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Food Thread: Bacon And Beans Together Again!

It is glaringly obvious that we do not discuss bacon nearly enough on these august pages. And not just the luscious, unctuous, rich, smoky deliciousness of the best part of the pig! No, we should also chat about cooking it!

All of you microwave aficionados may now go to another room...the grownups are talking.

My preferred technique is to start the bacon (thick-cut if possible) in a cold oven set to 375 degrees convection. Then after about 15 minutes, take them out and flip the strips. Another 10-15 minutes should do nicely for very crispy, which was what I was shooting for today!

Cleaning the pan is another issue for another day.

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This is a tough one.

Oh...wait...no it isn't

Cyclospora Outbreak Linked to Iceberg Lettuce in 5 States

On July 17, 2026, Taylor Farms initiated a recall of all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico. The recall includes iceberg lettuce sold at retail stores and restaurants. It also includes other recalled products distributed to food service customers. A complete list of those products is included in the recall notice.

Maybe buying produce from 3rd World sh*tholes isn't such a good idea. We already import 3rd world workers to pick and process the stuff in our fields...why do we also have to buy their (literal) sh*t?

I cannot wait for the time when robotic picking and processing decreases the number of primitives handling our food, and an administration that sees domestic food production as a national security imperative. Do I care whether we overspend on government support for farmers? No, I do not. We already piss away billions of dollars on stupid price supports and all sorts of other wasteful programs. Maybe subsidizing domestic production is a good idea!

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This is from commenter and pellet grill maven "Gunslinger."

Those ribs look great, and they were the impetus for my little chat last week with the butcher shop supervisor at my go-to market. He will save me a couple of uncut beef rib racks the next time they go on sale! Yippee!

But on to Gunslinger's cook!

That’s a large cookie sheet, or jelly roll pan, as my Mom would pedantically call it. Mustard for the binder, and kosher salt, garlic salt, and coarse-ground pepper is all.

Started the cook about 4pm at 235 degrees. Let it cook until 7, then spritzed it with beef broth every hour until I hit the sack at 10.

Got up at 5:30, put the temp probe in, and started spritzing it again each hour. It was 174 degrees when I started with the probe. Monitored it constantly. There were many temp stalls all throughout the day. 2 degree rises in 2 or 3 hours. These stalls are normal, but sheesh!

It got to be 5:30 Sunday evening, but only 198 degrees internal temp, but had to eat! Work night and all…

It turned out wonderfully, with no indication that it should have continued to 205 degrees, my ideal internal temp.

They look spectacular. I think beef ribs, when done well, are at the top of the beef pyramid. Well, maybe they share the top with a couple of other cuts, but you get the point!

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Sourdough Discard Crackers for the win! Yup, they are tasty, and easy, and very forgiving. The only problem is that I have modified my sourdough bread process so that I no longer have discard. When I make crackers I have to make discard first. So it isn't really "discard," it's more like "excard?" Or maybe I will stay in my lane and avoid creating new words.

Anyway, they are fun to make, fun to eat, and are strangely satisfying to put out for guests. "Why yes, those are homemade crackers!"

Pro tip: Use lots of butter!

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Here's another look at Cast Iron pans.

[Hat Tip: Kathy]

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As much as I love British cooking, and I think it is very, very, underrated, sometimes I see recipes on British cooking websites and I scratch my head and think, "Guys, are you serious? Do you know your reputation?"

Here's one of them. It's not that it sounds horrible; it's that it is more in tune with a college junior in his first apartment that he shares with three friends. Yes, it is food. Yes, it is filling. But do you really need to publicize it?
Sausage and baked bean casserole
Hell, they even use canned baked beans!

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[Hat Tip: dhmosquito]
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The garlic is harvested! And it looks...well...sigh. Send all of your excellent home-grown garlic to: cbd dot aoshq at gmail dot com.

Rumor has it that the Bourbon Bubble is bursting. I have seen no evidence of decreasing prices, but maybe the bursting started somewhere else! I think the sweet spot is $40-$60 for excellent and interesting bottles, and bumping that to $100 gets you an incremental improvement in quality, but nothing mind-blowing. More than that and I think you are paying for hype and rarity, which may look good in your liquor cabinet, but doesn't translate to more quality in the bottle.

The problem...or the solution...is to buy lots of bourbon, take tasting notes, and eventually arrive at your favorites! It should take forty or fifty years, but it is worth it!