It's

Sunday morning and before I even open my eyes thoughts drift downstairs, hoping the kitchen fairy is putting a package of bacon in the oven. That magi­cal smell wafts up like a Bugs Bunny cartoon smoke swirl, tickling taste buds with a waving, beckoning come-hither finger.

Bacon - that supreme porky treat which is everywhere at once these days. Why am I writing about bacon when everyone else already has? After all, isn't bacon beyond trendy? I mean really - ti's everywhere including some places where it just shouldn't be - from soap to soup, ice cream to face cream, perfumes, air fresheners, car freshen­ers and talking dolls - yes there is a talking bacon doll, barding and broiling and crackling and sprinkling bits, bacon is everywhere these days so I thought I'd ride late onto that bandwagon and make a few calls to those who really know bacon better than any of us mere bacon fans. After all, I've been makin' bacon for 40 some-odd years. I thought I knew what I was doing with the stuff and that's just cooking it. Wrong!

My first thought was that I needed the inside scoop from that dynamic duet Michelle and Michelle of Bacon & Eggs fame in Walla Walla, one of the hands-down best breakfast places I've ever been to anywhere. No - that's not exaggeration, hype or hyperbole. If you're like me you see a place called Bacon & Eggs and immediately start to sali­vate so on my first visit to Bacon & Eggs I ordered bacon and eggs. What else was I going to do? The name of the establishment itself throws down the challenge that they do bacon and eggs better than anyone else right? My break­fast resulted in wonderment at how a simple slice of bacon can be elevated to cooked perfection. Practically perfect in every way! The bacon at B&E is truly a work of art. After shooting off a list of questions I got back an answer which told me everything I thought I knew was wrong.

I usually cook my bacon in the oven - 375f for about 30 minutes on a cookie sheet lined with heavy foil. Very neat & clean with minimal clean up. Most of the time my bacon comes out perfect but sometimes - and further research shows that this is due to a wide variety of reasons - my ba­con is lousy! Overcooked or undercooked, curly, soggyhellip; there are times that I am embarrassed about my bacon and that is a terrible state to be in on a Sunday morning. You know what I mean - you've been there. We still eat it be­cause, you know hellip; it's bacon, but as we're chewing away we're thinking about that perfect slice of bacon as if we're cheating on a beloved partner.

So what is the perfect slice of bacon? Subjective I know but here is my interpretation: about 1/8th of an inch thick with a 60/40% ratio of meat to fat. The fat has that magical thin crust that liquefies when chewed. Salty but not a salt block - I still like to taste the porky goodness through the salty fat. As with all things, you get what you start with. If you start with lousy product, you get lousy results. Accord­ing to Michelle and Michelle - who do not ever have lousy bacon - only the premium center cut has the flavor, the consistency, the quality to make a perfect slice (or rasher) of bacon. Do not cook it in the oven - they cook theirs on a griddle. If you don't have a griddle use a heavy frying pan. I recommend cast iron for the job. With that said it is easy to see why the griddle is preferred - you have to watch it - stay on top of it - actually cook it yourself instead of let­ting the oven do the work. I asked if they ever use a bacon press but was denied an answer. After all a girl has to have her secrets.

My theory after looking at their bacon on many oc­casions is that yes - use a press (old cast iron irons or a slightly smaller pan work really well so you really don't need that $40 specialized bacon press from a fancy kitchen shop.) It promotes uniform cooking so that curled edges are not undercooked when the center of the slice is done.

Has bacon gone too far? Have we taken bacon too far? I sure think so because honestly - do you need bacon- scented deodorant? It's what's for breakfast, not what's for moisturizing! Sante!