#846 Knowledge is Smoked Food

Bacon.

That universally beloved thin slice of meat.

Its unique texture, perfect whether paired with vegetables or eggs, can even be thickly cut to serve as a delightful snack with drinks. Truly, a versatile ingredient.

Yet, this alluring delicacy had never been crafted in this other world.

The reason is the smoking process involved.

I clearly understood that much. And, plagued by a total lack of knowledge about smoking— “How on earth do you smoke something? I haven’t the foggiest idea!”—I’d promptly given up every time the thought crossed my mind.

However, this time, with the introduction of cherry wood chips, I ventured into the art of smoking. Experimenting with a variety of items, I gained ample experience.

Now, what reason could I possibly have to not give it a try?

I’ve always been a sucker for bacon.

When it accompanies my scrambled eggs at breakfast, it feels like an indulgence.

Meat as a side dish? That’s like the bonus being the main attraction!!!

Anyway, with a newfound craving for bacon, I set out to make it myself.

Making bacon isn’t as simple as just smoking some meat.

That would merely be smoked meat.

The meat of choice here is pork belly.

A slab so massive it could rival a brick, ready to be transformed into magnificent bacon.

The supplier is none other than our familiar horned boar.

A monster resembling a wild boar from the nearby mountains, now providing meat without needing to be hunted.

A spirit of self-sacrifice.

Having gone through the cycle of birth and hunt repeatedly, it has attained a form of divinity, unshaken by the concepts of life and death.

Thus, it easily relinquishes its flesh.

This almost sacred horned boar ensures the meat’s exceptional purity.

Such fine quality meat for bacon...

It’s bound to be exceptional.

Though calling it “pork belly” might be a bit of a stretch since it’s from a boar.

First, I rub salt into the belly meat.

As I mentioned before, simply smoking it would just be smoked boar meat.

The transformation into bacon requires several additional steps.

One key step is rubbing in salt for flavor while drawing out moisture.

Salt absorbs water, you see. Osmosis.

Then comes another process.

Soaking it in a brine solution.

Brine solution?!

You might ask what that is. To be honest, I’m not entirely sure myself.

Think of it as a flavoring liquid for meat.

It’s made by boiling salt, sugar, herbs, and garlic and then cooling it down.

Well, the exact recipe can be researched later...

The meat, now cured in salt, is submerged in this mixture for a while.

Once it’s thoroughly marinated and the excess salt and moisture removed, it’s ready for the next step...

Let’s do this.

The grand smoking!

With my newly gained smoking expertise, I envelop the meat in smoke!

It’s infused with a smoky flavor and enhances its preservability... And voilà—bacon is born.

“Ohhhhh...!”

Seeing the finished block of bacon, I can’t help but be amazed.

It’s a testament to how far our farm’s food processing techniques have come. But more than that, it’s my first time seeing such an enormous piece of bacon.

“It’s freaking huge...!”

For me, bacon has always been either paper-thin or chopped into tiny, bite-sized pieces.

Either way, it’s always been this ridiculously small, 1/144 scale kind of thing.

And yet, despite being handcrafted from scratch, I never expected to confront a slab of bacon so enormous...!

It’s almost terrifying.

I heard that when something exceeds our usual understanding on such a grand scale, it can incite fear.

For instance, imagine the pet cat you’ve been fond of suddenly ballooning to the size of a tiger. That would startle anyone. 

Similarly, the sight of this gigantic hunk of bacon in front of me was nothing short of chilling.

...What would it feel like to eat this whole thing?

Of course, I wouldn’t actually do that.

This laboriously created, experimental first batch of otherworldly bacon deserves to be savored in thin slices. Yet, I can’t help but feel the temptation for an extravagant indulgence, akin to devouring an entire cake in one sitting!!!

“Masterrr, what have you made this time?”

Here comes Veil.

Her appearance whenever I create something edible is as inevitable as belching after drinking cola or snapping an HB pencil in half.

“...Oh! Master, did you make char siu?! Let’s throw it in some ramen right away!”

“No, no, no, no, no...!!!”

Veil, the ramen (making)-loving dragon.

Naturally, she’s an expert in making char siu, the quintessential ramen topping, right from scratch, having mastered it to the point where her ramen lab always had kilograms of char siu in stock. 

Terrifying.

However, despite both being made from pork, char siu and bacon are entirely different beasts. 

Char siu, simply boiled and grilled, is lusciously fatty, blending into the ramen soup to enhance the flavors synergistically.

In contrast, bacon undergoes salting, drying, and smoking to thoroughly remove moisture, hence not absorbing soup when added.

It’s like getting ham instead of char siu on your cafeteria ramen. It’s a disappointing substitution.

“That’s why bacon is best when fried. Only then does the sealed-in oil emerge, enriching the flavor multiple times.”

“Is that soooo?”

Veil’s response clearly shows she doesn’t quite grasp it.

Right then, proof over theory.

Time to serve the tastiest bacon dish ever and demonstrate its true worth!

Let’s make bacon and eggs.

Though opinions may vary, I believe the most classic and flavor-enhancing bacon dish is bacon and eggs.

First, lay thin slices of bacon in the frying pan. Once the bacon starts to release its fat, that’s your cue to crack in the eggs!

Not just the pre-laid oil but the fat rendered from the bacon contributes to gently cooking the eggs until they’re just perfectly soft and creamy.

That’s where bacon and eggs really shine - it’s this extra flavor that elevates it beyond a simple fried egg!

The eggs are best slightly runny (though that’s up to personal taste), and now, enjoy them hot off the pan!

The flavor of the bacon is so good you might not even need any seasoning!

But let’s not start a soy sauce vs. Worcestershire sauce debate – that’s a whole other war!

“Fwooooooh! This is soooo gooood!!!”

Veil reacts exactly as expected.

“The flavor of the fat transforms these eggs into something incredibly delicioussssss! Such a rich, meaty taste in fried eggs is a revelationnnnnnn! If they’re runny, I’d even want to put them over riceeeee!”

As expected of Veil.

She knows the best way to enjoy runny eggs.

Indeed, the creamy texture of a runny egg mixed with the rich taste of bacon is a match made in heaven.

This dish could easily be a hit in any restaurant.

And the wonders of bacon don’t stop at bacon and eggs.

“Next up... Bacon sauté!!!”

When it comes to bacon sauté, spinach (hourensou) is the classic choice.

Not to be confused with reporting (HOUkoku), contacting (RENraku), and funerals (SOUshiki).

It’s a powerful nutritional food, rich in non-heme iron, turning some marines into ultimate berserkers.

Vegetables, which usually lack fat, gain a unique umami when mixed with the fat rendered from bacon.

“This is freaking delicious toooooo!!! The crispy bacon perfectly complements the wilted spinachhhhhhhh!”

Veil is particularly fond of this dish.

It proves the theory that anything mixed with bacon fat turns out delicious.

Well, if we’re talking about frying with bacon, spinach is great, but asparagus is a real contender, too. 

Asparagus and its classic flavor you hated as a kid.

Yet, as an adult, its crunchy texture is irresistible, especially when mixed with the taste of bacon fat.

And asparagus is at its best in early spring, just like now.

It’s time to wrap asparagus in bacon!!!

...And so, bacon played a starring role in dish after dish.

In this fantasy other world, accurately recreating bacon, whose manufacturing process was a mystery, was no small feat.

It’s rare for an average person to know about curing solutions. 

But before I was transported to this world, I luckily came across the method of making bacon in a book or something, allowing me to successfully replicate it here.

Truly, “knowledge is power.”

And in this case, it’s all about the bacon.

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"hourensou" 報連相 is kind of like a Japanese acronym for effective business communication.

its originally comprised of

報告 houkoku- reporting

連絡 renraku- contacting/informing

and 相談 soudan- consulting (not 葬式 soushiki. that was a pun cause both words start with sou-)