Imposter Bacon: Way or No Way?
I adore bacon, but haven't tried turkey bacon or any of the other imposters out there. I'm guessing I'd be terribly disappointed. For our purposes, I'm talking meat, not some chemical or vegetable look-alike.
I'll say No Way. I'll reconsider if the rest of you say that something else really can compete with pork.
So, wadda u say, way or no way?
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33 Comments:
Tentative, aprehensive kind of "way" here. For the smokey flavor and as a component in a BLT, I might say way. But, I thnk my husband, sister and many other porkies would say nay. Now, my husband does like the scalloped potatoes I make which are laced with diced turkey ham. And I will use the turkey bacon in MY turkey chili (not the ground stuff,it has to be chunks) as a flavor component. I will grant that there will never be a subustitute for real pork bacon, center cut and thick sliced. I've never had it, but hey, I know what I'm cooking and just the family's response is all the feedback I need.
dhorst at 11:15PM on 01/24/09
I've had turkey bacon. I look at it this way - if you don't call it 'bacon', it's really good. In fact, I can eat it straight out of the package since it's fully cooked. Have been known to eat it on open face sandwiches with good mustard as is. Really, I love it. But not so much "instead" of real bacon, just as its own thing. I'm not even sure what it means in terms of "way or no way"...
brooke29 at 11:23PM on 01/24/09
Either it's bacon or it's not. A pressed poulty product, artificially colored and flavored is not bacon. Bacon does not come from a plant. The "imposter bacon" should be referred to as a "bacon-like substance" and may be appropriate for other uses, just not for bacon.
beth1 at 11:42PM on 01/24/09
I tried turkey bacon once. It reminded me more of ham than bacon. If I wasn't thinking of it as bacon, it would be okay, but I wouldn't use it as a substitute for bacon. I think that using it in its own recipe would be fine, and I might buy it again for that sort of purpose, but it's not something I'd use for a BLT.
dbcurrie at 12:47AM on 01/25/09
no way
dearrie at 12:49AM on 01/25/09
No way.
When bacon comes to our house it is the guest of honor. I spring for the Niman Ranch bacon from Trader Joes. If it is not available, we do without.
I must confess a fondness for the Yves Veggie Pepperoni. It doesn't make oil pools on top of the pizza and is semi kosher for my kosher neighbor's kid.
@brooke29 makes a good case for turkey bacon. One of these days I'll get some, any particular brand?
LearP at 12:56AM on 01/25/09
I don't eat pork, so the fake stuff is all I eat. But I prefer the Morningstar Breakfast Strips to turkey bacon. They don't taste like bacon, they're just good in their own right. Turkey bacon is a little..... chewy.
buffy at 1:02AM on 01/25/09
@LearP - Louis Rich has been the best so far. Don't buy Butterball, it's way too thin (almost see-through) an definitely lacking in the taste department.
brooke29 at 1:43AM on 01/25/09
I have had turkey bacon a few times it's not bad, i would never buy it myself but I didn't spit it out either. Nope if I am going to have bacon it is going to be Porky.
pjracz10 at 4:21AM on 01/25/09
Turkey Bacon is a bad excuse as a replacement for the real stuff. Have you ever tried a good filet with turkey bacon wrapped around it? So when I'm short of bacon, I will pull out the bottle of 'Real Bacon Bits' to add a touch of flavor, without the urge to eat to the whole package of real stuff.
Ribster at 5:44AM on 01/25/09
As a kid, one of my favorite breakfasts was buttered rye toast and Sizzlelean. Do they still make that? I actually liked it better than real bacon.
I've been a vegetarian for many years, but never tried veggie bacon. Morningstar Veggie breakfast sausages are really good, but I was told that their fake bacon was not.
HeartofGlass at 9:01AM on 01/25/09
No Way!!!
Markbb at 9:26AM on 01/25/09
I make "bacon" out of tempeh. It's not really too much like bacon, but it is tasty in its own right. I gave a tempeh sandwich to my little bro (he calls himself a meatarian), and now he begs me to buy or make him tempeh bacon. It's good!
KarynMC at 9:58AM on 01/25/09
I'm willing to give it a try as an added ingredient in a recipe...but subbing it for sizzling, decadent whole strips....no way.
By the way, I finally tried Bacon Salt and was pleasantly surprised.
bessfour at 10:12AM on 01/25/09
This isn't what you asked, but I actually quite like soy bacon--it's one of the few fake meat products I do enjoy, in fact (worst ever: fake deli meat. Oh. my. God.). I think of it more as a crispy, smoky snack food than as bacon, though.
annatr at 10:48AM on 01/25/09
I've never had "real" bacon, so I'm probably not the best judge, but I like turkey bacon just fine.
It gets crisper if you look it in the microwave, fyi.
Lilly at 1:33PM on 01/25/09
@Lilly ~ don't you just love typos? I know something that sort of gets crisper if you look at it, sort of. Oh, never mind. I'm sure you meant cook, not look. Thanks for the giggle.
PerkyMac at 1:40PM on 01/25/09
@Heart--I love the Morningstar sausage patties. They make great sausage biscuits.
buffy at 2:22PM on 01/25/09
WAY to turkey bacon, it's not really bacon at all but it's tasty.
but nothing else. Bacon bits are just 2 weird for me.
**oink**I like real pork
hungrychristel at 3:40PM on 01/25/09
No way, no how.
LizSherman at 3:59PM on 01/25/09
Not a chance in hell.
finsbigfan at 4:23PM on 01/25/09
I might get kicked off the site for this ;) but I can't eat pork since we had to dissect fetal pigs in sophomore biology and I thought it looked like ham...wait...ohhhhh. Now it's ALL mental block, and I make small attempts , but my point is I LOVE turkey bacon! I like Louis Rich, but tried something else (not Butterball) last time and it was good, too. I use it for BLTs and it IS crispy. I also crumble it up for salads and even use it for carbonara. I've had quite a few turkey sausages that you wouldn't be able to tell from "real", and hormel turkey pepperoni is virtually indistinguishable from the pork kind, though a bit less greasy as someone said.
MaresyDotes at 10:32PM on 01/25/09
nope.
cybercita at 10:53PM on 01/25/09
@PerkyMac: It look me a while to figure out what you were talking about; when your brain wants something to be right, it just glosses over the little mistakes!
And yes, I have special gamma ray eyes that make things crispy with prolonged eye contact!
Lilly at 12:19AM on 01/26/09
@Lilly ~ I knew you must be Super Woman with the ability to saute, fry and crisp with just a wink and a blink! ;) Every dorm room is going to want you to visit. Are you invisible? Can you fly? How do we call you when we need you????
PerkyMac at 12:37AM on 01/26/09
I used to say NO F`IN WAY! But my bacon loving partner was diagnosed with dangerously high cholesterol so we are exploring the world of fake bacon and fake butter. Ah, what we do for love....
VerasTastyFreeze at 9:30AM on 01/26/09
Tempeh bacon...fak'n bacon, as it's called, is delicious.
Doesn't taste like the real thing, but it tastes like it's related...
jbeach at 12:54PM on 01/26/09
NO WAY....sorry to hollar....just pretty passionate about that! ;-)
mepolo at 1:15PM on 01/26/09
No way. If I'm craving bacon, I could eat a pound and a half of an impostor product and not feel as satiated as I would after eating ONE strip of real bacon.
therealchiffonade at 1:45PM on 01/26/09
I'd say No Way.
I never liked bacon (yes, it is possible) and now that I don't eat meat...I don't even go near the soy stuff. However, the reason I said No Way was because nothing beats the smell of my roommates cooking bacon in the morning. I can still appreciate that intoxicating aroma...even if the thought of eating it induces a little bit of a gag.
sweethunibabi at 12:14AM on 01/29/09
I actually just watched an episode of Oprah yesterday - stop looking at me like that!- it was an episode about childhood obesity. She had a nutritionist on and bacon -v- turkey bacon was one of the things. He said actual bacon was nutritionally better for you. They had the same amount of fat and calories and the turkey bacon was higher in sodium.
He said don't buy into it just because the wording or label is more appealing. Also, a glazed doughnut is better for you than a multigrain bagel with low fat cream cheese (not WHOLE grain, MULTI grain).
carolrsfMISSESTEXAS at 1:31AM on 01/29/09
No way! But then again, I never could stand the "real thing" either (yes, I know, shocking... someone who doesn't like bacon).
Steen at 1:11PM on 01/30/09
@carol ~ shut up!!! I wonder if it's on youtube yet? Must see. Now I want a glazed donut and bacon sandwich. I think I love you. *wink*wink*
PerkyMac at 1:36PM on 01/30/09