Bacon

A while back (yes I am still catching up on things from this summer) Mr. Chops and I went on a bacon field trip to Nodine's. I had heard reviews of this much revered smokehouse on TV and on the radio and since it was only 45 minutes from Chopsland, I figured, why not? Although Nodine's runs a huge mail order business and supplies smoked meat to some of the fanciest food stores in Manhattan, I figured I could get a better feel for things if I went up and saw the operation for myself. Truth be told, Nodine's retail store is, how shall we say this...modest? It's pretty much a shack filled with meat, really delicious smoked meat. Which, is totally fine with me, but I was picturing, especially after all the rave reviews, I don't know- maybe something a little more grand. More like a meat mecca. So if you were looking for some smoked meat abience by visiting the quaint store in Goshen, CT- better to skip the trip and just order in.

Despite the humble appearances, we did manage to scurry back to the car with six pounds of bacon and a really wonderful ham. We got Juniper Bacon, Breakfast Strips (Nitrate Free), and double smoked bacon. The juniper bacon was thin and in a one pound slab. The other two varieties were thick cut, and in a smaller package. They were all extremely tastey, but I have to say my favorite was the juniper bacon. I'm won't to lie to you and say I could really taste the juniper, but it was just straight up yummy.

Some of you die-hard readers might be wondering how Nodine's compares with the Amish bacon I reviewed last year and I have got to say, although Nodine's might be a natural choice for bacon connoisseurs or people with lots of disposable income (Nodine's is on the spendy side) Stoltzfus bacon is a probably a better value and every bit as good, especially for everyday bacon eating. That's right, I said everyday bacon eating. No, I do not own stock in the company that makes lipitor, but I probably should.