Fresh Side Bacon

Fresh side bacon is plain uncured bacon. The good part about fresh side bacon is that you don't have to worry about preservatives and refined salt in the bacon. If you are not opposed to eating pork and the meat came from a happy pastured hog, then you can feel good about eating it. The fat from a hog that gets plenty of sunshine contains about 1100 IUs of vitamin D per tablespoon . The bad part is that it won't taste very good if you don't know how to flavor it. My first couple of experiences with fresh side bacon were met by a less than enthusiatic family. Then my mother-in-law introduced me to smoked salt. This was the answer to my bacon problems. Here's what to do.

Take one pound of bacon, cut the long strips in half and layered it with 1 tsp. of smoked salt in a bowl.

The smoked salt I use is called salish and can be purchased at Whole Foods. Salish is real sea salt, not refined white salt.

The salt is moist so it needs to be worked into the bacon a bit. Knead the bacon gently until the salt is distributed over the pieces.

Then fry the bacon. I prefer a cast iron skillet.

This bacon is always met by a very enthusiatic family. I usually have to slap a lot of hands in order for the bacon to make it from the stove to the table.

Lisa
posted to Fight Back Fridays with Food Renegade and Monday Mania.