lamb bacon four ways | Johnny Prime

I’ve come across Superior Farms lamb products a few times at Foodservice shows and conventions. One time, I tried their lamb bacon, and I was completely blown away. I liked it better than pork bacon! I reached out to them recently, to see if they’d be okay with sending me some of their lamb bacon so that I could properly feature it in a post for you guys, to expose you to this delicious protein. I was very happy to hear back that they were interested! And I was blown away when I received this massive hunk of lamb belly in the mail one day:

Not only was I excited, but I was also scared, for with great pounds of bacon comes great responsibility. This thing weighed as much as my leg, so I had to make sure I gave it the proper respect it deserved. I figured that the best way to do this was to prepare it in several ways. I channeled my inner butcher, the part of me that still recalls my profession from a past life in the late 1800’s.

I made five different cuts: (1) thick chunks for stewing and braising; (2) thick slab strips for steakhouse style grilled bacon; (3) medium thickness slices for lettuce wraps, candying and baking flat; (4) thin slices for breakfast, sandwiches and burgers; and (5) diced into pancetta, or “lambcetta.” See below (thin slices not featured here):

I kept some cuts aside for immediate use. That night, my wife made a really amazing bucatini carbonara with some of the lamb pancetta. The mild game flavor of the lamb bacon was the perfect pairing for the earthy flavors of the aged cheese and egg yolk used in the carbonara. And the soft, creamy rendered fat from the lamb belly was pure gold. Here’s what the dish looked like:

The next dish my wife made was a lamb bacon, egg and cheese sandwich on a Trufflist-infused everything biscuit. She used the thinly sliced lamb bacon for this one. Awesome!

Next: Thick cut, steakhouse style bacon, made of lamb…

Oh yeah baby. That shit was delicious.

I actually prepared this two ways: one slow roasted on a hibachi, and one on a cast iron grill pan.

Both had their benefits. The roasted style was more evenly cooked, with nicely rendered and crisp fat. The grill pan left the meat more juicy with a harder crisp and softer, more gelatinous inside.

For the final preparation, we braised some with boiled eggs and molasses; a traditional clay pot vessel Vietnamese dish. Typically made with pork, we swapped it for lamb.