Trader Joe’s No Nitrite/Nitrate Fully Cooked Uncured Bacon

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I decided to try out Trader Joe’s Fully Cooked Uncured Bacon – No Nitrites or Nitrates Added – Apple Smoked bacon recently.

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I’ve heard both good and bad things about nitrates and nitrites, but mostly that you should try to get your nitrates and nitrites from natural sources over those added to processed meat products.

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This was my first time working with fully cooked bacon. The cooking time to re-heat and/or crisp the bacon was so short! The box recommended 10-15 seconds for 2 slices.

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Here’s what the bacon looked like after removing from the box. I thought it was really well packaged.

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To get the bacon as crisp as I wanted, I cooked it way longer than the 10-15 seconds recommended (not to mention I had 4 slices to cook up, not the 2 referenced for the 10-15 seconds cook time). I think I ended up cooking it for a total of 1 minute, but in 15 second increments.

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I served the bacon with a fried, cage-free egg. Btw, I’m pretty bad at cooking fried eggs…I don’t know how they make them look so pretty at most breakfast spots. Perhaps when I get my griddle the eggs will be easier to flip?

All in all, I thought the bacon was really good. The short cooking time was nice and the apple-smoked flavor was really good.

Does anyone else do nitrate/nitrite-free bacon?

4 thoughts on “Trader Joe’s No Nitrite/Nitrate Fully Cooked Uncured Bacon”

  1. I'm no good at getting my fried eggs to be pretty as well 🙂 I was actually thinking a similar thought this morning when I was making poached eggs… they must have some special tool for that at the restaurants!

    I haven't done nitrate/nitrite-free bacon, but I think I've had hot dogs free of nitrites/nitrates and they were quite tasty!

    Reply
    • Crack eggs into a cup and set aside. Cooking water should be 3-4 inches deep. Bring to rolling boil then reduce to simmer. Put 1 capfull of white vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in the cooking water. Stir water to create a vortex in the pot. Add eggs two at a time. Cook 3-3.5 minutes for loose, 4 minutes for firm with liquid yolk.

      Reply
  2. I agree, this is good bacon. I've bought it several times and, yes, I like it cooked a longer time as well–like 1/2 a minute more. Today I went to my local Trader Joe's. No bacon. The reason: not enough interest. Imagine. Nonetheless I was told the Hollywood Store (in Portland, OR) will order it again as requested. In the meantime, like you I was looking for another nitrate-free brand when I came across your comment. Finally, I was a quasi-vegetarian for a long time. Now that I'm eating more meat, this product works well.
    Keep Packin' Lite,
    Patriczia
    Patriczia@twitter.com

    Reply
  3. Any bacon that says “no nitrates” is a hoax. Nitrates are a natural part of the curing process, and even “uncured nitrate free” bacon both is cured and contains nitrates. Its called greenwashing. Look it up. Scary.

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