And the nominees are:
For the 3rd year in a row, there was a “trick” bacon in the mix. This year it was venison bacon. It’s a blind taste test, but from appearance alone, you could tell something was not quite right…
..and not everybody was fooled.
I’m always glad when the “trick” bacon scores low. Honestly, it wasn’t bad. We all agreed that it would be good on a sandwich. As a true competitor in the bacon taste test? Just, no.
Additionally, the texture of the Berkshire pork bacon really creeped people out, garnering comments of “texture was off”, “What animal is this?”, and “i DONT NO WAT IS WRONG WITH IT”.
Anyway, on to the results!
Nathan:
| Brand | Rating (1-10) | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Black Earth Meats Berkshire House Cured | 7 | Great flavor – lots of crunch but oddly soft too, texture was off |
| Jordanal Farms Hickory Smoked, Cured | 9 | Giant pieces – looked like a lot of fat but didn’t taste fatty; thicker cut; what I would classify as eggs and bacon bacon. Clearly whole meat cut. |
| Pernat’s Premium Meats (Venison Bacon) | 2 | Very lean and does not have the CRUNCH; clearly not whole cut meat; tastes like jerky |
| D&G Sausage Shoppe – D&G Homestyle Bacon | 8 | Solid. Good, every day bacon (grocery store type) – nothing bad / nothing good, but the flavor couldn’t put it in the next level |
Amanda:
| Brand | Rating (1-10) | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Black Earth Meats Berkshire House Cured | 6 | Looked the worst. Smokey, salty. Didn’t like the first bite, but 2 & 3rd bites were better |
| Jordanal Farms Hickory Smoked, Cured | 5 | Looked the best. Not much flavor. A little thick & leathery. Boring. |
| Pernat’s Premium Meats (Venison Bacon) | -1 (0) | EEw. I know what this is. Deer != bacon. |
| D&G Sausage Shoppe – D&G Homestyle Bacon | 9 | NOM NOM NOM NOM! Perfectly balanced, not overly salty. Slightly smokey. perfect thickness. Looked good too. This is my jam. |
Sara:
| Brand | Rating (1-10) | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Black Earth Meats Berkshire House Cured | 4 | Airy, greasy, tasteless. What animal is this? |
| Jordanal Farms Hickory Smoked, Cured | 7 | Hammy flavor, nice, wide appearance, a little chewy. |
| Pernat’s Premium Meats (Venison Bacon) | 8 | Looks like jerky, tastes like sausage, maybe I like this. |
| D&G Sausage Shoppe – D&G Homestyle Bacon | 8 | Very traditional and crispy. Might be Hormel, but I still like it. (salty) |
Shane:
| Brand | Rating (1-10) | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Black Earth Meats Berkshire House Cured | 7 | Nice texture, crisp, crumbly, nice fat. Appearance was a little off. Looked thin and off-colored. |
| Jordanal Farms Hickory Smoked, Cured | 8 | Best appearance, wide flat pieces, chewier, more flavor. More what I expect bacon to taste like. |
| Pernat’s Premium Meats (Venison Bacon) | 4 | Strange looking, more like thin ham. Too uniform, would be good on a sandwich, but not to eat for breakfast. |
| D&G Sausage Shoppe – D&G Homestyle Bacon | 5 | Decent appearance, 2nd best looking, very crunchy. Too crunchy. And too salty, only all right. |
Evie:
| Brand | Rating (1-10) | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Black Earth Meats Berkshire House Cured | 2 | i DONT NO WAT IS WRONG WITH IT |
| Jordanal Farms Hickory Smoked, Cured | 9 | GOOD BUT i DiDiNT LikE iT AS MUCH AS 10 |
| Pernat’s Premium Meats (Venison Bacon) | 2 | iT TAST LikE SALOME |
| D&G Sausage Shoppe – D&G Homestyle Bacon | 10 | iT WAS GOOD Lik LAST YER |
Ollie:
Ollie gave everything a smiley face. His only comment was on bacon #2: “Can we make this greasier?”
Overall Results:
| Brand | Average Rating |
|---|---|
| Black Earth Meats Berkshire House Cured | 5.2 |
| Jordanal Farms Hickory Smoked, Cured | 7.6 |
| Pernat’s Premium Meats (Venison Bacon) | 3.2 |
| D&G Sausage Shoppe – D&G Homestyle Bacon | 8.0 |
Shane Halbach 