Our Least Favorite Grocery Store Bacon Shriveled Down To Almost Nothing

People who love bacon agree that the pork product might be one of the world's most perfect foods. Although it's full of sodium and many brands contain not-so-healthy nitrates, bacon hits an impressive amount of flavor factors. It's chewy, crispy, salty, smoky, savory, and sometimes maply sweet. But not all bacon brands are great. The Takeout discovered this inconvenient truth when our writer and (lucky) bacon ranker sought to grade 12 different types of bacon. She tasted some delicious bacon brands but found that Kroger Hardwood Smoked Sliced Bacon wasn't one of them.

Our taster already had her doubts upon opening up the package of Kroger bacon. The slices were stringy, small, and not cut well. After being baked in a 400-degree Fahrenheit oven for 10 minutes, the bacon was cooked in some places but burnt in others, not to mention it shrunk considerably. Tastewise, let's just say that the sections that weren't burnt lacked quality bacon flavor. The good news is that the Kroger Hardwood Smoked Sliced Bacon was among the lower-priced bacon brands our taster purchased. So, if you're on a budget and need some bacon that won't be the star of the show and is more of a background character (such as in a potato salad or as a flavoring agent in baked beans), this brand might get a pass.

Perhaps you've had a different, more positive experience eating Kroger Hardwood Smoked Sliced Bacon. In this case, great. But, if you have an unopened pack in your refrigerator, don't feel too deflated — there are still some great ways to use it. If the slices are stringy and uneven, try cooking them in a pan or electric griddle instead of in the oven (which is still the best way to cook your bacon with no mess). This way, you can keep a better eye on how it's cooking and avoid getting burnt edges. Instead of frying up whole pieces, you could also chop the bacon up first so that you get fried bacon bits. You can actually store these in the freezer and use them as needed.

Even if you don't love the flavor of the bacon, you can still utilize what you've purchased. First of all, try seasoning the bacon as it cooks. Brush the slices with maple syrup or sprinkle with some brown sugar for sweetness. You could also add some spice in the form of black pepper, Sriracha sauce, or chili powder. If you don't want to go this route, at the very least you can render the fat from the bacon, which you can then use for cooking, and refrigerate the grease to extend its shelf life. 

Vegetables taste fantastic when sautéed in a little bacon fat, especially dark greens like kale and spinach. You can even cook your pancakes in some melted bacon fat instead of butter or oil. You'll get the slightest hint of bacon flavor in your flapjacks, and when combined with maple syrup, it's a delicious experience. In addition, bacon grease is great for cooking potatoes, frying eggs, making biscuits, and even seasoning cast iron pans.