Ohio's Own: Uncured Coffee Bacon from North Country Charcuterie [Columbus Underground]
With plenty of caffeine, protein, and fat to keep you going all day, Coffee and Bacon might just be the breakfast of champions. Or at least, some champions. Thanks to the good people at North Country Charcuterie, you can experience Coffee and Bacon as one ultimate entity through the miracle of Uncured Coffee Bacon. You’ll have to cook it first, though. It’s sold raw, like most good bacons. And the quality is evident, even in the early, raw stages. Made from Berkshire pork, the strips are lean, with squared-off edges neatly trimmed, thick, and supple. There’s nothing slimy or floppy about it. The label on the outside of the package is maybe a little confusing. It’s “uncured coffee bacon” until the ingredient list opens with these words “Cured with…” So, it’s “uncured” in the sense that it didn’t involve the traditional sodium nitrite process. For curing, it used brown sugar, kosher salt, ground coffee, celery powder, back pepper and cayenne, and for the flavor finish, the bacon is smoked with apple wood chips. Time in the oven at home turns the strips a pretty auburn color. Flavor-wise, it’s at its best cooked rigid, but not quite crisp. That can be expected in any thick bacon. One sweet and savory bite, and you might not guess that there’s coffee in the mix…but you can tell it’s uncommonly good-quality bacon. North Country Charcuterie products are made in Columbus Ohio. You may be familiar with its Chorizo, Hot Italian Sausage, or some of the products of its partnerships: Its Cumberland Sausage resulted from a collaboration with (now closed) Geordie’s, and its Boerewors South African sausage is made in collaboration with Fetty’s Street Food. You’ll also find dessert salami in its product line. That one involves dark chocolate, bisciotti, candied orange peel and cherries. You can buy North Country Charcuterie at places such as Bexley Natural Market, Carfagna’s, Bluescreek Farms, Weiland’s, and The Hills Market.
by Miriam Bowers Abbout
Source: Columbus Underground
