Serious Eats Gift Guide: For Bacon Lovers
If you're a Serious Eats regular, chances are you're also a bacon lover. We've created a holiday gift guide especially for you to share with your friends and family to ensure your holidays are bacon-filled. You can thank us later.
DIY Bacon Gifts
With the economic times being what they are, many of us will be spending less money and more heart on our holiday gift-giving this year. Here are a few DIY gift suggestions for your bacon lover.
Make Your Own Bacon: It's easier than you think, doesn't require any special equipment, and is sure to impress. There are many tutorials and recipes online, we recommend following the New York Times' adaptation of Michael Ruhlman's savory bacon recipe. Savory Bacon Recipe »
Bacon Soap: If you've gone through the trouble of making your own bacon, you've already got the main ingredient needed for a batch of bacon soap. This is not a quick project (your soap will need to cure for at least 2 weeks) so be sure to read through the instructions carefully before you dive in. How to make bacon soap »
Bacon Fat Spice Cookies: Everything tastes better with bacon! Especially cookies. This recipe for Bacon Fat Spice Cookies is adapted from Jennifer McLagan's book,Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes. This is a low effort, high reward project and a great gift (if you don't eat them all!) Bacon Fat Spice Cookies Recipe »
Crochet Bacon Wrap: If you're handy with a crochet hook, use your skills to wrap your bacon lover in deliciousness. The Big Strip O'Bacon crochet chart can be downloaded for $5 from Monster Crochet »
Bacon T-shirts
Help your bacon lover represent with a bacon T-shirt. Bacon is a powerful muse and has inspired many t-shirts, so we've narrowed it down to a few of our favorites.
Baconshirts.com: Baconshirts.com is a great first stop for your bacon wear. I'm partial to the butcher diagram, but all designs are bacon-tastic and available on T-shirts, aprons, onesies, and undies. $20 at Baconshirts.com, shipping included »
The Bacon Geek T-shirt: Is that bacon in your pocket? Just one of the bacon-themed T-shirts available from The Grateful Palate. $21.95 from The Grateful Palate »
Praise the Lard!: We have a natural bias toward the bacon corollary T-shirt, Praise the Lard! (we designed it!). Available in a multitude of color combinations, as a T-shirt or a hoodie. Starting at $19.99 at Neighborhoodies.com »
Bacon Reading
On our required reading list for any bacon lover:
Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing by Michael Ruhlman will lead your bacon lover through the essentials of at-home charcuterie. Available for $23.10 at Amazon.com »
The Bacon Cookbook by James Villas includes more than 150 recipes incorporating bacon in all different kinds of dishes. Available for $23.10 at Amazon.com »
Pork and Sons by Stéphane Reynaud is a beautifully illustrated cookbook celebrating the whole hog. Available for $27 at Amazon.com »
Bacon of the Month
Each month, bacon of the month club members receive a different delicious bacon by mail. An obvious gift that's sure to fill a bacon lover's heart with glee on a monthly basis.
Zingerman's Bacon Club is available for for 3 or 6 month subscriptions, starting at $99, (shipping and handling included, $10 extra per installment if your sending it to Alaska and Hawaii).
Grateful Palate's Bacon of the Month Club is available for 6 or 12 month subscriptions, starting at $190, (shipping and handling included).
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12 Comments:
Haha thanks for this. I know a lot of people who would be very happy if they received one of these gifts.
Hillary
Chew on That at 10:43AM on 12/05/08
I LOVE this! If only I could find someone to make me a bacon scarf...pure brilliance! Thanks for making me hungry!
Linnea Covington at 11:14AM on 12/05/08
I'd like that "Bacon is a vegetable" t-shirt the guy was wearing on Top Chef.
silvermike at 11:31AM on 12/05/08
Last year, I won a one-year subscription for the Grateful Palate Bacon of the Month club, courtesy Serious Eats. I can't tell you how cheering it is, during a difficult month, to have a package of bacon suddenly appear.
You also get some assorted bacon swag, and a monthly bacon cartoon. Frankly, the cartoons are usually very bad - but who cares? I have BACON!
I will miss it. Even the Post Office workers will miss it - I have a PO box, and they all commented on the Bacon package. I just can't justify the cost on our family budget. The packaging waste and huge food mileage make my inner eco-vore cringe. But, again, it's BACON! I think I am going to search out local sources of monthly bacon indulgence.
matriarchy at 3:37PM on 12/05/08
Bacon SCARF!!!!! Amazing!
ReneeRobinson at 3:49PM on 12/05/08
You can also purchase a bacon scarf from shopsinsgeneralstore.com!
kathryn at 7:44PM on 12/05/08
Hey ya'll I know I mentioned this last year around this time but Archie McPhee's has a ton of bacon related items (a bacon lunchbox, a bacon wallet, etc) as well as some other fun foodie gifts like foodie tattoos and inflatable fruitcake. Hope you enjoy perusing their wacky site as much as I do- once again- I swear I am not shilling for them - I just love their stuff.
www.mcphee.com
bisbee at 9:28PM on 12/05/08
i just want you to know that I love you serious eats. you have written most of my list for me, and my family will (THEY BETTER) read this post...
kitchengeeking at 10:07AM on 12/06/08
@matriarchy: So glad to hear how much you enjoyed you bacon subscription last year...and jealous!
@kitchengeeking: Glad to be of service! I hope you find some of these items under your Christmas tree. :)
Alaina Browne at 10:11AM on 12/06/08
BACON!!!!!!!!!! That bacon scarf is really cool. So is that Bacon Geek T-shirt. Awesomeness abounds with all this bacon goodness. =]
SaltyDonuts at 12:22PM on 12/06/08
Hello I can't believe you haven't mentioned the Bacon is Meat Candy Bacon Club? Their Boss Hog Bacon is awesome!
loveofbacon at 12:29PM on 12/06/08
See, now you've made me hungry.
As long as we're on the topic, The Pig Next Door runs a couple of bacon of the month clubs. What I like about theirs is one of their clubs focuses on heritage breeds raised on small family farms. It's the best bacon I've ever tasted, and it also supports the smaller farms that really could use the help.
But any bacon is good bacon, and more bacon is the best bacon!
tocino at 11:53AM on 12/10/08