The Official Bacon Salt Blog

Bacon Salt recipe: Bacon Salt Potato Salad

We got this recipe from a Bacon Salt fan here in Seattle. What's interesting about it for vegetarians is the use of the combination of fake bacon - aka Fakon - which usually tastes like cardboard with Bacon Salt to give it a real bacon taste while keeping the bacon texture. This may be the first recorded use of this combination. Enjoy!

Bacon Salt Potato Salad (from MJ Pittman - thanks MJ!)

[VEGAN VERSION IN PARENTHESES]

• 6 LARGE russet potatoes baked, cooled peeled and cubed. Tastes better than boiled potatoes.
  3 cupfuls of mayonnaise or more as needed. Will most likely need more. Can use lite mayo.
  The whole 30 oz. jar will do nicely...Hellmann's is the best. [VEGANNAISE OR EGGLESS MAYONNAISE]
• 1 very finely diced small red onion...1/2 cupful
• 1/2 cupful of finely minced crisp sour pickle...Used Fahrman's
• 4 hard boiled eggs finely chopped [MOCK EGG: 1/2 cupful of finely diced soft tofu and about a teaspoonful of tumeric PLUS 1 tspful of nala kamak or Indian black salt, for that eggy smell and taste.]
• 1 Tablespoonful of celery seed, NOT celery salt.
• Cracked black pepper to taste...really don't need much salt in this recipe.
• 1/2 heaping cupful of crumbled bacon plus a little bacon grease - Yes, bacon grease - or Hickory Bacon Salt. [Vegan mock bacon that has been baked to crispness & Hickory Bacon Salt to taste and ZERO bacon grease.]
• Yellow mustard (and pickle juice) to add a little more color and tanginess. Honey mustard or spicey brown mustard is also OK here. Dijon doesn't quite fit in...about 1/4 cupful.
• A couple of tablespoonfuls of Worcestershire sauce
• A few dashes of Tabasco - if you want a little extra spice. (optional)
• Paprika...about a tablespoonful. HOT Hungarian.

In a large bowl:

Combine the mayonnaise, chopped onion, pickle, eggs, celery seed, bacon plus flavorful grease. A little bit of cracked black pepper for just a speck.

Add at least a couple of tablespoonfuls or more of sour yellow mustard and a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce (hotsauce optional) PLUS shakes of paprika, so that it's noticeable.

Carefully fold in the cubed potatoes w/o breaking the cubes, adding pickle juice for extra moisture as needed. Allow to rest, covered with plastic wrap or in a non-reactive container. Keep cold until ready to serve, giving it one good stir before setting it out on the picnic table. May garnish with more paprika, crumbled bacon and/or Bacon Salt.

 

[Combine the mayonnaise, onion, pickle, mock egg, celery seed, mock bacon, Bacon Salt, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper and paprika - Tabasco sauce optional...Fold in the cubed baked potatoes...and follow as directed above.]

Operation Bacon Salt update for Memorial Day

In honor of Memorial day, we thought we'd relay a recent email string from our Operation Bacon Salt initiative. It made us thankful for what we have, and that there are people out there putting their lives on the line for us so that we can enjoy this beautiful holiday weekend. This also reminded us that there are soldiers from other countries who are working with us on important and often dangerous rebuilding work.

My name is Melissa and I'm the wife of a Canadian soldier stationed overseas in Afghanistan. I'm also a member of the army here in Canada and was told about your Operation Bacon Salt program. My husband is a bacon FANATIC. He always says that there's no food product that cannot be improved by the addition of bacon. I think it's a food group by itself for him. As such, being in Afghanistan, he's feeling rather bacon deprived. I know he would absolutely love some of your bacon salt, if you have some that you can donate. Him and many other Canadian soldiers (as well as close friends) are currently working with the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Kandahar province - doing some of the most dangerous, but most important work: building schools, hospitals, training police officers, and so on. If you could see it in your heart to make this bacon-deprived soldier have a little taste of his oft-dreamed-of favourite pork product, I'm sure he'd be eternally grateful.

We responded with a donation of Bacon Salt, and received this in response:

I know a lot of the troops have been away in Forward Operating Bases for 3-4 months now, eating nothing but packaged rations, and have been begging to be sent anything to make this slop palatable. Little do they know that they are about to receive the über condiment! Thanks again for all your support, I know it means a lot to them. And support + bacon... how can that possibly be any better?!

We couldn't agree more. Have a happy Memorial Day!

J&D

Bacon Salt at the National Restaurant Association show

We spent the last week at the National Restaurant Association show in Chicago. It was a fun mix of top chefs, restaurant owners and bacon freaks. Among the highlights for us:

- A woman with the tattoo on the left came by the booth. Needless to say, she loved Bacon Salt - and we loved her.
- A young chef who tried Bacon Salt said, "this is so good it makes me want to take my clothes off!" (fortunately, he didn't)
- Getting top billing in the Chicago Tribune's report from the NRA show. This caused a lot of my old friends in Chicago to spit up their morning coffee... rival Sun-Times also picked up the story.
- A nice mention on the 10 o'clock news on ABC affiliate WLS, channel 7 according to several who saw it.
- A great view from the John Hancock building's 95th floor from the Signature room (which has to be the world's highest and possibly most expensive bar)

You can view the pics here. You should start seeing Bacon Salt on the tables of many restaurants around the country - and if you don't, be sure to ask for it!

Ultimate Bacon Salt Popcorn

One of the first applications some people think about when they try Bacon Salt is popcorn. Yet just taking a bottle of Bacon Salt and dumping it on Orville Redenbacher isn't the way to go (IMHO). The best baconey popcorn is made as follows:

• Pop your popcorn in vegetable oil on the stovetop or in an air popper. I prefer the stovetop - we actually use that Whirly Pop that someone gave us a wedding present quite often.

• In a small saucepan, mix Original Bacon Salt and butter, just enough to coat. Once the popcorn is done, pour and vigorously shake the popcorn and butter.
  
• Instead of butter, you could mix Original Bacon Salt with popcorn salt (we use Johnny's Popcorn Salt), which gives it that same buttery taste without the fat - but the fatty version is significantly better as with anything.

Bacon Salt Recipe: Corned Beef Brisket

This weekend, we had some friends over for dinner who also have a couple of kids. That brought the total number of little ones to four (all under 4 years old), which meant that we needed something that would cook on its own without much supervision and that I couldn't overcook. Enter corned beef brisket, which was simple, effortless and almost impossible to screw up. Here's the recipe:

Bacon Salt Corned Beef Brisket

• Corned Beef Brisket - 3-5 lbs, can be more if you want leftovers
• Peppered Bacon Salt (3-5 tablespoons)
• Head of garlic (separate out the cloves but no need to remove the skin)
• 2-3 Bottles of Beer
• Water
• 2 Whole Onions, peeled but not chopped
• 10 Black Peppercorns

Add all ingredients including corned beef brisket to a pot, then use water to ensure the brisket is covered. Bring to a boil, then turn to medium low and simmer for 2.5 hours turning every half hour or so. After this is done simmering, you can keep the brisket overnight in the fridge (keep it in the simmer liquid) or you can put it aside at room temp and wait until you're ready to serve it.

Before serving, cover the outside with a bit more Bacon Salt, heat an oven to 300 degrees and let the outside dry out a bit - usually for 10 minutes - before serving. Serve with dijon mustard and some nice crusty bread. 

Yet another reason why Bacon Salt exists

This picture pretty much sums it up:

from http://xkcd.com/418/.

Operation Bacon Salt update

Our sponsored troops for the month are the men and women of the 3/4 Weapons Company out of 29 Palms, CA (nicknamed the Thundering Third).  According to the very nice woman who contacted us - the girlfriend of one of the men stationed with them named Chris -

They are are currently stationed in a forward operating base with little access to any of the cushy mess halls found at many of the bases in Iraq.  For many of these men, this is the second and third deployment to the region and they have many months ahead of them before they return home to their loved ones again.

One of the things I miss most about having my boyfriend around is his awesome breakfast cuisine: fluffy eggs, crispy hashbrowns and, of course, thick slabs of bacon!!  As a former short order cook, Chris can knock out an AWESOME breakfast!  I know he and his fellow Devil Dogs would be forever grateful to be the receipients of one of your monthly barbeques.  Not only would it remind them of the comforts of home, but also remind them that they have not been forgotten even though they no longer dominate the nightly newscasts.

Chris - you should be getting your Bacon Salt as soon as the mail makes it out to you! We hope you enjoy it and that your MRE's start tasting a LOT better than they are now.  And as always, THANKS for serving your country!

Dave & Justin

Our first store

We often get asked "who was the first store to sell Bacon Salt?" The answer is City Fish in Pike Place Market in Seattle. I've been buying their smoked salmon for friends and relatives for years. By far, they have the best smoked salmon in the market, which may make it the best smoked salmon in the world (best I've had at least).

When I called John, the owner, about a new product we were coming out with last July he said "sure, I'll carry it!" My next question was "don't you want to know what it is first?"

"OK, what is it?" he replied. It's Bacon Salt, I said. "Oh, that would be great on salmon, on halibut, clams, you name it. Absolutely, bring it in!"

And the rest was history. I've since gotten the chance to know John and some of the workers at City Fish. The workers will tell you that John is a saint, and that they've all had tough times that John has helped them through. It's great to hear about one of the real nice guys out there doing well, and we're really grateful that John gave us a shot.

So, if you're ever in Seattle and need some smoked salmon or any kind of seafood, be sure to stop by City Fish. You can also visit their website at www.cityfish.com and order online or over the phone. You won't be disappointed!