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The New Bacon and Eggs?

May 7, 2013   44 Comments

Snack Girl was cruising her supermarket when she saw these packaged hard-boiled eggs and shelf stable bacon.

Shelf Stable Bacon and Eggs

Really?

Are we to the point that we don’t have time to hard boil eggs or fry up bacon? I found myself terribly curious about whether these were real food or if they were yet another science experiment.

Both of them are about twice the price of an uncooked version. Six hard boiled eggs cost me $3.29 and 2.5 ounces of cooked bacon (9-11 slices) was on sale for $3. You are paying a premium for the time saved.

What if you have the money for these products? Are they any good?

First, the bacon. I happen to love bacon, but I eat it rarely because of the high fat and sodium content. You will find me with a BLT when tomato season hits. Yum!

This is a photo of the bacon:

Yeah, so it looks like cooked bacon, it tastes like cooked bacon, and the ingredients are the same as uncooked bacon. You can heat it up in the microwave to make it hot and crisp or in a skillet (but I’m not sure what the point of that would be).

My only complaint is that now it is easier to eat bacon, which given the state of the American diet is probably not a good thing.

Now, the eggs. I also love hard boiled eggs, egg salad, and deviled eggs. I make hard boiled eggs often and have one as a morning snack to keep me going until lunch. The ingredients for the packaged ones are: eggs (processed in citric acid and sodium benzoate)

My eggs are: eggs (processed in boiling water). You can tell the difference. I found the packaged ones rubbery and then there was a bitter, strange after taste. I would not buy these again. They missed by a mile on both flavor and consistency.

Citric acid is naturally occurring in lemons and sodium benzoate can be found in factories. There are some health concerns with sodium benzoate see -Fooducate analysis of sodium benzoate.

With the shelf stable bacon, you are going to miss out on the smell and crackle of making it yourself. I happen to love it when my house is all porky.

The hard boiled eggs should be avoided at all cost. If you love them and don’t have time to make them, try the egg cooker below.

Have you tried these convenience foods? What do you think?

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44 Comments:

I have had the hard boiled eggs and it's cheaper to boil your own and tastes so much better. Your right the store bought ones are rubbery and kind of gross if you think about it!

I'm a little surprised that there is nothing extra in the pre-cooked bacon to make it shelf stable. Could they be adding something and not telling us? My suspicion level is high with this one.

I am with you Snack Girl. We don't have time to boil an egg???? Really??? I just love teaching my 13 year old to cook. What wonderful memories I have of learning to cook and even watching my grand mother cook as a child. The kitchen can provide us moms such special moments with our daughters and sons.

Thanks for posting. Enjoyed the article.

We love the Bacon as well. Its a real time saver, no cleanup and you can make 1 or 2 slices at a time. I love it for the kids, I think its not too expensive by the time you fry up a pound on your own. I dont think I would buy the eggs. They are just too easy to boil,

We bought the eggs on a vacation where we had a very minimal kitchen setup... Fridge and microwave. My husband and I have been eating gluten and dairy free. So while the eggs were not optimal in flavor, they served a purpose in providing a filling breakfast or snack that would stick with us. At home I have my own chickens and we regularly eat hub eggs. There was no taste comparison.

In a perfect world, I would get up and make a fresh, delicious breakfast for my four kids. Being a working mom, it's just not possible. The pre-cooked bacon has been a life-saver. I buy the Trader Joe's or Whole Foods brands with no nitrates. It is more expensive, but there just isn't time in my mornings to stand over a stove. I've also tried the hard-boiled eggs in a bag. The brand that I got from Trader Joe's tasted so foul and chemically, that I actually returned them. The replacement tasted just the same. Eggs are easy enough to cook ahead of time and leave in the fridge. I'd rather do that myself.

Thanks for the update!

I hate to pay for uncooked bacon, def. can't afford this stuff lol. I think with hard boiled eggs the laziness is in the peeling not boiling. I can't imagine these tasting good with or without someone reviewing them for me. I would never waste my money on them. I like my hb eggs right out of the shell!

I actually think you use LESS bacon this way! As other posters have mentioned, you can microwave 1-2 slices for an egg sandwich, etc. One pack of this lasts about a month at my house... My kids call it the "fake bacon" but I hate frying it - too much & too messy - so this is all their gonna get!

The bacon has its uses and is the same price or CHEAPER than regular bacon at my grocery store. Cooking bacon is messy and I like not having to deal with all the grease. The hardboiled eggs I have eyed before for grab and go breakfasts but I have never tried. Now I probably never will. We often cook a bunch of eggs for the week - it is easy enough, even if I hate peeling them.

Cooking hard boiled eggs is a regular task at my house and I use the little egg that tells you when they are done. So easy.

For crispy quick bacon I use the Pampered Chef ridged baker in the microwave - It has not been named the Baconator. All the fat drips into the ridges and is easy to drain in a jar. I will do a whole package at a time and the put the ones I don't use in the fridge for later use. Crispy bacon in just minutes!!

I'm so suscipicious of shelf-stable anything that is normally not. Our society is much too obsessed with "quick" everything. Thanks for the post!

I have seen in my grocery store not only precooked hardboiled eggs but at Easter they had precooked hardboiled eggs that were ALREADY dyed in Easter colors. Now THAT is the ultimate in "I have no time - not even to make memories of dying Easter eggs with my children"! Of course I didn't buy them!

First, I have to mention that eggs and bacon are revered by real foodies. When they come from pastured, humane family farms, eggs and pork are nutritional powerhouses. Pastured pork is a wonderful source of vitamin D. No need to fear real bacon! Although that bacon which comes from factory farms is very scary.

Secondly, I need to point out that although yes, some citric acid does come from lemons, most of the time it does not. Cheap, processed foods such as these eggs almost assuredly use fake citric acid that comes from GMO corn.

I have to confess that I really like the fully cooked bacon, but I have never bought it. I just ate it up at someone's cabin one weekend. I don't eat a lot of bacon. (I just don't love it like everyone else.) But that weekend, I just kept grabbing pieces! I'm not sure why that is...

But those eggs... They look gross to me!

That's just plain silly...and sad that there is a market for them.

Ok so can someone post their tricks for never-fail EASY PEEL hard boiled eggs? I had to make a bunch for passover and literally half the egg white part came off with the shell for every egg. I had to run to the store to buy the pre-made ones.

The are tons of hard boiling tips online but my favorite one is to add baking soda to the water. Start with cold water, add about a tablespoon of baking soda, cover, bring to a rolling boil, cover and cook.... No stick!

@ Kathy: Your eggs need to be "old" to make the perfect hb egg. I try to get them as close to their expiry as possible for the easiest peeling experience, and peel them under running water.

As for the bacon, I put an entire (standard sliced) package spread on a heavy baking sheet in a cold oven. Turn on oven to 425 and bake for 19 minutes. I get flat crisp bacon every time and the fat just pours off. I don't eat a pound of bacon in a sitting, so I've stuck the leftovers in the fridge for 5 days. I would imagine pre-cooked bacon would freeze alright? The best part is there's no splatter on my stove and my house doesn't reek nearly as bad as when bacon gets made on the stove top!

Alton Brown's method for "hard boiled eggs" is the best! Baked in the oven. If you've never made them this way, I swear they are easy to bake and hard to mess up. For some reason I never seem to get boiled eggs just right. This method has been right every time and Hubby swears that the yolk is creamier.

http://altonbrown.com/baked-eggs/

A couple times per year I pick up a lb. of Applegate organic sunday bacon. A no-mess hands-free cooking in the microwave for about 5-6 mins [3 pap towels underneath and overtop a plate full of raw bacon] and then I pop it onto my freezer door as a handy garnish for soups/salads. I might add a piece on a grilled cheddar sandwich or break a piece into a scrambled egg; its only 30cals/slice and adds alot of zip to meals. Precooked better for you bacon, not a very time-consuming process and minimal cleanup.

Here is a hard-boil egg method that works for me.

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/cooking-tips-techniq…

I like to peel 'em then refrigerate in an airtight container.

We buy this bacon for camping and it is an ok substitute - but NOT nearly as good as chile bacon which is our favorite. (bacon with red chile and a little bit of brown sugar).

Just wondering what the bacon is treated with to make it shelf stable?

Reading through the comments, I'm a little confused. How is cooking bacon difficult? A microwave, a paper towel (optional) and 3 mins. That's all it takes. I do it often. I cook 2-3 pieces, the rest I pre-portion and freeze. Run under cold water to thaw.

A pound can last weeks. I can cook just what I need and the paper towel prevents most of the mess.

I have tried it with the paper towel in the microwave and it has never worked out well for me

the microwaving needs to be watched til you figure out your MW's strength, mw for 3 mins then check every add'l minute and change top paper towel if very greasy! you will see it get nice and crispy.

I admit I have bought the bacon and liked it. I used to travel a lot but instead of eating out at restaurants all of the time I would go buy groceries to keep in my hotel room. Sometimes I would buy the bacon to make quick BLT or have some scrambled eggs and bacon. Your options for cooking in a hotel room can be pretty limited so sometimes products like these are helpful!

Not a fan of either myself! I am kind of a connoisseur of bacon. There is nothing like an amazing piece of bacon! Why spend all those calories on something that's just ok. And I've had the store bought hb eggs. Ick. I have the time and don't mind preparing my own food. If your on the run, then they are a good alternative to eating fast food I guess.

Costco sells the Hormel cooked bacon in their refrigerated section(not shelf stable). You get a pound for around $11.00. This is the bacon I buy. I hate the grease and mess of cooking bacon. I put 6 pieces between layers of paper towels & microwave for 1 minute. I love the convenience and the taste.

I live alone and have been using the Oscar Meyer pre-cooked bacon for years. It's quick, easy and only 2 pointsplus for 3 slices.

I bought the eggs once as a friend suggested them, and I found them rubbery. As for the bacon, I buy precooked from Trader Joe's about once a year. Love fresh tomato and bacon sandwiches in the summer time.

I actually am a big fan of the eggs.... I just can't seem to get hard-boiled eggs cooked right so they peel easily, and it takes too long to do it myself!!!! I think my eggs are usually too "fresh", but I don't have enough fridge space to store them to get old, so I save the fresh eggs for eating scrambled or in baking and use the hard-boiled one for salad topping, snacking, etc.

I guess its kind of nifty, but I'd rather cook eggs and bacon myself.

Thank you for cracking me up!

"sodium benzoate can be found in factories"

The one problem I find with eggs in frozen meals is that it's often mixed with other stuff like "modified cheese ingredients" or various milk/wheat/soy products to make it more palatable. Scrambled eggs are delicious in itself, cooked in some butter and sprinkled with salt and black pepper. Everything else is just overkill.

I would rather just cook extra bacon and save for the next couple days just like boiling a pot of eggs! I have done it and it works...same difference and cost less. Oh and that egg cooker really works my coworker brought it in for a breakfast one day.

I'm a fan of the bacon due to convenience and still has a great taste, but agree it makes it WAY too easy to eat so I rarely buy it. I would opt for making my own hard boiled egg!

We have our own laying hens and make our own bacon from pigs we have raised and butchered ourselves...neither of these products have anything over my bacon and eggs!

Nancy-I'm jealous! LOL! But so happy at least, that I do have access to pastured beef from a farm in Old Lyme, Ct. When I can't get there I either find organic brands like Applegate or do without. I wish little meat markets would make a comeback!

Well the bacon does look good...but I would never buy it and for sure I would not buy the eggs.....it doesn't take that long to boil eggs and ....and of course frying bacon makes a mess on top of the stove,but you just clean it up.....I don't like it either.....but I'd rather wipe it off the top of the stove than have to clean the oven....I bake fish in mine and it splatters grease inside.....you just gotta clean it up.....it's cheaper than paying that much money for the bacon & eggs.....who can afford it ????? Besides I don't believe those are good for you....just sayin............

I use http://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-Microwave-Compact-Bacon/d… for making bacon, works great for me. The shelf stable version is okay in a pinch, I guess (though I still refrigerate it after opening, didn't realize you didn't have to). But I love my local farm's stuff.

The eggs I thought were fine until today. I bought a bag, I dunno, 2 weeks ago? I go through them slowly. But I had no idea they didn't last as long without the shell (probably obvious, but hey, it's early). You do NOT want to know what that slime on them smells like after that long.

I bought some of the eggs once a few weeks ago. They keep fine til the expiration date unopened. But it states on the bag that once opened they must be eaten within 2 or 3 days.

My secret to good hard boiled eggs is bring to a rolling boil, then turn off and let sit for 15 minutes. Soak in cool water, then peel. For bacon, I bake mine in the oven....line a pan with foil, place bacon on, cover with another sheet of foil and bake 15-20 minutes at 325 until done to the crispness you like. Frees up the stove for other things! I haven't tried baking my eggs yet, though!

Lisa, I'm 61 years old and I've never heard of egg cookers. I went to Amazon.com when I read this article and ordered a Krups 7 egg cooker and I LOVE it!!! I love soft boiled eggs. I love hard boiled eggs sliced on a salad. I love egg sandwiches. The cooker is quick and easy. The eggs are cooked perfectly!! Thanks so much!!

BTW, I've bought the pre-packaged, pre-cooked eggs before (store brand) but never worked up the nerve to try them, so I used them in a live trap to catch raccoons (which I haul off to a 15,000 acre cattle ranch with no close humans!). Raccoons and possums love them! :-D

Again, thanks for the recommendation!

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