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Slab Bacon Products
The Instacart guide to slab bacon
About slab bacon
Slab bacon is a favorite breakfast meat in many households that consists of cured and, usually, smoked bacon that you can buy in rectangular slab form with the rind still attached or in various pre-cut forms. It is cured by rubbing salt, sugar, sodium nitrite, and flavorful spices such as black pepper, garlic, smoked paprika, brown sugar, or maple syrup over a whole pork belly. After curing the pork belly, it is smoked over apple, maple, cherry, hickory, or other wood chips to make it even more flavorful.
The best slab bacon comes from farms that raise free-roaming heritage-breed hogs in pastures, with no GMO-feed and no antibiotics. A half ounce serving of slab bacon will have around 90 calories and will contain a high amount of sodium, saturated fat, and protein and a low amount of carbohydrates. Its nutrient content includes vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, and B12, and selenium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, zinc, and iron.
One of the best things about slab bacon is that you choose to purchase it pre-sliced or uncut. If you select an uncut slab bacon, you can use a sharp knife to cut it as required for different recipes or you can cook the whole smoked slab as it is. There are many ways in which you can customize slab bacon cuts:
- Whole: You can roast the entire bacon slab and show off your meat-carving skills after it is cooked.
- Slices: Using a sharp knife, cut wider slices from the thicker side of the slab bacon and narrower slices from the thinner side. You can eat these as they are, fry them into crispy strips, cook them in various recipes, wrap them around other foods before grilling, or use them as garnishes.
- Center-cut chunks: You can get a meatier, tastier, and chewier texture from the center-cut chunks of slab bacon. It will be less crispy when cooked as thicker slices tend to retain the moisture inside them.
- Cubes or matchsticks: These are known as lardons in the French language and are usually about 1-inch long and about 1/4-inch thick. You can use them as key ingredients in salads, omelets, pasta, pizzas, cooked vegetables, soups, stews, quiches, and many other foods.
- Thick steaks: These will consist of one to one and a half inch thick cuts of slab bacon that you can fry or roast and eat as a steak or add to sandwiches, burgers, pizzas, or other dishes.
- Diced bits: You can use diced bits to add a smokey, salty flavor to pasta, rice, beans, eggs, vegetables, soups, and braises. You can cook finely diced pieces with chopped onions to make a sweet and salty jam-like spread that can be eaten with toast, sandwiches, and burgers.
Slab bacon cooking tips
After unpacking the slab bacon, use a cloth or a paper towel to soak up any excess moisture. When you get a slab bacon that is thicker on one side, cut broad strips from the thicker side and cut lardons or diced bacon from the thinner side. There will be different cooking temperatures and times according to how thinly or thickly you slice the bacon and which recipe you use it in. For recipes with longer cooking times, use thicker slices.
The bacon fat that is rendered during the cooking process can be used in frying eggs, roasting vegetables, frying seafood, making vinaigrette, or in any recipe that calls for lard.
Slab Bacon Near Me
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FAQs about slab bacon
If you don't use the whole slab in one go, you can wrap the remaining pieces in parchment paper and tie the wrapping securely with a string. Many chefs recommend not using a plastic wrap for storage as it may turn the slab bacon sour. Depending on how fresh the slab bacon was when you purchased it, you should be able to store the wrapped package for up to four to six weeks in the deep freezer.
Add a date label to the wrapping, so you will know when to thaw it for cooking. Bear in mind that the salt in the bacon may turn it rancid if it is frozen for longer than a month.
You can store cooked slab bacon for up to five days. Wrap the cooked and cooled bacon pieces in paper towels and put them in a vacuum-sealed bag before placing them in the refrigerator. Before reusing them, check for any dried-out or darkened parts and discard those pieces.
Whether you decide to buy whole or sliced slab bacon, it is a simple and convenient matter to fill your cart and place your order via the Instacart app. We'll do our best to ensure that you get same-day delivery!