7 Best Store-Bought Bacons Made Without Fake Smoke
I love bacon. The popular breakfast meat is super delicious, especially when smoked. But here’s a fun fact: not all smoked bacon is made with real smoke. Some brands cut corners, and that smoky essence is the result of, well, artificial smoke flavoring. If you want an authentically smoked bacon, there are some amazing options. Here are the 7 best store-bought bacons made without fake smoke.
ButcherBox Bacon
I recently got a ButcherBox filled with steaks, chicken, chicken nuggets, and even the Applewood Smoked uncured bacon, and it was divine. According to the brand, it is made from humanely raised pork and has no nitrates or sugar, but comes with a smoky taste you will love.
Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Bacon
Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Bacon is the gold standard, smoked for 24 hours over glowing applewood logs. In fact, some of the best restaurants I have been to serve it. “For generations, the Nueske family has been dedicated to creating the most flavorful smoked bacon you’ve ever tasted. It’s a process we’ve perfected over time, starting with hand-trimmed pork bellies to create a truly premium bacon,” the brand writes. “Each slab is patiently smoked for up to 24 hours over sweet Applewood embers, a method that has earned our gourmet bacon awards from culinary experts and the loyalty of top chefs. With its signature rich flavor and minimal shrinkage, this is the bacon your breakfast deserves.” And, foodies love it. “Very Smokey and Melt in your mouth delicious. Love it,” writes an Amazon shopper.
Niman Ranch Applewood Smoked
Niman Ranch is another brand that high-end restaurants serve, and it is also available at Whole Foods. The Niman Ranch Applewood Smoked Bacon is super legit and delicious, made with humanely raised pork that is then naturally smoked.
Applegate Naturals Sunday Bacon
Traditional hardwood smoke with a clean label and no chemical nitrites.
Mild taste, not super smoky tasting like all the rest. Very good!
Absolutely obsessed. I didn’t know about this cut, it is delicious!!
Wellshire Farms Dry Rubbed Bacon
Slow-cured and naturally smoked without water injections or liquid flavor.
Wellshire Thick-Sliced Dry-Rubbed Uncured Bacon is another option I will pick up at Whole Foods. It is slow-cured and naturally smoked sans water injections or liquid flavor, naturally cured, nitrate-free, and made with minimal ingredients. However, it does list organic cane sugar as an ingredient.
Tender Belly No Sugar Bacon
Tender Belly is “on a mission to craft the most crazy tasty bacon on planet Earth,” and its No Sugar Dry Rub Uncured Bacon is the champion of the line. The brand uses “heritage breed pigs that are raised crate-free on 100% vegetarian diets.” They also refuse to inject water into their uncured bacon. “We rub our pork bellies with freshly ground spices and let the tasty dry rub soak in for days. We then slow smoke our bacon for hours using real cherry wood. No antibiotics ever. No nitrates or nitrites added.”
Beeler’s Uncured Hickory Smoked Bacon
Beeler’s prides itself on offering family-farmed pork with a clean label. Beeler’s Uncured Hickory Smoked Bacon has no nitrates or nitrites added except for the naturally occurring nitrates in sea salt, celery powder, and no antibiotics. It is also casein and gluten-free. The pigs are fed a vegetarian diet and are not raised in gestation crates.