Gleason Ranch Un-Smoked Bacon

Gleason Ranch Un-Smoked Bacon with no nitrates/nitrites vs. Ambrosio Market Pancetta, Florence, Italy 

 

What am I thinking? Italian pancetta is different in style than American bacon, I know, I don’t need a lecture. But the Gleason Ranch bacon survived a critical test, it stayed crunchy and had texture in my risotto. The added benefit of not being smoked brought back the flavor memory of cooking in my tiny kitchen in Florence over a year ago.

Something to consider when frying Gleason Ranch bacon, it doesn’t have the water content that store bought bacon has. It doesn’t shrink much at all and it doesn’t curl up in the cast iron skillet. The fat crisps up more like crackling with barely any resemblance to the whitish fat on commercial bacon. So watch your cooking time and watch the color as it cooks. The lack of water, thickness and meat to fat ration all effect the outcome

I chopped and fried the bacon in a small pan, the same pan I added my rice to. I decided on a more heavily wine based ‘stock’ than normal and chose a local Veritas Ridge sparkling wine as my base adding roughly 2 cups sparkling wine to 1 cup water. I’m pleased to say both the bacon and the wine are two local products. No pepper and only a dash of sea salt. Yes, I kept all of the fat from the rendered bacon in the pan for cooking. I finished my risotto with parmigiano reggiano and a dash of butter.

Rather than incorporate the chantrelles into my risotto, I decided to cook them separately in butter and parsley and circle the plate in decadence. This left a nice area to spoon my risotto into. I paired the meal with a Tandem Sangiovese 2004, as Sangiovese would have been appropriate in Florence.

The result was excellent (not arrogance, confidence). I’ve tried 100% wine based risottos before and don’t always care for the results. I wanted some acid in the base considering the amount of bacon, butter, and cheese incorporated into the dish.

Meal two with my Gleason Ranch bacon challenge was the American Classic, Bacon and Eggs. No need to explain anything here. Just look at the picture.

So where can you find Gleason Ranch products?

Oliver's Market (Santa Rosa & Cotati)
Planet Organics (Sonoma)
Valley Ford Market (Valley Ford)
Willowside Meats (Santa Rosa)
Bi-Rite Market (San Francisco)
Canyon Market (San Francisco)

Comments

[TL]

This dish risotto looks fantastic, I'm sure we won't find this on any menu, great look, just makes me want to taste it.
TL