People know I love bacon and that means that oddball bacon items are often sent to me by friends and even random acquaintances.
Recently I received a Yoders Can of Bacon from my pal (and fellow bacon badass) Wade. Because he purchased this can of bacon from a camping and survival company – Gloria Gaynor’s iconic disco hit “I Will Survive” came to mind and I began singing, “As long I have my can of bacon, I know I’ll be alive.”
But that joy was short-lived. I starred at the can for two days before opening it. Normally, I eagerly rip open any bacon-related item with glee in anticipation of that first bite. But this was different. I wasn’t sure what to expect inside and I was also a little scared.
Curiosity, on my part and that of the sender, got the better of me, but I may have been better off burying this can in the backyard (if I had one) or putting it into my giant earthquake kit. The anticipation of what was inside far exceeded the actual contents.
If you truly love bacon, like I do, this product might not be for you. The quality of the meat isn’t up to the standard that I now have for bacon. It’s hard not to be a bacon snob when you live within walking distance of gourmet treats and creative bacon concoctions like pistachio-bacon ice cream , maple glazed bacon apple donuts and bacon potato chips Plus, when it comes to just straight up bacon strips, I like mine center cut, thick and peppery.
As for the can of bacon, it looks like nearly 3 pounds of raw bacon go into each can and that there ends up being about 9 ounces (or 45 slices of fully cooked and drained bacon). But for me, it had a tinny taste and the fact that it was not hot meant there was also sort of a layer of congealed bacon fat on the meat and the waxed paper sheets rolled up in the can. You can see here how it looks in and out of the can.
There is a chance that had I waited to eat this after a disaster or in a survival emergency, it might have been the tastiest bites I ever devoured. But I can’t really think of any other reason to eat a can of bacon. Even on a camping trip, I’ve usually been able to cook real bacon.
And this stuff is not cheap. I’ve seen it online starting at $11.95 a can, plus the shipping charge. You can get an entire case of this, but unless you are a conspiracy or doomsday theorist that is stocking a bunker, I would only see this as sort of a novelty item.