Kosher Bacon

[kicks82]

Does anyone know where I can get good kosher bacon that doesn't taste like corned beef? I remember having it when I was young, but haven't been able to find it anywhere.

I live in NY, so that would be preferable.

[chuck]

I get Rabushkin Aaron's Beef Fry at my local butcher here in Los Angeles but I am sure that you can find it in New York. It tastes almost the same as the traif kind. It's nice to have a BLT for lunch.

[weinstein5]

I second beef fry - you might also try a local butcher as well for they might make it - ROmanian kosher Suasage here in Chicago makes their own beef frt

[Joe Berger]

some Romanian Pastrami's approximates a Bacon flavor with more salt than smoke.
that's why kosher burger places have Pastrami Burgers, to simulate a Bacon Berger.

[rich in stl]

My Mama taught me that Jews keep kosher and do not eat bacon to remind them that they are different from the goyim. So eat pastrami

[queenscook]

And that would be fine if your mother were in charge of halacha, but since there's no rule forbidding making "bacon" from a kosher cut of meat, I think the OP can continue his/her search.

I did have a beef bacon sandwich at Pardes last week, and it was great, and I'd certainly recommend it, but in truth, it did not taste like the treif bacon I had before I started keeping kosher.

[SoCal Mother]

There is a saying that for every forbidden food there is something kosher that tastes exactly like it...

[Prettypoodle]

I dunno. I do know I really LOVE crispy Turkey bacon and Pa- stracon is really great too - as long as both are crisp whch I have heard is the best way to enjoy "real' pork based bacon - bit as much as i like them the real stuff is ICKY IMO/ ICKY ICKY ICkY!:(

[SoCal Mother]

So is gribenes and so is chopped liver. But we love them just the same.

[joaniesl]

Where do you find kosher turkey bacon? Who makes it?

[AdinaA]

No. Because it does not exist.

Non-Jews rave about bacon so much that I have tried the kosher versions, talked about this and taste tested some of them with non-Jewish foodie friends.

The problem seems to be that bacon is a combination of a unique flavor of smoky pork and a unique way that when properly cooked it is crunchy yet immediately dissolves on your tongue. (this is because it is almost solid fat, but if you're on this thread you sort of have to set aside the healthy eating idea and go with the Julia Child advice of everything in moderation)

Gribenes is as close as you come to the mouth feel. But it is very close indeed. Goose and duck fat work very well with chicken skin. It is a time consuming process. I trust the Second Avenue Deli because I know and trust the Lebwohl boys. Their gribenes is wonderful. Mine is too, but it is a process and you have to clean grease form the the stovetop afterward.

In some recipes (cassoulet, bean soup) you can substitute top-of-the-line smoked turkey meat.

The lamb and beef bacon (including the ones served at Prime Grill in New York and the Kitchen Table in Mountain View are quite different than pork bacon. The fat in beef and lamb appear not to do what pork and poultry fat do in terms of crisping up to crunchiness and melting on your tongue. It's not the fault of the cow, the sheep or the chef. It's just reality. Some things just don't substitute kosher.

[chazzer]

you can try sprinkling bacon salt on the gribenes to have both the mouth feel and the flavor.

[queenscook]

How is the bacon salt? And if it is worth purchasing, where does one find it? (I see that it is carried in Stop & Shop supermarkets; but where specifically in the supermarket should I look for it?) And what flavor/s are highly recommended?

[rockycat]

This is the company's website:

http://www.jdfoods.net/products/bacon...

All of the flavors are kosher, some are dairy, so you want to watch what application you're using it for. My favorite is the original, followed by applewood and jalapeno. I love sprinkling it on popcorn and it works well in potato dishes, too. I used it recently to jazz up a succotash at a kiddush and it went over very well. I don't make mac n cheese all that often, but I bet it would work well there, too.

IIRC, it's shelved with the other spices, seasonings, and salts, at least at Kroger. Oh, and the Baconnaise got mixed reviews at home but it's dairy so again, limited uses.

[GilaB]

My husband puts either the hickory (pareve) or the original (milchig) flavors on basically everything savory. Our most recent batch was ordered from their website, but in Stop and Shop, I found it with other spices/seasonings.

[MRS]

It is def not the same thing, but on Sunday mornings, my father used to fry lox for us instead of bacon b/c we kept kosher. It's salty as hell, but really good!

[AdinaA]

How? On the stovetop? In butter? Did he coat the lox in flour or an egg batter?

[rockycat]

You've never had scrambled eggs and lox? And no, I haven't because the smell of cooking lox really turns me off. But I always saw it as a Jewish parallel (not substitute) to scrambled eggs and bacon. You just saute the lox with a little fat until you get the doneness you like. My dad used to like it, too.

[AdinaA]

Sure I've cut bits of lox into an omelet or scrambled eggs, though I haven't sauteed them first. But the poster MRS above appeared to be describing something more stand-alone.

[rockycat]

It's really the same thing, assuming you saute your lox first, which my father did. Just don't pour the eggs over it, and you've got fried lox. And I was being very circumspect in describing how I feel about the smell of cooked lox. So glad no one in my house eats it now.

[MRS]

My father would fry the slices of lox in butter on the stovetop until it was crispy along the edges. It stunk up the house something fierce, but it was so good!

[avitrek]

I was at a supermarket last night and saw a package of "Salmon Bacon" with a kof-k. I couldn't really tell what made it different from Lox and didn't feel like buying it, but the instructions on the back involved frying it in oil until the edges are crispy.

[socalexpat]

Koshermart in Rockville, MD sells lamb bacon. I've never had bacon, but I'm told it has a similar smoky, fatty quality. It's not as thick as the lamb bacon at Tierra Sur in California, but it is delicious.

[CarNut]

Been hearing a lot about this - http://www.beefbacon.net/ - but haven't tried it yet. Hopefully it will be for sale in Ontario soon....

[GilaB]

Is it certified kosher? Their website isn't particularly informative.

[weinstein5]

looks interesting but I do not see any hechsher -

[ferret]

They say "we can supply to Kosher and Halal" but that's about it. So nothing Kosher about it at the moment.

[brightside16]

Just emailed them last night. Their reply was "thanks, not yet, however in the near future."

So I will keep checking in. It seems like a great product. Hopefully it'll be one I can use!

[gotcholent]

As a Kosher Chef/Caterer who makes 4 different types of kosher Bacon for different applications at work, I can only tell you that your best bet is to smoke it at home yourself. (Sorry, we don't do the retail thing). The cap off of a veal rib roast is probably the closest it comes interms of edible fat and crispiness. I know it's a bit over the top, but going heavy the Apple & Hickory woods during the smoking process imparts that classic flavoring profile that I remember from a past life. If I had to suggest a store bought alternative for someone with less time or capability, I would recommend picking up a Hungarian or Romanian Style smoked turkey pastrami. They are brined, peppered and smoked. It's a dark meat product, and the high fat content discussed above allows for a fantastic pan fried crispiness.

[DeisCane]

Bacon is by definition cured. Smoking is optional.

[gotcholent]

I hate to split hairs here....but if we wanted to get picky about definitions then Bacon is actually cured meat prepared from a PIG.....as this post is dealing with Kosher Bacons, we find ourselves existing totally within the state of oxymoron. But yes, you are otherwise correct, not all bacons must be smoked. With that said, I find that adding the apple & hickory infusion into the beef is very reminiscent of my early memories of bacon (past life:) and make the culinary ruse all the more be believable.

We've even smoked onions and garlic in the same smokers, utilizing those same woods and then confit the garlic cloves and braise down the onions. Add those puppies to anything from mashed potato to fresh aioli for a very bacon-like flavor profile.

[tzachi0]

gotcholent, i don't think i saw a recipe for puppies in the kosher pallette...

but seriously folks, the best part of living in the time that we do is not being bound by the definitions of our culinary ancestors: bacon is what we want it to be, no?

[kosher in colorado]

I use Turkey pastrami that I get at my kosher deli. Have them slice it a bit thicker (not paper thin). Fry in a bit of margine since there is no real fat, til desired crispness. I make kosher "BLT's" and use it crumbled in a salad recipe. It gets lots of raves especially from people like myself who used to eat real bacon.

[avitrek]

Grow and Behold has just started selling beef bacon. You can read about it here http://growandbeholdblog.wordpress.com/2011/10/23/beef-bacon-yes-please/ or just skip to here http://www.growandbehold.com/index.ph... to order it.

[AdinaA]

I want to eat my words about kosher bacon being impossible. See my Aug. 22 comments above.

I am repenting because I ate at pardes last night and I have seen the light. Chef Moshe's lamb bacon is out of this world wonderful.

It has the salty smokiness bacon should, and the fat comes as a solid that crunches when you eat it and instantly melts on your tongue. It is, of course, lamb bacon. So it tastes like lamb, not like pork or imitation pork.

This is not imitation anything. This is real bacon, made from lamb. And it is out-of-this world, melt-in-your mouth wonderful.

[DebbyT]

AdinaA...going tonight for my 30th anniversary (hubby "surprising" me). What do you recommend?

[AdinaA]

The tasting menu. It is an amazing experience. I'll write it up right now.

[disamuel]

Happy Anniversary DebbyT!!

[PommeDeGuerre]

Trader Joe's in SoCal sells "beef bacon," but I don't know if it's kosher. You could also try hot smoking and then roasting salted turkey or chicken skin.