Happy National Bacon Day from Betty Crocker (1956)

It's National Bacon Day and the one and only Betty Crocker (Postwar Version) is here with not 150, but 157 (!) Recipes and Ideas in the 'Bisquick Cook Book' (From Betty Crocker of General Mills, 1956). Today's featured recipe is Bacon Waffles, which basically involves cooking bacon on your waffle iron then spooning batter over the bacon. Voila, Bacon Waffles! As Betty says, "you do so many nice special things for the family more often, because you start so far ahead with Bisquick!" Now, start sorting those piles of dirty clothes. That laundry's not going to wash itself! Click picture for full size image. – Dan Taylor

#bacon #baconrecipes #nationalbaconday #vintage #recipes #vintagerecipes #recipeoftheday #cookbook #vintagecookbooks

Wilmington Blue Rocks Team with Krispy Kreme for Extreme Ballpark Grub

I'm not a huge baseball fan but I do enjoy taking in a half dozen games or so during the season.

The ballparks have become better, teams try and interact with the fans more, and the food has certainly been taken up a notch – or twenty – since the days of eating soggy hot dogs and stale popcorn at Vet Stadium.

And give credit to the minor league teams that take the ballpark grub to another level in their attempts to pry fans away from the MLB stadiums nearby.

The Wilmington Blue Rocks – an affiliate of World Series runners-up the Kansas City Royals – have teamed up with Krispy Kreme to offer a heart-stopping concoction sure to get your heart racing and make your fingers a sticky mess.

The as-yet-unnamed "hot dog" (sure, let's call it that) features a dog, bacon and raspberry jelly stuffed inside a glazed Krispy Kreme donut.

You can even help name the dog by entering a contest at the team's website. The winner will receive tickets to opening night, the opportunity to throw out the first pitch, a stadium gift card and bragging rights forever thanks to a plaque commemorating the naming.

Bacon Bowl Drinking Game

Whatever you do, do not take a drink every time they say "bacon". Unless you have the Poison Control Center on speed dial.

Best Burgers in Baltimore?

Burger with Swiss, Bacon, Caramelized Onions,
Mushrooms and Garlic Mayo

The holidays have kept me away from the blogging game for awhile but that doesn't mean we've been resting on our laurels. The Hungover Gourmet is still out there pounding the pavement, trying new things and attempting to track down some good eats.

One of our favorite finds this last month was Baltimore Burger Bar down in the Hampden neighborhood. I took a flier on a local coupon for the joint earlier in the year and realized a few days before Christmas that it was about to expire.

Knowing that Ryan probably wouldn't go for the esoteric burger toppings – the BBB PB&J features "grass-fed beef, fresh peanut butter, berry elderflower marmalade, herbed banana and brussel sprouts, bacon, gouda" – we got a sitter for the afternoon and headed down to give it a try.

Frankly, most of the burgers I've had in Baltimore haven't been much to write home about. Either the restaurant is unwilling or incapable of cooking the burger the way I want (rare to medium rare), or the place serves up a decent burger that's no better than anything I can make at home. (Which is one of the reasons I have yet to try the much lauded Five Guys. I feel like I'm bound for disappointment.)

Up to this point, my favorite Baltimore burgers came via the Chowhound food truck that was hired to cater the fundraiser at my daughter's pre-school. And even though I was unimpressed by the rest of the meal, the Kobe and Foie Gras sliders at Salt are still memorable several years later.

Until further notice the Baltimore Burger Bar serves up my favorite burger in the area. Though a bit pricey (two burgers, two sides of fries and a couple canned sodas came in around $30), the grass-fed beef burgers are a hefty handful that were actually prepared the way both my wife and I like them cooked. The row house location is definitely casual and you can sit outside if the weather's nice or head up to a table in one of the rooms that overlook the Avenue. Makes for great people watching while you fight to keep the burger juices from escaping past your wrist and down your sleeve.

Topping options are plentiful and range from traditional to more outré. Side orders of fries were nothing remarkable but came well-seasoned with salt and black pepper. On my return visit I'll probably skip the fries and hope that one of their soups is in stock.

I plan to give Five Guys and the resurrected Gino's a try in the coming months, as well as a return trip to Towson's own Burger Brothers. Any other Baltimore area burgers I should definitely try? Or definitely avoid?

In Their Defense Homer Simpson is VP of In-Flight Meals

A budget UK airline (try telling me those aren't three words aren't terrifying!) apologized to Jewish passengers after loading a flight bound for Tel Aviv with ham and bacon baguettes instead of the standard kosher food.

I couldn't help but be reminded of this classic exchange from The Simpsons...

LISA: “I’m going to become a vegetarian”
HOMER: “Does that mean you’re not going to eat any pork?”
LISA: “Yes”
HOMER: “Bacon?”
LISA: “Yes Dad”
HOMER: "Ham?”
LISA: “Dad all those meats come from the same animal”
HOMER: “Right Lisa, some wonderful, magical animal!”

Maybe Homer got a job working for Easy Jet.

REVIEW: KFC Double Down Sandwich

If I remember correctly, I first heard about the KFC Double Down Sandwich a year or so ago when the item was being tested in a few select, oh so lucky, markets. With my penchant for "limited time" menu items crashing headlong into my love of using meat in a revolutionary manner (like a condiment or, in this case, bread), it was inevitable that I'd be breathlessly awaiting its official roll-out the way I once waited for new Replacements albums.

Once the release date was announced my brain went into full Double Down Mode, carefully calculating when I'd be able to sample this breakthrough menu offering and debating if I could trust my 2.5 year-old to work the video camera while Daddy did his "research".

Though I'm assuming that anyone reading something called The Hungover Gourmet is well aware of the Double Down let me remind you what I'm talking about... it's a cheese and bacon sandwich featuring pepperjack sauce and two pieces of chicken breast as the bread. 'Nuff said.

Unfortunately, my first attempt at scoring the sandwich – available in fried and grilled varieties – was scuttled. Venturing up York Road during a Wednesday lunch date with my daughter I discovered that to my horror the local KFC/A&W Root Beer joint was no longer and had been turned into (gasp! ack! erp!) an Arby's. I have no idea when this happened, which just goes to show you how often I even consider eating at a KFC.

Luckily, my wife knew exactly where an existing KFC was located and I immediately made plans to hit it up after Ryan and I went to her play class at the local YMCA the following week. And no, the irony of leaving a gym and driving directly to a KFC for a nutritional nightmare like The Double Down is not lost on me.

Arriving slightly before 11 AM we pulled into the drive-thru and ordered up two Double Down sandwiches, one grilled and one fried (I'm a completist, you know). I'm not positive, but the early arrival time may have worked to my advantage because we actually had to wait for a few minutes before the order was up. In other words, I may have received the first Double Downs of the day.

Once back at THG Test Kitchens, I unpacked the sandwiches and was frankly a little surprised at how small they appeared upon initial inspection. Having read a handful of reviews of the sandwiches on the web I wasn't sure how big they actually were but the way they were hiding in the paper wrappers made me think even they were a bit embarrassed at all the attention they were receiving.

After a quick stop onto the stupid weigh machine (Grilled: 7 oz., Fried: 8 oz.) it was time for the moment of truth. It was time for the Double Down to get in my belly.

FRIED
The fried version of the sandwich definitely had a lower Cheese To Wrapper (CTW) ratio than its grilled counterpart, but I found this version of the sandwich to be somewhat underwhelming. Admittedly, I'm not a huge fan of KFC's signature fried bird and like many folks probably wouldn't even be eating this if not for the sheer curiosity value. Sure, I love the fact that it looks like something I would have eaten circa 1989 on a dare at the Golden Eagle Diner (or a hoedown), but I have to admit I wasn't blown away.

Despite the fact that it held together better than the grilled version – whose chicken breast slices were sliding away from each other along cheesy-bacony fault lines – neither the bacon slices (always a crap shoot at fast food joints) nor the peppery "Colonel's Sauce" were coming through. I can't help but chalk this up to being a byproduct of the fast food giant's trademark and frequently overwhelming blend of herbs and spices.

GRILLED
Admittedly, I only ordered the grilled version of the sandwich purely for purely journalistic reasons. "If I don't like their trademark fried version," I wondered aloud as my daughter asked who I was talking to, "what are the odds I'll like their new thing?"

Well, shiver me timbers! As it turns out, the grilled variety of the sandwich featured two perfectly cooked (though a bit salty) breasts that had a nice charcoal flavor and just enough spice to let the pepperjack sauce come shining through.

Like most fast food offerings featuring bacon strips, the bacon used on the Double Down doesn't really show up in either the grilled or fried version, but I'm used to that. Frankly, I'd rather it show up faintly or not all than those rare cases where it tastes like some of my dog's Beggin' Strips have shown up on my burger.

LEFTOVER TEST
For me, few sights are as welcome in my fridge as leftover chicken. After eating half of each sandwich for the initial test I put the containers in the fridge for a late night raid to see how they held up. Again, the grilled version easily outdistanced the fried piece, which simply tasted like cold, overly-spiced chicken. The charcoal flavor of the grilled chicken – which is chemically-achieved for all I know – was even more prominent in its cold state and the breast meat retained the lion's share of its moistness.

POSSIBLE CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT
I'm thinking that if KFC plans to roll this out again or even add it to their regular menu they may want to give golfer Phil Mickelson a call. First off, the eatery's association with the Susan G Komen foundation would seem like a good fit given the health problems faced by his wife and mother. Second, this is a guy who reportedly was eating a club sandwich (!) before the final round of the Masters, which he aced in bogey-free fashion. Are you telling me he wouldn't look like a natural standing on the practice tee wolfing down a Double Down or three?

THE VERDICT
The Double Down is one of those rare "limited time" offerings that I would love to see become a regular menu item. Things like the Angry Whopper, Steakhouse Burger, McRib Sandwich, etc. always leave me feeling deflated (yet curiously bloated at the same time), but the Double Down did neither. No, I wasn't crazy about the fried version but as I've already admitted I don't like and have never liked the Colonel's secret blend.

Maybe it was the lack of a roll, maybe it was whatever space age seasoning/chemical that's injected into the meat, but eating the Double Down didn't leave me with that lethargic, loagy post-fast food feeling I usually get from a burger. Not that I felt like running a marathon, but I certainly didn't feel like curling up on the couch for a marathon of THE DEADLIEST CATCH either.

If I didn't feel so ridiculous eating a cheese and bacon sandwich made out of chicken breast "bread" I could see the Double Down entering THG's regular rotation for as long as it's available. Kudos to KFC for creating a food item that, like Baconnaise, has become a part of our pop culture lexicon.

And for those of you who think that KFC took things too far with this assault on our nation's collective waistline, check out The Krispy Kreme Double Down and its evil (good?) twin, the Arugala Double Down.

BLT Bites... Great Appetizer for Fellow Bacon Lovers

My brother is in town this weekend so we're having a family get-together at my sister's place. I was looking for a fun and different appetizer recipe to try and Chris and I settled on Bacon Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes, which we renamed BLT Bites (the fresh basil fills in for the lettuce).

2 lbs. bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled
1.5 cups mayo
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 cup grated parmesan
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
4 pints of cherry tomatoes

Cook the bacon to desired crispiness. I inadvertently picked up two different types at the store, one a regular cut and one a thick cut. I cooked both packages in shifts in a 400 degree oven and the thick cut slices turned out better as far as this recipe was concerned. While the regular cut was inconsistently cooked and about half of each piece had to be chopped up the thick cut worked out great... consistent and easy to crumble. Not to mention the nice chunks of bacon fat!

Place all the ingredients except the tomatoes in a large bowl and blend.

Cut the tops off the tomatoes and scoop out the insides with a good melon baller. (By the way, just try finding a melon baller – good or bad – in your local supermarket! We found every kitchen gadget but this so Chris picked one up at Williams Sonoma.)

Try for pints that have a good ratio of large cherry tomatoes which are easier to clean out (and hold more filling!). Turn the hollowed out tomatoes upside down on a tray lined with paper towels and let them drain a bit.

Fill a pastry bag with a large tip (you don't want the tip to get clogged with bacon bits as we had happen with our first tip). Fill each tomato with a blast of the mixture, cover and place in the fridge to chill. We found that while it was a good idea to let the mixture get a little soft before piping it into the tomatoes be careful because you may have some of the bacon grease liquify and rise to the top of the bag as you're filling the tomatoes. In other words, wearing a nice Patagonia polo shirt is probably not the best attire for this job!

Original recipe calls for dried basil (fah!) and says that this amount will serve 16.

THG in the News: Bacon Nation Style

Though the mention is brief I was pleased to see I made the cut in today's Baltimore Sun article about the city's role in our nation's ongoing love affair with bacon...

Dan Taylor slathers Baconnaise on turkey sandwiches and has used it as a sauce to dunk steamed shrimp. The Lutherville foodie also makes a dip by crumbling bacon into warm cheese that he calls "life-altering."

I haven't seen the print edition of the piece so I don't know if they included the aforementioned bacon dip recipe. Alas, I don't think I was much help as the "recipe" is simply add 1/2 a brick of cream cheese to "some" bleu cheese crumbles, nuke until melted and stir in some crumbled bacon.

What's the Score? And Pass the Puffed Sauerkraut!

Whether your team is playing in the game or not, Super Bowl Sunday has become an All-American excuse to eat too much, drink, party, snack until you hurl and maybe get into some ridiculous prop bets with your brother. Or, um, so I've heard.

Awesome fast food chain White Castle once suggested declaring Super Bowl Monday a national holiday so we could all sleep off our hangovers and food comas. And maybe go shopping for some Activa.

But if you're tired of the same old nachos, salsas, wings and chili on Super Bowl Sunday, Wired rounded up some recipes from molecular gastronomists (ie, egghead chefs) including Wylie Dufresne and TOP CHEF 4's Richard Blaise that will have your guests, mmmm, I'm guessing the word is perplexed.

With little or no rooting interest and no great storyline like last year's quest for 19-0, I have no big culinary plans for Sunday night. If I'm nice maybe my wife will make some of her awesome pizza though I am sure we'll be making some Blue-Cheese Bacon Dip...

• 3 slices of bacon
• Half an 8 oz. brick of cream cheese
• Crumbled Blue Cheese

Cut bacon in half and cook till crispy. I've found the microwave works great for this and I simply lay the slices between two paper towels and nuke according to package instructions. Once that's done, put the cream cheese and a handful of blue cheese crumbles in a microwave safe dish and nuke until it's just getting melty (hate to get all technical on you). Remove from microwave and stir till blended. Crumble bacon and add sparingly to dip until you get the cheese-to-bacon ration you desire. I usually end up using three or four strips. Serve with crackers and/or fruit slices (apple and pear work nicely).

Update: You usually have to go hunting around for tales of Super Bowl parties that end in tragedy. Not this year. Saw this story about an accidental shooting at a Philadelphia party when I opened up Philly.com this morning.

The Cure for Hunger?

I am not what you would call a huge fan of doctors. Trust me, it's not some highfalutin moral outrage over the cost of medical care but more an irrational view reinforced by my own personal experience through the years. Specifically, an illness during my freshman year in high school that the doctor originally said I was "faking". Turned out to be non-viral hepatitis resulting in me spending a week in the hospital being poked, prodded, injected and isolated, then sent home with little more than some drugs and a note that said I could only go to school half-a-day for the next few months.

Guess I wasn't "faking".

So forgive me if the idea of eating in a medically-themed restaurant doesn't exactly appeal to me.

I might be willing to overlook my feelings for a good burger, but I'm not sure if Arizona's Heart Attack Grill is a good eatery or just a good concept. In an era where you can't turn on a news report or fire up Drudge or CNN without reading something about health (today's insight from the UK is that obesity might be a virus that you "catch" like the common cold), the folks behind the Heart Attack Grill have thrown caution to the wind and serve up their signature Bypass Burger (available in multiple beefy tiers) and fries cooked in lard with a knowing wink.

Owner "Dr. Jon" patrols the eatery in a white lab coat and stethoscope while the artery-clogging delights are served up by busty waitresses in the kind of naughty nurse costumes you can purchase from Adam & Eve... or, uh, so I've heard.

A quick perusal of some reviews suggest that I need not book a flight to Phoenix in order to check out the burgers at Heart Attack Grill (one write-up suggests "If you like less than mediocre food while porn is being thrown in your face, you'll find it here"). Even the positive reviews suggest that the patrons are not going here for the food, but the chance to oggle a busty babe without fear of being seen in a strip club.

While the Heart Attack Grill playfully uses its medical theme to poke fun at the experts and pundits who rage against a little food that's bad for you every now and then, a restaurant in Latvia embraces the whole medical concept to such an extent that even the photos make me uncomfortable. Like I'm watching HOSTEL and I'm just waiting for the dopey American tourist to be taken away and eaten by some Eurotrash cannibal!

Welcome to Hospitalis (even the name sounds like a crappy direct-to-video HOSTEL rip-off) where waitresses in stark white nurses uniforms, white stockings and red wigs serve up food in operating room dishes (I hope they don't use bedpans!) and drinks are delivered in syringes.

The eatery's stark, creepy design is heavy on bright whites and sterile-looking steel, not to mention booths that look like beds from a 1940s movie and clear tables adorned with large medical illustrations of skulls and anatomy.

Personally, I don't want to be reminded of medicine, hospitals, illness or the potential effects of what I'm eating while I'm dining. How about you?

What Was Tops in Food & Drink for 2008?

I usually like to get this list wrapped up while the year is still fresh in my mind and 2008 is already starting to feel like a dark, distant memory. But if the NCAA feels comfortable concluding their 2008 season on January 8th, I guess it's okay that my year-end wrap-up gets posted around Elvis' birthday.

If you'd asked me this morning – bleary-eyed and tired from watching the BCS Championship Game last night – how I felt about 2008 from a Hungover Gourmet standpoint I probably would have said that it was a disappointing year. But then I got some coffee in me and started jotting down all the great tastes I experienced, excellent meals I had, fun trips I took, and the wonderful people I spent time with and guess what? 2008 was pretty darn good after all!

Here's some of the highlights from the past 12 months...

TASTE OF PHILLY: Excellent cheesesteak shop in Denver of all places. Run by Philly-area ex-pats the place features pics of Mike Schmidt and Amorosso's roll boxes, not to mention meaty, delicious steaks.

NEW RECIPES: I frequently fall into recipe funks and end up making the same things over and over but I did add some new options to the rotation this year including Thai Tilapia, Summer Shrimp Salad Sandwich, Slow Oven Cooked Ribs and a couple new ways with pork chops. I also rediscovered my love for big bowls of Tuna Mac Salad during the summer.

COSTCO MEATS: Speaking of chops, I wasn't sure how I'd feel about purchasing meat in bulk at a place like Costco. How wrong I was. Their pork chops, so thick and meaty that I end up splitting them in half, have become a "must have" in our freezer and I've never been disappointed with any of the meats I've purchased there, whether it's an expensive cut of beef for entertaining or a huge boneless pork shoulder to be slow cooked and pulled for sandwiches.

CULINARY EXCURSIONS: I was lucky enough to take two food-and-drink-packed trips in 2008, one to Seattle and a southern road trip that took us from MD to GA and OBX. Both featured so much great food and good times it'd be impossible to summarize them here though I will single out the Cuban Sandwich at the King & Prince in GA and the Deep Fried Banana Leaf Wrapped Chicken Thighs at Ayutthaya in Seattle.

THE TERRACE STACKER: I love me some multi-tiered burgers and this heart-stopper from The Terrace Tavern on LBI is no exception. Any time you combine a mushroom cheeseburger with two thin slices of pork roll you've got me.

GREAT MEALS IN BALTIMORE: We didn't get out as much this year as we usually do, but when we did it was usually pretty great. Top dishes for me: Choucroute Garni (Chameleon Cafe); Spicy Curry Catfish (Saigon Remembered); Flounder Stuffed with Crab Imperial (Michael's Steak & Lobster House); Deep Fried Soft Shell Crab, Crystal Wonton Soup (Jumbo Seafood); Mashed Potatoes (Todd Conners); Chicken Liver Pate, Crabcake (Patrick's Restaurant); Coq au Vin (Rocket to Venus); and the consistently awesome sushi at San Sushi Too in Towson.

INDULGENCE: Edy's Fun Flavors Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream. I'm not a sweets lover and could usually take or leave any ice cream you put in front of me. But it's a good thing this coma-inducing blend of vanilla ice cream with chunks of peanut butter cups (probably my favorite candy ever) and fudge isn't usually available within 50 miles of me.

BACON AND BEER: These two are already great on their own but when you start putting them in other things I love, well, let's just say you have a customer for life. To wit, Bacon Salt, Baconnaise and Yuengling Lager Barbecue Sauce.

JULY 27: Maybe the best food day of the year. With friends in from out of town we decided to go grab lunch at Mama's On the Half Shell where I indulged in their awesome Oyster Po Boy Sandwich, Clams Casino and several draft PBRs (perfect for sitting outside on a warm summer day). After lunch we drove to Little Italy and stopped at Vacarro's (my fave Baltimore bakery/dessertery) where we picked up sherbert, pistachio ice cream and tiarmasu. From there it was home where Chris whipped up a couple homemade pizzas, one of which could only be described as decadent.

THG GETS SOME PROPS: I've been writing The Hungover Gourmet in some form or another since the early 1990s when it debuted in the pages of Exploitation Retrospect, my drive-in movie and pop culture zine. Since then we've added a print version of THG, this blog, a Yahoo Group and a website not to mention a continuing column in the pages of Carbon 14. Writing can be sorta lonely, so it's always nice to find out that not only are people reading what you wrote but that they're also enjoying it. 2008 saw THG appear with fellow area food bloggers at the Great Tastes Food & Drink Festival in Baltimore, featured on both Food Candy (more than once) and SlashFood, added to UrbanSpoon, and splashed across the pages of The Zine Yearbook. Thanks to everybody who took the time to write, comment, mention or link to us, send a product in for us to try, or show their support in any way. Changes are in store for 2009 as well as the publication of the long-overdue THG #11 but I'll leave all the details for an upcoming post.

What are some of your favorite food & drink meals, memories and experiences in 2008?

Third Day of Gifties: Get Your Baconnaise Orders in Now!

There are few things sadder than a man who has run out of Baconnaise. I know because that man is me.

After getting a sample jar to review I found myself using Baconnaise around the clock. It's amazingly great on sandwiches (especially turkey) and even makes a wicked bacon-ized sour cream dip that can be used on everything from eggs to brussel sprouts. I'm sure there are a zillion other uses and I'm still itching to make egg salad and deviled eggs with it (though I will not try to win Top Chef with them).

If you're planning to give the gift of bacon(naise) this holiday season you need to stop reading and order now. We have it on good authority that demand for Baconnaise is at a premium and we won't even talk about Lite Baconnaise (which is backordered until after the New Year).

The fine folks at Bacon Salt/Baconnaise have also said that regular strength Baconnaise is only available in the Ultimate Bacon Lover's Gift Pack and Combo Packs until after the New Year, too. So if you plan to show your love with the gift of bacon, get those orders in now. Friday, December 19th is the last day to place orders for delivery in the US in time for Christmas.

Want to stay on top of the latest Breaking Bacon News? Follow the people behind Bacon Salt and Baconnaise at Twitter.

The Name's Bacon. James Bacon.

We all know about 007's love for fast cars, hot babes and potent cocktails. But current Bond series star has slightly more down home tastes. According to a post on the awesome blog Bacon Today, Craig insisted on having bacon sarnies from the UK while filming QUANTUM OF SOLACE in Italy.

A bacon sarnie, also known as a bacon butty in the UK or pigwich in Australia, is a variant on the American BLT. Just without the healthy (L & T) parts.

Bacon (Salt) Makes Everything Better

As I mentioned in a previous post I finally tracked down Bacon Salt here in Lutherville, MD. After striking out at SuperFresh and Wegmans I scoped out the shelves at Giant and lo and behold there it was. Picked up the Original and Hickory blends but have to go back and get the Peppered, which other folks say is their fave. The company is also coming out with a Cheddar blend and both Baconnaise and Bacon Lip Balm are allegedly on their way, hopefully by the holidays.

Anyway, I grabbed the Bacon Salt and a whole chicken since Giant did not have any leg quarters (my favorite chicken part) to go along with the split breasts I already had in the fridge. After breaking down the chicken and freezing the excess I put the chicken in a roasting pan, gave all the pieces a light rub down with extra light olive oil and seasoned away with the Bacon Salt, which totally smells and tastes like bacon, despite its vegetarian and kosher qualities.

The chicken pieces were placed in a 375 degree oven and roasted for about 45 minutes. At that point I added a coating of Yuengling Lager BBQ Sauce to a couple of the pieces. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from the sauce and bought more out of the novelty than anything. Thanks to Head Country I have pretty high sauce standards and most of the commercial glop that's out there does nothing for me.

Much to my surprise and delight the Yuengling sauce achieves a delicate balance between thick and thin and is equally at home as a basting sauce or a dipping sauce. The aroma has a faint hint of hoppy, malty goodness from the Yuengling Lager listed as one of the ingredients, and it has a nice sweetness to it.

After giving the sauced up pieces a few minutes in the oven and checking to make sure the juices were running clear I removed the pan from the oven and let them rest for a few minutes while we enjoyed some piping hot chicken skin cracklings I also seasoned up with the Bacon Salt.

To round out the theme of Bacon Makes Everything Better we added some Bacon Salt to our baked potatoes (along with buttery spread and light sour cream) and dug in.

The reviews? Thumbs up all around for both Bacon Salt and the Yuengling Sauce. Both added their intended flavor without being overwhelming in any one way or another and left me wanting more of everything. We had leftover chicken last night and used the Yuengling Sauce to dip on the side. By the time I got to the dish to dip some pieces it was almost cleaned out, which is always a good sign.

Bacon Salt is in the House!

After several months of looking for Bacon Salt at my usual supermarket haunts and coming up empty handed (I'm looking at you SuperFresh and Wegmans!), I stopped at Giant this afternoon. Guess what? Success! I'm now the proud owner of both Original and Hickory flavored and will be using the former tonight when I also test out the Yuengling Barbecue Sauce mentioned in an earlier post. Full report to come...