The Bacon Cookbook: More than 150 Recipes from Around the World for Everyone's Favorite Food

by James Villas

Bacon. It’s crispy, salty, smoky, sweet . . . and totally irresistible. Renowned food writer James Villas offers 168 intriguing ways to savor the flavor of everyone’s favorite meat, ranging across America and around the globe. You’ll find familiar favorites like Spaghetti alla Carbonara and Cobb Salad as well as more exotic but equally delectable fare, such as California Hangtown Fry and Portuguese Egg and Bacon pudding. Illustrated with beautiful color photographs throughout and featuring sources for today’s best artisanal and international bacon, The Bacon Cookbook is your guide to a world of bacon possibilities and pleasures.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Nonfiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published October 8, 2007

About the author

James Villas was the food and wine editor of Town & Country magazine for twenty-seven years. His work has also appeared in Esquire, Gourmet, Bon Appetit, Saveur, The New York Times, and the Atlantic Monthly, among other publications. Two of his cookbooks have been nominated for a James Beard Award. He has also won a James Beard Award twice for journalism and received Bon Appetit's Food Writer of the Year Award in 2003. James Villas is the author of more than a dozen cookbooks and books on food, including My Mother’s Southern Kitchen and The Glory of Southern Cooking. He lives in East Hampton, New York.

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bacon may just be the most wonderful meat product in the world. This could explain why it is so often the gateway through which vegetarians pass on their road back to being carnivores. James Villas, a true Son of the South, where raising hogs and making bacon is a sort of religion, writes encyclopedically about cured pork parts. His world travels in pursuit of other food stories often exposed him to regional bacons and the dishes made with them. He compiles 150 of these recipes in an excellent cookbook. In addition to the "normal" uses of bacon as both main ingredient and flavour enhancer, he includes some really surprising suggestions: bacon cookies in the German style (with bits) or the style of his Swedish grandmother (made with bacon grease); Chinese bacon fried rice; French gougères with bacon in them; bacon maple custard; a Canadian salmon-bacon torte. All of Villas' cookbooks are good; this one is excellent.

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all: who WOULDN'T like a cookbook dedicated to bacon? Every recipe in here uses bacon. Or pancetta. Or lard fumé. Or salt pork... And the recipes are a good variety, too: appetizers, soups and stews, entrees -- even bacon-wrapped desserts.

A couple quick notes:

(1) Keep in mind that because this cookbook is about bacon, is dedicated to bacon, and is gourmet, it's going to all for some specialty varieties of bacon. Granted the introduction tells you a bit about how to work around this but the recipes will also say that it won't be the same without some specialized type of salt-smoked bacon only made in Western Canada.

(2) While most of the recipes are ones that are sure to please, quite a few of them also call for organs -- liver and kidneys. Be warned.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked learning about the history and different kinds of bacon throughout the world. The recipes were very unusual to say the least, esp the desserts. I mean I've heard of bacon chocolate bars and bacon ice cream before, but not a egg and bacon baked dessert or bacon/peanut butter truffles. I also like the list of bacon makers/distributors in the US, will have to check some of those links out. Most of the recipes I wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole, but some look really good like guacamole & bacon canapes, french provencal bacon flat bread, and brussels sprouts braised with apples & bacon.

[Andrea]

I had to add this one to my list even though I got it for my husband for Christmas as this coming Saturday, September 4th is National Bacon Day. No, seriously, it is. So get out there and get some artery clogging goodness and eat as much as you want. It's a National Holiday for Crepes Sake. Oh, crepes sound yummy. Bacon crepes sound even more yummy. I wonder if there is a recipe for that in this book?

[Lesli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every recipe in this book looks divine and scrumptious and drool-worthy. The intro, the short history, the sources for bacon...all interesting and helpful. I may put this on my "to be purchased" list of cookbooks. The biggest disappointment in the book is the lack of pictures. There's only one photo about every five to eight recipes. I much prefer cookbooks with a lot (every recipe or every other recipe) of glorious food photos. I like to drool over the styling as much as the food.

[CLM · Rating 4 out of 5]

This looks so delicious, and I yearn to try the bacon, goat cheese and vidalia onion pie. But what is peppered slab bacon? This book is dedicated to someone I used to work with, a nice compliment for her hard work with this author.

[Carrie Rolph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bacon recipes, mostly for the sort of foodie who mail-orders their specialty bacon because the local bacons just. aren't. good. enough. but anything that has a recipe for bacon-banana canapes gets stars in my book.

[Edan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Patrick and I have only made one thing from this book, and it was a failure. I am hopeful, but worried.

[angrykitty · Rating 2 out of 5]

dan loves bacon. i love bacon. this book about bacon blew. it's all crappy bacon i've never heard about. suck suck suck.

[Marian · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty amazing plus an informative guide to all those other countries' forms of bacon. Plus a mail order list of excellent bacon to order shipped to you.

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars because I intend to try the beef, blue cheese and bacon stew.

[Ncbrown · Rating 4 out of 5]

as you may know i love bacon and this cookbook was great for any bacon lover

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Come on.... it's bacon. Surely that's enough of a review.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

bought it.

[Shay · Rating 5 out of 5]

God I love Bacon!!!