You Have Bacon Questions (We Have Answers)

All About Bacon & Your Health

What is Bacon Made from?

Bacon is cured pork belly – the softest fat on the pig – which is laced with delicious veins of flavorful muscle meat.

To make bacon, fresh pork bellies are cured with salt and spices and then lightly smoked. The combination of smoke and salt extends the shelf life of bacon significantly compared to that of fresh pork belly – in fact, bacon was initially a product made to conserve fresh raw pork belly for consumption year-round.

The ingredients in Belcampo’s bacon are: Pork, Water, Sea Salt, Evaporated Cane Juice, Black Pepper, Celery Powder, Natural flavors – there are no added nitrates apart from what occurs naturally in Celery and Sea Salt.

The Nutrition Facts for 1 serving (2 oz.) of Belcampo bacon:

• Fat 22g
• Cholesterol 45mg
• Sodium 170mg
• Protein 8g
• Vitamin D 2mcg
• Calcium 8mg
• Potassium 112mg
• More than 25% RDA of: Vitamins B6 and B12, Zinc and Selenium

Is Bacon Healthy?

Bacon can be a great addition to a healthy diet – especially if it's from Belcampo! Pork from our free range pigs has been independently lab tested to verify that there is more monounsaturated fat than saturated fat – the fats in Belcampo pigs are 60% monounsaturated and 40% saturated. These same lab tests show that our pigs have 25X the Omega 3s compared to conventional pork (because our heritage breed hogs live their lives on pasture where they forage to their hearts' content!)

Does Bacon have Carbs?

Belcampo Bacon contains no carbs – the evaporated cane sugar in our curing process has a very small amount (less than 0.1g in the finished product).

Does Bacon have a lot of Saturated fat?

Belcampo Bacon has less saturated fat than monounsaturated fat – it's 60% monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, and 40% saturated. That translates to about 13g of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, and 9g of saturated fat, per serving.

Does Belcampo Bacon have Nitrates?

There are no added nitrates in Belcampo Bacon apart from what occurs naturally in Celery and Sea Salt.

Can cats & dogs eat bacon?

We don't recommend it. Too much salt!

How to Prepare & Use Bacon

How to cook Bacon in a Skillet on the Stovetop:

• The key to getting flat, crisp bacon is letting the pan and bacon heat together.
• Don’t overcrowd the pan; the bacon strips should not be touching.
• By cooking it at a lower temperature first, some of the grease will release (making it easier to crisp) while the bacon continues to cook at a higher temperature.
• Even if you take the pan off the heat, the residual heat from the pan will continue to cook the bacon. We recommend removing the bacon from the pan as soon as it’s done.
• The hot pan filled with rendered bacon fat is now ready to go to fry up a super tasty egg, or pour off the fat and save for later (see below).

How to cook Bacon in your Oven:

• Preheat your oven to 400 F.
• Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Lay the bacon sliceson the baking sheet.
• Cook the bacon for 18-20 minutes, or until it’s as crispy as you’d like.
• Remove the bacon from the oven and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
• Pour off the bacon fat from the pan and save for later (see below).

How to cook Bacon in an Air Fryer:

• Lay bacon inside air fryer basket in a single layer.
• Set air fryer to 400° and cook until crispy, about 10 minutes. (You can check halfway through and rearrange slices with tongs.)

How do I save Bacon Fat?

Bacon fat can be poured hot into a glass mason jar or metal bowl, covered tightly (either with a lid or with a saran wrap or airtight lid) and kept at room temperature for 1 week, in the refrigerator for 4-6 months, and in the freezer for 2 years.

If you want your bacon fat to taste “cleaner” with less porky, bacon flavor, strain it through a tea strainer or small sieve before pouring it into your storage container.

To make the bacon fat easier to scoop and portion, consider pouring it into an ice cube tray (silicone or plastic) and unmolding the cubes for RTG bacon fat bombs!

Where can I use Bacon Fat?

You can use bacon fat in place of butter or olive oil.

Because bacon fat still contains small particles of bacon meat, it will have a lower smoke point than pure lard. The smoke point is the point at which the organic matter in the bacon will burn and the fat will smoke and develop a burnt flavor.

To increase the bacon fat’s smoke point, consider straining it before conserving it (see above for instructions).

Inside tip: you can even use bacon fat to make cookies! Use it in place of butter in your mixer and for a sweet, salty and savory treat!