I discovered turkey bacon when I was a newly-wed about 4 years ago . . . I used to shop at Costco and occasionally Sam's and they had big packages of this . . .
At first we bought it because it was cheaper than pig bacon but then we decided we really liked it and continued to buy it from then on instead of the regular kind . . .
That is, until Costco stopped stocking it and we decided not to renew our Sam's membership . . . Soooo We did go back to regular bacon just once I think . . . but after having the turkey kind the pig kind just seemed really grisly and fatty and gross. I don't know, I mean there are still things I like about regular pig bacon, but it was just kind of weird to have my bacon be chewy in that way.
So, we stopped buying bacon at Costco and found some turkey bacon at Smiths Marketplace. (which, by the way has become one of my very favorite stores.)
There is one thing about turkey bacon though . . . It doesn't cook the same, and it tends to not be as crunchy. I like my bacon a bit crunchy . . .
However, the night before last, I was making dinner and after sauteeing my chicken and adding it to the main dish and all, I was preparing a tossed salad and decided to throw some bacon into the salad to make it a bit more flavorfull and fun. However, my frying pan was still coated with olive oil (EVOO) and spices and chicken drippings and such . . . And being lazy, I decided it wouldn't hurt to just throw the bacon in the pan on top of the leftover drippings.
I did so and was amazed how much more quickly my bacon cooked and also, it smelled wonderful!
However, the very best part is, when it was done it was nice and crispy/crunchy and looked a lot more like real bacon! Of course, because of the extra oil I felt the need to drain the bacon on paper towels . . . (which usually isn't nessacary with turkey bacon because it's not very greasy at all) But I really didn't feel bad about the extra fat because it was in the form of one of the natural golden oils.* The kind that are healthful and beautifying. **
Then yesterday I decided to make myself a BLT and after throwing the bacon on my newly washed pan, I felt like maybe I should try the oil again because without it the bacon kind of sticks to the pan and doesn't cook very evenly or crisply (as I've already stated.) So I just put the tiniest splash of oilive oil and immediatly I saw results.
So this is my tip, if you like bacon but want to cut back on the fats without giving up on the flavor and crispiness you love, then go for turkey bacon, but add just a touch of olive oil (or your favorite golden oil) to help it cook more like real bacon and to help add a bit more of the golden oils into your diet.
* Safflower, Poppyseed, Sunflower, Soybean, Corn, Wheat Germ, Cottonseed, Sesame, Peanut, Linseed, Sardine, Olive. These golden oils are listed in order of how much Linolec Acid they contain. Linolec is a fatty acid, the deprivation of which causes dry scaly skin, and thin dry hair.
(Mirror, Mirror on the Wall by Gayelord Hauser pg. 43)
**"These are the beauty-full, friendly fats which metabolize so much more easily than hard fats. These oils are also a weapon against excessive colesterol." (Mirror, Mirror on the Wall by Gayelord Hauser pg. 332)
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