Bacon Gets the Raw Treatment

This may not be what the “raw” movement was intending, but this year saw a new bacon from La Quercia that needs no heat, establishing it as the first raw bacon. La Quercia’s new Tamworth bacon is salted, dried and smoked, akin to the technique for making other cured meats. Made just like a flat pancetta, it is cold-smoked with applewood, using only pork, sea salt and spices—no nitrates, nitrites or vegetable substitutes. La Quercia works in partnership with Russ Kremer in Missouri, who raises pigs outdoors on the hillsides of the Ozarks. His Tamworth pigs are an endangered heritage breed that is known as “the bacon pig” because of the sweetness and tenderness of the meat and the quality of the fat. Already picked up by renowned chefs, you’ll find it on menus at Michelin-starred Vie in Western Springs, Ill., Monette's in Hawaii and Bricco in Harrisburg, Pa., to name a few. Eckhouse suggests serving it uncooked or lightly cooked as part of a salumi platter with prosciutto, coppa, other cured meats; laying it on top of hot bread or flatbread so it melts in and becomes translucent; or wrapping it around scallops, asparagus or green onions and grilling or baking. Time to update that last-minute holiday wishlist. —Eva Meszaros

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