KETO PRODUCT REVIEW: TRADER JOE'S APPLEWOOD SMOKED UNCURED BACON ENDS & PIECES
My "bacon chips"
Bacon is obviously a staple of the Ketogenic diet. As I like to say, "when in doubt just eat bacon!". I have posted on my Instagram page a few times my usual method for cooking bacon which includes cutting it up into smaller "bacon chips" so I can bake more at once.
Fast forward to Thanksgiving week and I was at the Trader Joe's by my parents' house in Arizona and I noticed their Uncured Bacon Ends & Pieces right next to the standard strips of bacon. I'm not sure if it is a new product or not, but I had never noticed it before. It is a 16oz package, compared to their strips which is a 12oz package and it costs about $1 less!
So I bought it and used it to make a batch of my Keto Cauliflower Bacon Au Gratin for Thanksgiving and it was great! So I bought some more last night and decided to bake it up this morning for my daughter and I to snack on throughout the weekend.
On the Trader Joe's website they say:
When you buy a package of bacon, inside you expect to find long, uniform strips of pork-y goodness, ready to be crisped by whatever means makes you happy (stovetop, microwave or conventional oven are some options…). What if you could get that same bacon goodness, without the long strips, and at an absolutely smokin' hot price? Would you do it? Would you still love your bacon even if it weren't in completely uniform strips? We thought so.
And so we developed Trader Joe's Applewood Smoked Uncured Bacon Ends & Pieces, which are, literally, the ends and pieces left after our uniformly sliced bacon is packaged. Before we decided to "save the bacon," so to speak, these delicious, delectable morsels were just going to waste. We found that sad. They may not be pretty, but unless you're serving bacon to royalty (in which case, there's probably paparazzisurrounding your house right now and that's sad, too), who needs pretty bacon? The important thing is, this bacon tastes great! And just like its whole-sliced forebear, it's produced without any added nitrates or nitrites (except those naturally occurring in celery salt & sea salt) or any other artificial flavors, colors or preservatives.
Some things you should know...
- Being that is it Ends & Pieces every package will be different. I opened 3 packs today and one had a lot of really thick pieces and the other 2 didn't. So do not expect a bunch of uniform pieces.
Trader Joe's Uncured Bacon Ends & Pieces straight out of the package
Bacon after I cut it up with kitchen shears
The bacon is DELICIOUS! I really love the Applewood Smoked taste, and just like when I cut up "regular" bacon, the pieces get really crispy on all sides which is my favorite!
So for most uses I will absolutely continue to buy Trader Joe's Applewood Smoked Uncured Bacon Ends & Pieces! Such a great value and great taste! I would definitely recommend buying it (in bulk:).