Pre-Cooked Bacon?

When we first added bacon to the menu in July 2013, it was a real eye catcher.  After all, we put it on there because the customers were asking for it (I even had suggestions for it at both of my 2011 taste tests).  

Listening to what your customers want is almost a no-brainer.  Even though, they often get carried away & want you to deliver things only they would pay for.  Rare & exotic sandwich additions usually collect dust on the shelf.

But, when you keep hearing the same item over & over you know you've struck a chord & that it's time to give it an audition on the menu.  I learned from SCORE to "keep what sells & lose what doesn't move."

It's safe to say that bacon nailed it's menu audition & has become a mainstay at Mad Munch ever since.  When you go through an average of over 700 lbs of a product in a year, you know you have a winner.  

But, that first summer, I tried to go cheap & opted for the pre-cooked bacon.  My thought was, "it's a better price & you can cook it on the griddle right when they order- it's a win-win."  The customers (& I) though, could taste the difference.

"What bacon do you guys use now?  This stuff is great," my friend Johnny asked a few weeks after I switched to buying raw uncooked bacon.

"It's Farmland.  I buy it in 15 lb. boxes," I said.

"Did you guys use some other brand before, cause this is way better," Johnny said.

I leaned in close to avoid others from hearing, "That was pre-cooked bacon."

"Oh, God- that stuff's the worst."

"I know.  It leaves like a weird red-grease residue," I told him.  "And it don't smell right."

We bought pre-cooked bacon one other time.  It was when our oven quit on us & we had two markets the next day.  I had no other choice in a pinch like that, but now I know why they sell it: In case of emergencies.

Kate & I have spent countless hours on the griddle cooking bacon (sometimes even in my yard) over the years, but somethings are just worth the extra time you put into it.  And, I think our bacon is one of the main reasons people keep coming back to Mad Munch.