Everything's Better with Bacon!

While wanting a healthier diet, I reeeeeaaaally didn't want to give up bacon . . . so like everything else, I thought I'd try making it myself. First I tried switching to side pork, frying that up with a little seasoning, but it tasted just like a fried pork chop - not the bacon-y goodness I was looking for.

This recipe was one of those instances where the idea just popped into my head while I was actually in process of frying up some side pork. The idea? Add apple cider vinegar to the pan. Now, I knew about brining bacon, but we have a small fridge and don't have extra space to allocate. It took some experimenting with amounts and heat settings, but I finally did it: quick, easy, bacon-on-the-fly that *gasp* actually tastes like bacon! I really like a maple-flavored bacon, but adding maple syrup is up to you.

Ingredients:

Side pork, sliced

Sea salt (best with applewood smoked sea salt, which you can easily make yourself with a smoker, some applewood, and some sea salt)
Pepper
1 part maple syrup (1 part = about 1 Tbsp per pound of bacon)
2 parts apple cider vinegar

Arrange side pork in a large skillet. Sprinkle well with salt and pepper and fry on medium heat until the side pork starts to brown. Add 2 parts apple cider vinegar and 1 part maple syrup. Swirl around in the pan to coat the side pork. Continue to fry (a splatter shield is recommended). When good and browned on the bottom, flip side pork over and sprinkle salt and pepper on the browned side. Continue to fry until slices are as done as you like. Tastes like bacon!

We actually prefer this recipe over commercial bacon. Today, I did basically the same recipe except we smoked it with hickory instead of frying it. Takes longer, but ooooooh was that ever good!!

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