Making the Bacon then Bringing it Home

I remember I used I tell people I would never be a vegetarian because I love bacon and ribs too much.

Then I became a vegetarian. And swore off wearing leather or any animal product.

Then it was only seafood.

While pregnant with my second son, I started to crave meat and caved into the cravings.

Now I’m in an in-between stage in which I don’t know what the hell I want (But I still don’t wear animals. Except for wool because it benefits the sheep when their fur is shaved. Same with alpaca.).

But I do know when given the chance to observe how to make your own bacon at Motor Supply Bistro with Executive Chef Tim Peters you don’t say no. I figured even if you don’t eat meat the process would still be an interesting one (When I was a hardcore vegetarian I never had any issues with handling or being around meat but I know everyone is different.).

So for the night I decided to be a carnivore and enjoy all things meat.

And enjoy I did. Besides the promise of learning how to become a bacon making expert, we were provided with a nice spread of hors d’ourves to enjoy.

I was too busy stuffing my face and meeting new bloggers (Hey, Stephanie!) to take pictures of the food but I devoured p?t?, beef jerky (Chef Tim told us he use to make his beef jerky by hanging the meat from his ceiling and letting it dry out.), an assortment of cheeses, spreads, and bread. I have never met a bread I didn’t like.

Once we had stuffed our faces with enough food and washed it all down with wine, it was time for Chef Tim to take the floor. (These photos were taken with my phone. You can see them on Instagram.)

A few tidbits:

Spice it up: hot and sweet, sweet and sour, salty and sweet. Don’t stick to similar spices (i.e. hot spices only.)
Avoid too much Vanilla Bean. Extract is better.
The base mixture everyone got to prep the bacon (and you will see in the video) is sodium nitrate, salt, and sugar. This mixutre had less than .6% nitrate. Far less then the bacon sold in stores (Healthy bacon? Does it exist??)

Another shot of all the spices.?

My mixture: brown sugar, honey,

dried blueberries (tastes just like fruitsnacks!),

bourbon, crushed red pepper, and basil.

Other participants. Love the aprons. They weren’t messing around.

In three weeks I will be able to taste my concotion but right now it is curing at Motor Supply Bistro.

I’m so happy I was invited to attend the event. Check out the video below of me and Ebony talking about our experience. Also, I made a mistake in the drink we mentioned. It is called Blackberry Bramble. NOT Blueberry. The ingredients for the drink are in the description box.