Customer Reviews

The Bacon Cookbook: More than 150 Recipes from Around the World for Everyone's Favorite Food

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In response to the prior review, there's definitely much more here than just instructions on how to cook bacon -- the book includes recipes using bacon in all different kinds of dishes, even dessert, believe it or not! I always find James Villas's books to be thorough and well-written, and this one is no exception -- definitely a great gift for a bacon-lover!

First of all: who WOULDN'T like a cookbook dedicated to bacon? Every recipe in here uses bacon. Or pancetta. Or lard fumé. Or salt pork... And the recipes are a good variety, too: appetizers, soups and stews, entrees -- even bacon-wrapped desserts.

A couple quick notes:
(1) Keep in mind that because this cookbook is about bacon, is dedicated to bacon, and is gourmet, it's going to all for some specialty varieties of bacon. Granted the introduction tells you a bit about how to work around this but the recipes will also say that it won't be the same without some specialized type of salt-smoked bacon only made in Western Canada.
(2) While most of the recipes are ones that are sure to please, quite a few of them also call for organs -- liver and kidneys. Be warned.

The Bacon Cookbook is a bacon lover's delight. At first glance it looks like it could just be a novelty cookbook that one might not actually cook from day to day, but after spending time with this cookbook it is clear that this is not the case at all. It's full of interesting, unique, and classic recipes that will allow you to use bacon in all kinds of diverse ways.

The book begins with a comprehensive introduction on bacon that tells you almost everything you would want to know. It discusses what bacon is, the history of it, international styles of bacon, how to buy and store bacon, etc. It also has a pretty extensive list of mail order sources for premium bacon if you want to go beyond what can be purchased in your area. It was pretty exhaustive and enlightening. The only thing I wish it had covered was recipes to make your own bacon. This is what would have taken the cookbook from 4 to 5 stars for me. It would have been especially great to have recipes for some of the artisan and more unique bacons called for in the recipes incase you cannot find them in your area.

The rest of the cookbook covers recipes for appetizers, breakfast, soups and chowders, salads and sandwiches, casseroles and stews, main courses, vegetables and fruit, pasta and rice, breads, and desserts. I was really impressed with the breadth of recipes offered in this book. You'll find some great classic American recipes in here, but there are also dishes that draw from international cuisine as well as fusion dishes. I really appreciated that there were a lot of recipes here that I hadn't seen in any other cookbook (and I have a pretty extensive collection) so even if you have a lot of cookbooks you won't feel like you've seen everything in here before. Some of the recipes that most excited me were the Venezuelan Squash, Potato, and Bacon Pancakes, Hot Bacon-Blue Cheese Dip, Bacon-Cheddar Popcorn and especially the Bacon Truffles. The variety of recipes also means that this book is great for people with different palates. Those who like more traditional dishes will find plenty in here to like as will people who enjoy more adventurous or international cuisine.

The recipes are also very clearly written so they are easy to follow. The one thing worth mentioning is that most of this recipes do take a little prep time so many fall outside the 30 minute window. If you're looking for quick and easy meals many of the recipes won't qualify. However, my feeling is they are worth the time.

Overall this is a great book. I highly recommend it for any bacon fan who wants to learn more about this pork product and find more creative ways to cook with it.

I enjoyed flipping through this book and look forward to trying a handful of the recipes, but overall I'm not coming away with a lot that's useful or new.

Many of the ingredients for these recipes (including the called for varieties of bacon) can be hard to find or quite expensive depending on where you live. Other recipes are fairly common and things most cooks are likely to already have in their repertoires in some form - bacon cornbread, cobb salad, bacon & onion studded mac and cheese, etc.

If you like bacon, this book is well worth flipping through; you're almost guaranteed to find a couple new treasures for your recipe collection. If at all possible, however, I'd recommend checking out what kind of bacon selection is available in your area and flipping through a copy of the book at your local bookstore or library before buying to make sure it's worth your while.

The Bacon Cookbook is one of a whole slew of bacon-related books to hit the shelves in the last (approximately) five years, and I have to say it's very good. Because of my line of work, I read a great many bacon books and cookbooks and this one is in my top ten. Good recipes.

I purchased this book for my husband for Christmas. He loves bacon, obviously. For Valentines' Day, he decided to make an entire meal from the book. Warning to the wise, limit the bacon recipes to two courses per meal or you might have a heart attack. A good way to go though...

Some recipes use a little bacon for an added punch of flavor; others use a lot. There are elegant appetizers, hearty main dishes, gorgeous breakfasts & brunches, and even--gasp!--lovely desserts! I don't mean desserts to go with bacon dishes, I mean desserts with bacon in the recipes. And yes, the Canadian bacon-maple syrup custard is to-die-for!

The book includes more than 150 recipes. A handful of them have photographs included; these aren't complex pastries that you need to see to understand, and there are certainly enough to tempt your tastebuds. The paper is glossy and will stand up well to abuse. The layout is clear and easy-to-read. There's an extensive index to both recipes and information. Plenty of information about different kinds of bacon is included, and recipes range from simple two-ingredient affairs (bacon-wrapped dungeness crab legs!) to somewhat more complex dishes (clams casino). I don't think anything in here is over-the-top in its complexity.

I absolutely loved the eggs in bacon cups (another two-ingredient recipe!), as well as the Philippine adobo. I can't wait to make more!

There truly are some wonderful recipes for bacon in this book. The discussion of the world's varieties of bacon is excellent, but too brief.

I am lucky enough to live in a place in which I can get a pretty wide variety of bacons, including Eastern European and Asian, but not so lucky looking for the different bacons of Canada or the British Isles (including Ireland). That means I have to order online, something I'm a tad reluctant to do with perishable foods. That's my problem and my loss, though, not the author's.

The greatest fault I find with the book is that in many recipes, bacon is used in trivial amounts--two slices for six people? They're recipes for dishes that use bacon as an accent, not the featured item. I'd have like to have seen more recipes for things like boiled bacon or confit of bacon.

But, if you love bacon, you really can't go far wrong with this book!

I must have gained 10 lbs from all this bacon! BEST COOK BOOK EVER! I gave it to my mother-in-law and I got mad brownie points!

I have a huge cookbook collection and bought this one specifically to display - it is eye catching. But one of my daughters (a Cobb salad lover) thumbed through it one day and found a handful of recipes she wanted to try. So try them we did - outstanding results from each and every one. The spaghetti carbanara is worth the purchase price alone. Villas gives you a "how to cook bacon" section along with a detailed explanation of the differences between bacon, panchetta, salt port, etc.

An attractive cookbook with a treasure trove inside.