Let me start by saying that I am a HUGE fan of bacon! I really love the stuff! Trader Joe’s really brings home the bacon this time! (OMG dad jokes…) My wife and I eat a lot of it. I was once even the judge at a bacon party. About 50 people came and they all had to bring a bacon dish. It could be anything but had to have prominent bacon in the recipe. The best of the show was the chicken fried bacon on a waffle with homemade syrup! Runner up was bacon ice cream. My favorite was candied bacon (recipe below).
The main reason we eat so much of it is that I have a 17 year old boy that basically won’t eat breakfast without it. My other son eats a big breakfast and I ate a ton of food for breakfast when I was growing up.
When I was a child, I was so hungry in the morning I would wolf down eggs, bacon, toast, cereal, whatever I could get my hands on so it’s a great mystery how a growing (like a weed) son barely touches breakfast! He does eat a big lunch and basically shovels food into his face from 3:45 (when school gets out) until about 10 minutes before he goes to sleep. I try to limit his bacon intake but it’s a challenge!
So, what does all this have to do with bacon? In an effort to get him to eat anything at all with some protein in the morning, we’ve come down to bacon and since I shop at Trader Joe’s just about every other day right now, it seems like I am constantly putting bacon in the shopping cart.
Not only a Trader Joe’s but just about every grocery store out there. I’ve tried dozens of types of bacon. I have to say that this is one of the best bacon I’ve ever had. My son agrees too since he eats it almost every day and so do I!
A few years ago, Trader Joe’s carried Niman Ranch bacon and like many products, it disappeared one day and was replaced by this Trader Joe’s branded bacon. I can’t be 100% sure, but I would put money on it that this bacon is from the esteemed Niman Ranch. First, I love the applewood smoked bacon.
It’s not as harsh as Hickory which can taste a little too overpowering sometimes. The smokey aromas emanating from the package when you open it are to die for. It fills the whole kitchen with that perfect apple-smoked flavor it just screams breakfast!
Then the slices are not too thick or too thin. I hate that super thin bacon, it ends up falling apart and it is so much more work frying up double the slices. I also like the combination of meat and fat.
I’ve had some super high end bacon that is essentially ham with a bit of fat running through it and never renders out the fat and the bacon does fry in its own fat which is what makes bacon so yummy! I’ve also had bacon that is almost 100% fat and you end up with tiny little pieces of crispy pork fat and no meat!
I really love this bacon and I will rate it a good 9 Bells!
OK, so one of my favorite things in the world is Candied Bacon, and the Trader Joe’s Uncured Apple Smoked Bacon is a perfect thickness and flavor for this. I have served this at many parties and people go nuts for it. Believe it or not, it pairs well with a nice hearty Syrah!
Candied Bacon Recipe
Trader Joe’s Uncured Apple Smoked Bacon
Trader Joe’s Turbinado Sugar
– Heat oven to 400 degrees
– Fill a plate with the sugar
– Dredge bacon in sugar
– Place bacon slices on a cooling rack over a baking sheet
(You might put down foil or something because the drippings can caramelize and burn onto your baking sheet)
– Put in the oven for about 10-15 minutes.
– Pull out and let cool
Bacon should look shiny and should have a nice candy coating on it. This is a recipe you have to keep a close eye on because the bacon can burn at the drop of a hat and it goes fast.
The last two packs of the TJ’S Applewood bacon I purchased over the last 2 months Oct-Nov ’22), had such a bad taste and texture that I threw it out after one or two bites!
TJ’S must have changed suppliers at some point, because what used to be the best bacon, is now inedible.
I just bought a lot of bacon for Thanksgiving and it was the same as it always was. I’ll try it again shortly and see if it changed.
I just tried this bacon today and let me say I am impressed! I really like it! My other go to is Nueske’s but it is expensive and hard to find.