Today on Bacon LIVE Sean and I reviewed the new Hormel Fully Cooked Bacon. As many of you already know, we hate precooked bacon, so we where surprised when we both actually liked it. Now I am not saying it’s the best bacon I ever had, but it is the best precooked bacon I ever had.

It really was thicker and had more flavor then other bacons in its class. Still we both agree we would almost always prefer cooking it ourselves. But it is nice to know we can keep this is our cupboard for some decent back up bacon.

We also recapped Bacon Bash and talked about how we could improve it for next year. We then moved on to drinking beer and how we should remove bacon eating rights to anyone that gets a DUI.

I will be on vacation next week so there will be no Bacon LIVE. You will just have to watch or listen to your favorite past episode. We will be back in full force September 1st.

Go to BaconLIVE.com to learn how to subscribe, call the show, and watch us live Wednesdays at 7pm ET!

Watch the live video recording on uStream.tv or listen to the audio podcast bellow!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:06:36 — 30.5MB)

At Bacon Bash this year you might have been lucky enough to have a variation of the Atomic Buffalo Turd (ABT) cooked up by AJ Doyle (the guy that won the bacon eating contest). ABT’s have been around since 2005, you can find the original recipe here, but the ones at the event replaced the usual Little Smokies with pulled pork belly. This gave them the bacon flavor on the inside and out.

If you don’t know, a ABT is basically a jalapeno cut in half, then fill with something pork related and cream cheese, then lastly wrapped in bacon and cooked.

Now this isn’t the first time I seen someone experiment with perfection. Greg Givan, a man that knows how to BBQ, fills the jalapenos with pulled pork and adds a little dry rub to the mix (pictured above). Check out his recipe bellow.

Atomic Buffalo Turds with Pulled Pork

Yields: 30

What you will need:

• 15 jalapeno peppers
• 1 8oz block of cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup smoked, pulled pork
• 1/2 tablespoon bbq rub
• 1 pound of bacon, preferably thinner cut
• 30 toothpicks

Directions:

1. Cut the peepers in half lengthwise, removing the seeds and veins. Optionally, if an even milder pepper heat is desired… soak the peppers in Sprite overnight.
2. Mix the cream cheese, pulled pork, and rub in a medium bowl. Fill each pepper half with the cheese mixture and wrap each pepper with half a strip of bacon, securing bacon in place with a toothpick.
3. Smoke the peppers at 225-250 degrees for approximately 60-90 minutes. Cook and eat remaining bacon while waiting.

Both Greg and AJ are quick to say that didn’t really invent anything here, but it’s still there personal touch on a classic BBQ dish. That’s the great thing about the Bacon Nation we are always inspiring each other to do great things with our favorite porky treat. Feel free to share you variation of the ABT in the comments.

Bacon Bash was a success. We had over 100 bacon lovers attend this year’s event at the Harris Grill, which almost double last year’s numbers. We also consumed over 140 pounds of delicious Sugardale bacon.

I would like to thank everyone that came out and our sponsors, you all helped make this the best Bacon Bash this side of the Mississippi.

The climax of the event was the bacon eating contest, where long time reader of the blog, AJ Doyle, won first place. He was also the guy that made the amazing Atomic Buffalo Turds (bacon wrapped jalapeños). Another thing worth noting is a 12 year old girl won 3rd place and she was only 2 ounces away from the winner. AJ won a year supply of bacon from Sugardale (which he gave to the 3rd place winner for being so awesome), Bakon Vodka, $40 in Grill Bills, water bottle, and a Harris Grill t-shirt that says on the bacon “I got 99 problems but bacon ain’t one”.

Since I was working the door most of the day I didn’t get a chance to take any photos/videos or try all the food. Lucky for me bacon lovers love to talk about their favorite food, so below are some links to what I found so far. If you would like to be added to this list just send me an email.

Photos, Videos, and Blog posts of Bacon Bash:

(This list will be updated throughout the week)

• Blog Post: Bacon Bash by Burghertime
• Photos: Bacon Bash by Dave W.
• Video: 2010 Bacon Bash Bacon Eating Contest by Gary (NSFW for explicit language)
• Blog Post: Bacon Bash 2010 by Watch Us Eat!
• Blog Post: 2010 Bacon Bash: Not Just Cured Meat by Boring Pittsburgh

We are going to be talking about the event on this week’s Bacon LIVE (Wednesday at 7pm ET) so make sure you check us out live.

I can’t wait for next year’s Bacon Bash, it’s going to be big, better, and have even more bacon!

Sean and I started off the show last night with some discussion on the new podcasting setup I created. I will now have more control over how the audio podcast sounds, so if you listen on iTunes we may start to sound pro. Let us know if you hear any problems in the audio podcast, thanks!

I then wanted to vent about the stresses of putting together a bacon event. When then starting talking about bacon cupcakes, bacon eating contests, and bacon door prizes. If you attend Bacon Bash and visit the Sugardale table you get a chance to win a year’s supply or bacon!

We also talked about the new stance Wendy’s has on bacon, the evils of turkey bacon, sweet bacon shirts, and so much more.

Go to BaconLIVE.com to learn how to subscribe, call the show, and watch us live Wednesdays at 7pm ET!

Watch the live video recording on uStream.tv or listen to the audio podcast bellow!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:02:48 — 28.8MB)

As many bacon lovers already know, the cost of bacon at your local store is rising. Slash Food was bold enough to ask the question, “What’s Up with the High Price of Bacon?” The article sums up the reasons why we have a crisis on our hands.

The National Review even called it, “Obama’s Next Crisis: How Will the White House Handle Increasing Bacon Prices“. This got a lot of bacon lovers worried since we saw how long the healthcare debate took. We need relief today not months from now.

Bloomberg’s latest report, “Bacon Surge May Last Past August as Supply Tightens” gives us very little hope that the prices will come down during prime BLT season.

Wall Street Journal says “Pork Bellies Rise, Bacon Lovers Pay“.

This is true, no matter how high the cost of bacon gets, a bacon lover will never pass on making a BLT. Its prime home gown tomato session and we can’t let them go to waste.

These are hard times for bacon lovers everywhere. If you didn’t stock up on bacon and put it in your freezer I feel for you. If you do need to buy some bacon don’t reach for the cheaper stuff. Even with bacon prices high, that’s not excuse to eat subpar bacon.

Let us know what the bacon prices are in your area in the comments.

Stay strong and enjoy bacon!