Food & Drink

What's up with buying bacon these days???

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May 28, 2012
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Saskatoon
playnicee1 wrote: Kinda silly how they call themselves Independent yet they are owned by Loblaws. :twisted:
Correct me if I am wrong, but I think No Frills and Independent are franchises of Loblaws.
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Sep 25, 2006
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I picked up a few 500g packages of a brand called Smokehouse or something along those lines at No Frills on Thursday for $2.99. The package says it's traditionally smoked. It's maple flavoured and was actually pretty awesome, smokey and intensely maple flavoured. I am going to go back and see if it's still $2.99, if it is, I might empty the bunker.....
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Feb 9, 2012
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Mars2012 wrote: Correct me if I am wrong, but I think No Frills and Independent are franchises of Loblaws.
Independent to me should mean independent and free to sell Cott pop if they want instead of PC pop & Products. It's not Independent at all. It's owned by Loblaws.
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May 2, 2009
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Mars2012 wrote: Correct me if I am wrong, but I think No Frills and Independent are franchises of Loblaws.
Far as I know you're right, they're individually owned franchises.
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Sep 18, 2009
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Mars2012 wrote: Correct me if I am wrong, but I think No Frills and Independent are franchises of Loblaws.
It was Loblaw's clever way of eliminating unions and living wages in many locations. Most of the staff seems to be part time students.
...



Packard
Ask the man who owns one!
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May 28, 2012
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playnicee1 wrote: Independent to me should mean independent and free to sell Cott pop if they want instead of PC pop & Products. It's not Independent at all. It's owned by Loblaws.
It's a franchise, not a true independent store where the owner gets to choose exactly what is sold. Think of McDonald's and Tim Hortons for example...they can't deviate from the corporate product.
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Feb 9, 2012
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Mars2012 wrote: It's a franchise, not a true independent store where the owner gets to choose exactly what is sold. Think of McDonald's and Tim Hortons for example...they can't deviate from the corporate product.
Yes. I KNOW that, but it's not called "The independent burger place" either or "the independent coffee shop"
Franchise or not, it should not be called "independent". That is misleading.
They should change the name over to Loblaws or Valu mart or some other store Loblaws owns.
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Oct 25, 2004
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You guys seriously need to try Cherry Pink bacon if you can find it near you.

I buy it at Longos and while it seems expensive ($8.99 on sale), it's actually a 1 Kilogram package (1,000 grams) which puts it at similar or better pricing then the others.

It doesn't dry up and go to dust or mostly fat like the cheaper brands.
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Apr 23, 2009
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duckdown wrote: Costco had some wicked stuff from Quebec recently, Petit something-or-other
bonterra wrote: Petit Goret. Really good, miss it. Costco should bring it back.
I buy this, the local grocery store in my town carries it (5KG boxes for $35). A friend also can get it from someone he knows who is a supplier for restaurants.

Not sure, but you could give then a call and see what the minimum order is, or find out where you can source it locally.

http://www.petitgoret.com/productsan.html
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May 2, 2009
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Beachdown wrote: I buy this, the local grocery store in my town carries it (5KG boxes for $35). A friend also can get it from someone he knows who is a supplier for restaurants.

Not sure, but you could give then a call and see what the minimum order is, or find out where you can source it locally.

http://www.petitgoret.com/productsan.html
Thanks. Will look into it.

I also want to track down some artisan lamb from Quebec. Any leads/recommendations on that?
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Jan 23, 2007
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duckdown wrote: Costco had some wicked stuff from Quebec recently, Petit something-or-other
We bought some of this recently, it comes in a box. Delicious and way less fatty than a lot of other bacon.
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Jan 23, 2007
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UrbanPoet wrote: Started making my own. Pork belly is $3.49/lb right now.
Pork shoulder is $2.39/lb. i go for the fatty pieces of shoulder. Not as pretty as belly bacon, but same taste.

I throw it in a salt water brine with cure for 24 hours. Then i wash the pork and hang dry in my minifridge over night. I throw it in the smoker and smoke it for 12 hrs at 90degrees with apple wood. Turns out nice!
Thanks, can't wait to try this on our smoker. I love the idea of no nitrates. Where do you get your apple wood?
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Apr 23, 2009
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bonterra wrote: Thanks. Will look into it.

I also want to track down some artisan lamb from Quebec. Any leads/recommendations on that?

The farmers market in Chelsea has artisan lamb (and other meat as well). Here's a list of the vendors that participate. Not sure if any of them will ship (not sure where you are) but they should be able to point you in the right direction at least. I've picked up random products there and they are the best.
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May 2, 2009
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Beachdown wrote: The farmers market in Chelsea has artisan lamb (and other meat as well). Here's a list of the vendors that participate. Not sure if any of them will ship (not sure where you are) but they should be able to point you in the right direction at least. I've picked up random products there and they are the best.
Thanks for the lead. I'm in northern Ontario but have family who are often in Ottawa and Eastern Quebec.
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Jul 10, 2014
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I get my meats locally from an organic farm.
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Jan 27, 2004
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Shaynelle wrote: Thanks, can't wait to try this on our smoker. I love the idea of no nitrates. Where do you get your apple wood?

This may be anti climactic.. But i do use "cure" aka sodium nitrate. Lol. I use half of whats required in the directions so i can say "50% less sodium than regular bacon!
Sure there may only be a small chance of boulitism/food poisoning... But that small chance could put ya in the hospital *****ting for weeks!
My applewood comes from walmart or home depot. Whatever is more convienent. Pretty much anywhere that sells bbq stuff.

careful now!
The recipe i posted only works safely if you have a sodium nitrate cure.

Sodium nitrate (cure) is only required if you smoke below 140 degrees (known as cold smoking). The nitrate also gives it that really "bacony" taste. I also find that cold smoking at a low temp (lower than what can actually cook the meat) for a long time gives the pork a really smokey flavor that you can't get with hot smoking.

Otherwise... You can go for the old skool cure with no nitrates. I've done the following to achieve that... I still cold smoked it & came out fine after eating maybe 10lbs of it over the years... Lol.

Step 1 - Get your pork belly and burry it in kosher salt. Cover that thing with a thick thick coat of it. Cover with cheese cloth and hang in the fridge for 6-7 days.

Step 2 - take it out and leave it under cold running water for 30 minutes. This helps wash out the excess salt.

Step 3 - put whatever seasoning you want on it. Then leave it in the fridge uncovered over night.

Step 4 - in the smoker it goes! I like 90 degrees for cold smoking. Done in 12 hours.

You still gotta cook it though before eating.
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Feb 9, 2012
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That's because it used to be 500g but now it's 375g.
I think if a bacon company out there is smart they'll get one of the grocery stores to put the bacon on the front page of their flyer with big bold print that reads "FULL 500g"
That'll boost sales big time for the bacon company that chooses to have such a sale at a great price. (ie $3.99)
I could see Metro easily being the one to go that route with one of the brands they carry. (one that's still maintaining 500g)
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Jun 17, 2011
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MAPLE
I can eat a whole bag of bacon with my breakfast. hmmmmm
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May 28, 2012
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I don't know whether it's local to our Costco, but I just bought a 1.5 kg pack of Fletcher's alder-smoked bacon for $10.99. The price seems to fluctuate a bit. You need to look closely at the packages to find the lean ones.
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May 2, 2009
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Bought a bunch of Sobey's store brand bacon this week since it's $4.98 if you buy more than one. Cooked a pound of the dry-cured in the oven and this is very meaty, very tasty bacon!! Not too salty. Pretty happy with it.

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