Don't Buy "Hormel REAL Bacon Bits"
Dave
my meat-eating days just how good bacon can taste. I used to love the
taste of crispy, thick bacon slices, particularly the Danish kind
(since that is my heritage).
Recently, we bought a large bag of Hormel "Real Bacon Bits" at Sam's
Club. The packaged promised the "delicious taste of real, fresh
premium bacon" and was a good buy for a year's supply (the way it
usually goes when you buy something at one of those club stores like
Sam's or Costco.)
It was when I looked a little closer that I became concerned about
what my family had been adding to their salad and baked potatoes. On
the front of the bag I found an interesting slogan, "Made from Picnic
Bacon" which caught my curiosity. I don't recall ever hearing that
term before, have you? "Picnic Bacon" sounds so nice -- it sounds like
a summer outing on a beautiful day, eating a nice BLT sandwich under
the trees and watching the ants carry away half of the meal.
Putting aside my winter thoughts of a pleasant picnic, I looked into
what this meant. It turns out that "Picnic Bacon" is not a pretty
thing. It may have a nice sounding name, but it is really not a meat
you should consume. Picnic Bacon turns out to be the most undesirable
parts of the pig -- seriously, you don't want to know what parts --
which has been "fabricated" to approach the appearance of bacon. It is
just barely considered something fit for human consumption, and it
wouldn't be eaten, not by you, me or anyone else, if it didn't have
this pleasant little name and the "fabricated bacon" look.
Shame on you Hormel. I wonder how many other surprises there are in
the consumer packaged food business? Got any other good ones?
Dave
Full text article above extracted from http://shamvswham.blogspot.com/
Chloe
news:8dad3e80-8f5b-4e07...@v46g2000hsv.googlegroups.com...
><snip>
> Putting aside my winter thoughts of a pleasant picnic, I looked into
> what this meant. It turns out that "Picnic Bacon" is not a pretty
> thing. It may have a nice sounding name, but it is really not a meat
> you should consume. Picnic Bacon turns out to be the most undesirable
> parts of the pig -- seriously, you don't want to know what parts --
> which has been "fabricated" to approach the appearance of bacon. It is
> just barely considered something fit for human consumption, and it
> wouldn't be eaten, not by you, me or anyone else, if it didn't have
> this pleasant little name and the "fabricated bacon" look.
>
> Shame on you Hormel. I wonder how many other surprises there are in
> the consumer packaged food business? Got any other good ones?
I don't know how you define "most undesirable," but the picnic area of a hog
is the shoulder and foreleg.
Nice try for spamming your blog.
Dave
> "Dave" <djense...@cox.net> wrote in message
Sorry, wrong guess. I'm a member here just like you. If you don't like
or approve the content of my post, argue your point a little more
effectively.
Here's a food industry definition:
"Bacon is not made form the same pigs you get regular pork from. Table
pork is produced form 3 different grades of pigs; porkers,
superporkers and finishers. These tend to have lean meat and a dressed
weight of up to 60 kg. Pigs bred for bacon production are known as
baconers and are sold at an age of around 24 weeks. They have a higher
body fat ratio than regular pigs and can weigh up to a whopping 100
kg.
There are several different varieties of bacon. Middle bacon rashers
possess the familiar bacon shape, that is a thin strip of belly pork
with a lean round piece of loin at one end. Streaky bacon is the same
cut minus the round loin end. Picnic or café bacon is various off cuts
of pork that are pressed into a pseudo-bacon shape and should
obviously be avoided."
Why should it be avoided? Because when you go into a butcher shop and
ask for a specific piece of the pig, the Picnic Ham, you'll get (as
you suggest, the shoulder or foreleg area) a very specific piece of
meat which can be delicious slow-cooked or used in BBQ. But here's the
kicker . . . "Picnic bacon" is ANY off-cut of the pig. That includes
every single piece of lousy, Grade D consumable meat that might, for
example, go into the production of really low grade hot dogs.
Dave
max
<8dad3e80-8f5b-4e07...@v46g2000hsv.googlegroups.com>,
Dave <djen...@cox.net> wrote:
> Recently, we bought a large bag of Hormel "Real Bacon Bits" at Sam's
> Club. The packaged promised the "delicious taste of real, fresh
> premium bacon" and was a good buy for a year's supply (the way it
> usually goes when you buy something at one of those club stores like
> Sam's or Costco.)
>
>
> Shame on you Hormel. I wonder how many other surprises there are in
> the consumer packaged food business? Got any other good ones?
> Full text article above extracted from http://shamusrham.brogspot.com/
Sounds a lot like hot dogs or chicken nuggets. get over yourself.
--
The part of betatron @ earthlink . net was played by a garden gnome
max
<f208a406-74a0-4229...@e6g2000prf.googlegroups.com>,
Dave <djen...@cox.net> wrote:
So what. YOu're talking about bacon bits, not expensive pork roast.
Could *you* tell the difference between "grade D" bacon bits and bacon
bits produced from anything else? No.
jeesus. The animal products industry, swine processors in particular,
is reknowned for -- Philip D. Armour having coined the phrase over 110
years ago -- using "everything but the squeal".
Glad you noticed!
You're eating scraps. Salted, cured, deep fried scraps. They're bacon
bits for god's sake. What's next, a treatise of fried pork rinds?
Dave
> In article
> <8dad3e80-8f5b-4e07-a89d-1d3b69888...@v46g2000hsv.googlegroups.com>,
>
> Dave <djense...@cox.net> wrote:
> > Recently, we bought a large bag of Hormel "Real Bacon Bits" at Sam's
> > Club. The packaged promised the "delicious taste of real, fresh
> > premium bacon" and was a good buy for a year's supply (the way it
> > usually goes when you buy something at one of those club stores like
> > Sam's or Costco.)
>
> > Shame on you Hormel. I wonder how many other surprises there are in
> > the consumer packaged food business? Got any other good ones?
>
> Sounds a lot like hot dogs or chicken nuggets. get over yourself.
Yes, it is. I read this discussion to keep my eyes on what is good and
bad in the world of frugal products, food and otherwise. When
something says it is "REAL Bacon Bits" and then it ends up being more
like Hot Dog Bits, that fits the discussion here, right?
Maybe it doesn't gross you out, but I can't see sprinkling little bits
of the cheaziest hot dog 'meat' in the world on my salad,
Dave
George
considering "sams best" hot dogs at walmart. There are certainly quality
hot dogs that aren't made from mechanically separated scraps but they
won't be at the big box mart at 2lbs/$1 .
Dave
>
> >> Recently, we bought a large bag of Hormel "Real Bacon Bits" at Sam's
> >> Club. The packaged promised the "delicious taste of real, fresh
> >> premium bacon" and was a good buy for a year's supply (the way it
> >> usually goes when you buy something at one of those club stores like
> >> Sam's or Costco.)
>
> >> Shame on you Hormel. I wonder how many other surprises there are in
> >> the consumer packaged food business? Got any other good ones?
>
> > Sounds a lot like hot dogs or chicken nuggets. get over yourself.
>
> Not really, hot dogs can certainly be a "garbage product" when
> considering "sams best" hot dogs at walmart. There are certainly quality
> hot dogs that aren't made from mechanically separated scraps but they
> won't be at the big box mart at 2lbs/$1 .
I agree George. Hot dogs at Nathan's taste mighty good. But sometimes
it is the environment that makes the hot dog taste so good . . . At a
ball game, or a sports event, there is nothing better than a hot dog
and a beer.
I know it sounds like a contradiction, but I could eat that hot dog at
the ballpark and then come home and get totally grossed out by taking
the same off-cut pork scraps and sprinkling them on my salad or baked
potato. Like I said, it's the environment as well.
Dave
max
George <geo...@nospam.invalid> wrote:
i'm lucky. My girlfriend lives about a mile from the Vienna Beef hot dog
factory. We go there for hot dogs, at their employee cafeteria, which
is open to the public.
Vic Smith
wrote:
>
>I agree George. Hot dogs at Nathan's taste mighty good. But sometimes
>it is the environment that makes the hot dog taste so good . . . At a
>ball game, or a sports event, there is nothing better than a hot dog
>and a beer.
>
>I know it sounds like a contradiction, but I could eat that hot dog at
>the ballpark and then come home and get totally grossed out by taking
>the same off-cut pork scraps and sprinkling them on my salad or baked
>potato. Like I said, it's the environment as well.
>
Haven't had Nathans, but they are universally praised.
"Best Kosher" dogs taste good anywhere, and are available here.
Expensive compared to most dogs, but worth it to me.
BTW, thanks for the post about bacon bits.
Though I don't buy them, others might.
Funny how you post something well-written, and on-topic to the
newsgroup, and immediately get slammed.
Oh well.
--Vic
hchi...@hotmail.com
That is the nature of the beast called usenet. It is made up of
off-the-shoulder chips and scraps of knowledge and opinion, all
pressed together into neat little casings, ready for mass consumption.
If you want kosher knowledge, read an encyclopedia.
Personally, I don't like Nathan's hot dogs or a lot of the other
high-end brands that border on being polish sausage. For something
quick to toss in the microwave, the Oscar Meyer all-beef are fine for
me. If I want something tastier, I'll get something cheaper and slow
fry it in butter until the casing has some crispiness and char.
The whole "isn't that iccky" argument seems a little silly to me,
since I bet 90% of the people here complaining about hot dogs have
eaten hamburgers without a second thought where the meat came from, or
worse yet, turkey burgers - where the parts are even more exotic.
I have known exactly one non-vegetarian that had never eaten
hamburger. The closest he would come to it was cube steak. I found
it an interesting idea, since no matter how rushed he was, fast food
was not an option, and he got a chance to sit down to a real meal for
lunch.
Vic Smith
>
>Personally, I don't like Nathan's hot dogs or a lot of the other
>high-end brands that border on being polish sausage. For something
>quick to toss in the microwave, the Oscar Meyer all-beef are fine for
>me. If I want something tastier, I'll get something cheaper and slow
>fry it in butter until the casing has some crispiness and char.
>
>The whole "isn't that iccky" argument seems a little silly to me,
>since I bet 90% of the people here complaining about hot dogs have
>eaten hamburgers without a second thought where the meat came from, or
>worse yet, turkey burgers - where the parts are even more exotic.
>
>I have known exactly one non-vegetarian that had never eaten
>hamburger. The closest he would come to it was cube steak. I found
>it an interesting idea, since no matter how rushed he was, fast food
>was not an option, and he got a chance to sit down to a real meal for
>lunch.
Some of it is tolerance to pork fat. My favorite meat used to be
rolled pork loin. I'd suck the binding strings clean too. My stomach
just can't handle that fat any more. Maybe a blessing in disguise.
The beef dogs I like are low in fat, and though ground beef can be
bought with low fat, I actually prefer the "normal" ground beef for
taste, so I guess beef fat is kinder to my stomach.
I consider "fast food" a DEFCON 1 option only.
Except for Egg/Bacon MacMuffins while traveling.
--Vic
Chloe
news:betatron-762A4D...@news.ftupet.com...
><snip>
> You're eating scraps. Salted, cured, deep fried scraps. They're bacon
> bits for god's sake. What's next, a treatise of fried pork rinds?
I buy them all the time. They're obviously little shards and crumbs of HAM,
all of the exact same color and consistency--exactly what you'd expect from
smoked, cured meat from the picnic region of a hog. Which is, incidentally,
how the USDA defines "picnic ham."
Dave, I went looking for some industry source that would confirm that
something with "picnic" in the name is expressly NOT picnic. Couldn't find
one. Maybe you could clear this up with a few citations.
George
great dogs from actual meat using natural casings.
Dave
> max wrote:
> > George <geo...@nospam.invalid> wrote:
>
> >> max wrote:
> >>> In article
> >>> Dave <djense...@cox.net> wrote:
>
> >>>> Recently, we bought a large bag of Hormel "Real Bacon Bits" at Sam's
> >>>> Club. The packaged promised the "delicious taste of real, fresh
> >>>> premium bacon" and was a good buy for a year's supply (the way it
> >>>> usually goes when you buy something at one of those club stores like
> >>>> Sam's or Costco.)
>
> >>>> Shame on you Hormel. I wonder how many other surprises there are in
> >>>> the consumer packaged food business? Got any other good ones?
>
> >>> Sounds a lot like hot dogs or chicken nuggets. get over yourself.
>
> >> Not really, hot dogs can certainly be a "garbage product" when
> >> considering "sams best" hot dogs at walmart. There are certainly quality
> >> hot dogs that aren't made from mechanically separated scraps but they
> >> won't be at the big box mart at 2lbs/$1 .
>
> > i'm lucky. My girlfriend lives about a mile from the Vienna Beef hot dog
> > factory. We go there for hot dogs, at their employee cafeteria, which
> > is open to the public.
>
> Me too, We have a great local 3rd generation butcher shop that makes
> great dogs from actual meat using natural casings.
Its hard to find places like that nowadays, because they are getting
run out of town by places like Super Walmart. Our little town of
15,000 now has a Super Walmart and the "butchers" there have no real
information about cuts of meat, etc.
Dave
The Real Bev
You sould like you think that bacon is actually GOOD for you! Granted,
fat, salt and nitrites are yummy, but worrying about the nourishment
value of bacon is as useful as pounding sand.
BTW, the pre-cooked microwave bacon is really good. I've tried several
brands, all of which were good. BUT... the stuff that Costco sells is
thick-cut bacon, which in this case is NOT particularly good. Too bad,
because it's much more expensive in the smaller packages -- although
it's probably not much more expensive than raw bacon in terms of final
cooked product.
--
Cheers, Bev
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I'm pretty sure omnipotent entities don't need
middlemen to get their message to the people.
Shawn Hirn
max <beta...@earthlink.net> wrote:
And scrapple (everything from the pig, except the oink).
George
Walmart is the one who pioneered the idea of the embalmed case ready
meat that they sell. All of their "fresh meat" is precut and then pumped
up with preservatives and water. The "fresh meat" can be on display for
a month and they get a nice premium for the added water. The idea is
that no one in the store needs to know anything. The same person who
refills the motor oil isle refills the "fresh meat" display.
Marketing is an incredibly powerful thing. The big box places have giant
war chests and can buy mind share by constantly telling everyone how
good they are.
suds mcduff
>> Its hard to find places like that nowadays, because they are getting
>> run out of town by places like Super Walmart. Our little town of
>> 15,000 now has a Super Walmart and the "butchers" there have no real
>> information about cuts of meat, etc.
>>
>> Dave
>
> Walmart is the one who pioneered the idea of the embalmed case ready
> meat that they sell.
-----I've read it's because they didn't want to pay on site butchers....
All of their "fresh meat" is precut
----Mostly by immigrants at minimum wage.
barbie gee
On Sat, 9 Feb 2008, max wrote:
>
> You're eating scraps. Salted, cured, deep fried scraps. They're bacon
> bits for god's sake. What's next, a treatise of fried pork rinds?
mmmmmm, pork rinds!
we've got a company here in Chicago that makes the most pork rinds around.
they actually make a ton of them for EXPORT to Mexico.
scary stuff, that, though. pig skins?
rox
"Vic Smith" <thismaila...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:3l0sq319eoufoufbd...@4ax.com...
I think you've missed why the OP looked to be a spammer. It was the link he
included at the bottom of the original post. We've seen a rash of posts
that look like they are real people posting some opinion that's slightly on
topic but then has a link to a website at the bottom meant to snare the
unsuspecting into clicking on a spammy site loaded with malware. That's
exactly what I thought when I first saw that post and the only thing that
has made me think the OP is a real person is that he replied to the
statement saying he was spamming.