smokey, sweet, peppery bacon. It’s a great gift.