Straight from Texas, the land of the cows, comes Pederson’s Natural Farms Bacon. Not a beef-bacon, however, but still a good southern delight.

When I first saw this bacon, I was taken aback a bit. I was only at Whole Foods to get some essential Grapeseed oil for my winter beard. I was walking around and happened to see the bacon aisle. It immediately piqued my interest and I found myself scouring the shelf for what looked like the best one to try first. The first thing I noticed was that all of the bacon was completely organic and uncured. This had me a little scared, but I chose a bacon that was rich in color, decently marbled, and appeared to be the most “bacon-like.”

Pederson’s Natural Farms Bacon prides themselves on serving uncured all natural bacon. This pork has never been fed animal byproducts, antibiotics, hormones, or anything unnatural. The result of this all natural organic pig is an extremely flavorful cut of meat. The bacon averages 11 grams when cooked, so the slices are very thick.

The strips hold their shape exceptionally well. I did notice a high amount of grease output, but this is to be expected with thick cut bacon strips. The sodium count is only slightly lower than most bacon, which struck me as odd considering this bacon is uncured. While being lower uncured and generally regarded as healthier, this bacon suffers from a less-than-desirable salt flavor. When I eat bacon, I crave that saltiness. So when it’s not there, I get a little disappointed. I try to keep an open mind about it though. The flavor of the bacon, saltiness aside, is superb. It is a little bland on the front but finishes with a rich and smooth porky flavor.

The texture is a little disappointing because it only seems to get really crispy in the middle. The ends of the strips stay a little soft, but not in that delicious bacon-fat way. It’s just not crispy.

The bacon fries up fairly well. It doesn’t seem to burn. You know how when you take bacon off, it gets a little crispier when it dries out some? Well, I thought for sure that I overdid it as I could barely see the bacon under the bubbling juices on top. But I guess the thickness of the bacon causes it to disperse a lot of fat without necessarily burning. The result was a decently crispy strip of bacon.

While skeptical at first, Pederson’s Natural Farms Bacon has inspired me to try other kinds of uncured organic bacon. Perhaps a Top 10 for that?

Number 7 — number 6 — Number 5