Profiles in Tailgating Excellence: Bacon

​Bacon.  Just the word sets off the pleasure portion of your brain.  Smoke-filled, crispy, fatty, meaty deliciousness.  It is the face of breakfast, and on brisk pre-game morning that finds you cracking a beer or swilling a bloody mary, nothing is better.  When you look upon a neighboring tailgate and you see that aromatic steam rising up over the sizzle of grease, you have no choice but to be filled with envy.  It goes well with everything, from vodka to ice cream.  Bacon preparation, however, is a delicate matter.  You want it crispy?  Soggy?  Burnt?  So many options.  Knowing when to pull the meat from the skillet is the key.

You can cheat the system if you don't mind bacon of a slightly lower quality.  

Pre-cooked bacon is available to heat and eat.  Not the best for straight ingestion, but great piled on some crusty bread with lettuce, tomato, and mayo...or a with some good cheddar and eggs on a breakfast croissant.

But the real thing is, well, the real thing.  It's what you want to wake up to...and it's what you CAN literally wake up to.  Pile it on a plate next to some pancakes in the morning...or put it in your pancakes.  Caramelize it and drop it in your martini for lunch.  Wrap it around a scallop and slap it on the grill for dinner, and your life will change.

But the best property of this tailgating essential?  You can get creative with it. Don't be afraid.  Chicken frying it or chopping it up and adding it to your peanut butter sandwich shouldn't make you flinch.

So...embrace it, celebrate it, wear it...hell, get some pork belly and make your own.  And in 15 days, prepare to eat it at the All-American themed tailgate before we kick Utah's ass.