Food Review: Great Value bacon not such a great value
06/07/2021
By Mike Thayer
Bacon has been an American breakfast staple since Oscar Meyer introduced pre-packaged, pre-sliced bacon to the country in 1924. But it's not just for breakfast anymore.... Everything's better with bacon! The crispy, smoky, savory goodness of bacon is irresistable and makes just about whatever you're having for breakfast, lunch or dinner that much better.
As a bacon lover, I've always got a package of the stuff on hand. Opening up a 12 ounce package of Great Value bacon purchased at Walmart the other day, I said to myself, "Self, I should do a review of bacon, find out who makes the best bacon at the most reasonable price."
In making bacon for breakfast, I usually lay out six slices on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and dress the bacon with some black pepper. I'll enjoy three of those slices for breakfast, saving three slices to enjoy with something for lunch or dinner, later. With the oven at 400 degrees, I like the oven method because the bacon cooks more evenly than on the stove top, it gets nice and crispy and there's less mess! And in the 20 minutes that it takes to get that perfect bacon, I can multi-task.
Great Value Bacon however, is NOT a repeat buy.
The slicing of the bacon is terrible and ultra thin. When pulling slices from the package to place on the cookie sheet the 'slices' don't stay intact. If you want to make bacon bits, then this bacon is OK... But I don't buy bacon just so I can make bacon bits, I want SLICES of bacon, especially for breakfast! And if I was making a dish that calls for wrapping bacon, this bacon won't get the job done right. Presentation and proper coverage in a wrapped with bacon dish, matters.
The flavor is good, but not WOW good. There's no robust, smoky flavor, the flavor profile is quite average.
Costing me about $4 for that 12 ounce package, it's a rock bottom price, but you get what you pay for, thin, fall apart bacon with average flavor. I'm giving Great Value Bacon just 2 out of 5 stars, it's not a great value.
Related: Food Review: Appleton Farms Premium Sliced Bacon
$pend Wisely My Friends...
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Appleton Farms Bacon. Horribly SALTY, way TOO MUCH SALT.
Posted by: Robin | 03/01/2023 at 08:47 AM
I bought appleton farms thick sliced bacon it was paper thin sliced. I could hardly get the pieces apart. The yield was terrible. The flavor was fine.
Posted by: Sharon Melvin | 04/02/2023 at 12:58 PM