This Might Be the Best Bacon You'll Ever Taste

Are you ready to experience craft bacon? We taste-tested 18 gourmet varieties to find the most primo product.

But hold on—isn't bacon bad for you? Actually, no: Two strips of cooked bacon provide 6 grams of protein for 89 calories. A 2010 Harvard review found that saturated fat (like bacon fat) doesn't contribute to heart disease. And despite reports to the contrary, it's unlikely that Bacon Can Hurt Your Sperm. So go ahead, pig out a little.

WINNER

The Baron of Bacon

VANDE ROSE FARMS ARTISAN APPLEWOOD-SMOKED BACON
$65 FOR 60 OZ, FOODORO.COM

The pork is from Duroc pigs, prized for their tender meat. Our tasters praised the "nutty, fruity" flavor. This stuff comes at a cost, but it's cheaper per ounce than others we tested.

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RUNNER-UP RASHERS

Best Thick-Cut Bacon

BEELER'S HICKORY SMOKED
$14 FOR 16 OZ, BACONFREAK.COM

Our testers raved about Beeler's "buttery" bacon, which has a subtle vanilla flavor. Try a strip cooked, chopped, and sprinkled on homemade pancakes with maple syrup. 

Best Peppered Bacon

LOBEL'S
$13 FOR 16 OZ, LOBELS.COM

The folks at Lobel's cure this bacon with dark maple syrup, then roll it in cracked peppercorns. They also smoke it twice, intensifying the flavors. Tuck some into a grilled cheese. 

Best Nonpork Bacon

D'ARTAGNAN DUCK BACON
$15 FOR 8 OZ, DARTAGNAN.COM

Turkey bacon has nothing on this duck breast variety, which delivers a nice "chew" and all the smoky, salty goodness of traditional pork strips. Use it to reinvent your next BLT.

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COOK CRISP-TENDER STRIPS

Skip your skillet and opt for your oven instead, says Nate Anda, chef at Red Apron Butchery in Washington, D.C. You'll ease up on cleanup and ensure that each strip of bacon comes out evenly cooked.

Step 1 / Preheat your oven to 325F. On a rimmed baking sheet, arrange the strips in one snug, even layer. The close quarters will help render the fat, resulting in crispier bacon.

Step 2 / Slide the sheet into the oven and bake until crisped, 10 to 15 minutes. The bacon will keep cooking in the hot grease, so carefully transfer the strips to a paper-towel-lined plate.

You're not done reading about bacon yet, are you? Of course not. You have questions, so many question. Like for instance, Is Bacon Really Good on Everything? To find out, we spent three straight days adding bacon to every meal. After that, be sure to check out The 7 Ways To Enjoy Bacon, with bacon-based recipe ideas on everything from salad to chili to dessert.