Tyson takes the bacon

BLT season has arrived.

With vine-ripened tomatoes available from the backyard, farmers’ markets and grocery stores, the classic bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich begins to make a regular appearance in many homes.

So this advice from The Spokesman-Review’s reader food panel will come in handy: Choose carefully if you’re tempted to pick up some of the new fully-cooked bacon to make this fast summer sandwich even faster.

The panel tasters nibbled on five different kinds of bacon to compare the flavor and texture of ready-to-serve bacon slices. All come fully cooked in the package and must be reheated in the microwave or on the stovetop.

None of the brands earned anything higher than a three-and-a-half-star rating. (On our five-star scale, that’s between fair and good.) The bacon is sliced thin, and it’s crispy after reheating.

The Tyson Hickory Bacon came out on the top of heap, followed closely by Jimmy Dean, Hormel and Oscar Meyer. Our meat-eating panel was utterly dismayed with the veggie bacon strips slipped into the tasting. It earned an unseemly one-star rating (inedible).

Although the Tyson bacon earned the highest rating, it had as many admirers as detractors.

“Delicious,” said Tina Johnson. “Thin and crispy.”

Marilyn Moore enjoyed it as well. “There’s lots of meat in the strip. I always peek in the window flap when I buy to make sure I get meat, not fat. You know I’ll buy this,” she said.

“This one is really oily and thin,” complained Vicki Deschaine. “Why bother eating it?”

There was similar praise and pans for the other bacon tested. The biggest complaint was that most of the slices were too thin.

Skip Hubbard complained that the Hormel bacon was paper thin and disintegrated in his mouth. Peggy Kazanis agreed, “Very thin and fairly unflavorful.”

The panel members saved their strongest feelings for the veggie bacon strips served alongside its pork counterparts. It was universally hated.

Johnson was taken aback by its pink color and marbled appearance. “What the heck is this?” she wondered.

“Great! If you like cardboard,” Kazanis said.

Hubbard thought the veggie bacon looked more like dog food than anything else. “Looks like the dog treat Beggin’ Strips. I can only hope, for the dog’s sake, this tastes worse than theirs,” he said.

Deschaine wasn’t impressed with any of the offerings. Her advice: Take the time to fry up your own bacon. “As infrequently as I buy bacon, I’ll buy the original, home style, real thing.”

Tyson Hickory Bacon, fully cooked

Price: $2.79 for 2.2 ounces

Nutrition per 2-slice serving: 90 calories, 7 grams fat (2.5 grams saturated, 70 percent fat calories), 5 grams protein, no carbohydrate, 15 milligrams cholesterol, no dietary fiber, 240 milligrams sodium.

Taste: • • • 1/2

Value: • • •

Comments: “Delicious. Very thin and tasty.” – Tina Johnson

“Slightly smoky and a little bit sweet. It’ll do.” – Skip Hubbard

“This one is really oily and thin. Why bother eating it?” – Vicki Deschaine

Jimmy Dean Fully Cooked Bacon Slices

Price: $4.09 for 2.2 ounces

Nutrition per 3-slice serving: 70 calories, 5 grams fat (2 grams saturated, 64 percent fat calories), 4 grams protein, no carbohydrate, 10 milligrams cholesterol, no dietary fiber, 200 milligrams sodium.

Taste: • • • (3.3 stars)

Value: • •

Comments: “Salty with a strong bacon flavor.” – Peggy Kazanis

“Has a slightly chalky aftertaste. It looks like real bacon but tastes artificial.” – Larry Inman

“Best of the bunch: Could almost pass for traditional, fry-it-up-in-a-pan bacon.” – Skip Hubbard

Hormel Bacon, fully cooked

Price: $4.19 for 2 ounces, 14 to 16 slices

Nutrition per 2.5-slice serving: 70 calories, 5 grams fat (2 grams saturated, 65 percent fat calories), 5 grams protein, no carbohydrate, 20 milligrams cholesterol, no dietary fiber, 290 milligrams sodium.

Taste: • • • (3.2 stars)

Value: • •

Comments: “If you like think crisp bacon, this is your cut o’ pig. Very tasty with just the right amount of salt.” – Tina Johnson

“Wafer thin and fairly unflavorful.” – Peggy Kazanis

“Looks like paper-thin bacon, tastes like jerky as it disintegrates in your mouth.” – Skip Hubbard

Oscar Mayer Ready-to-Serve Bacon

Price: $4.21 for 2.1 ounces, about 15 slices

Nutrition per 3-slice serving: 70 calories, 5 grams fat (2 grams saturated, 64 percent fat calories), 5 grams protein, no carbohydrate, 15 milligrams cholesterol, no dietary fiber, 220 milligrams sodium.

Taste: • • (2.3 stars)

Value: • •

Comments: “Utterly nonimpressive.” – Vicki Deschaine

“Run-of-the-mill bacon.” – Peggy Kazanis

“Fake tasting. I wouldn’t buy this.” – Larry Inman

Morning Star Farms Veggie Bacon Strips

Price: $3.49 for 5.25 ounces

Nutrition per 2-strip serving: 60 calories, 4.5 grams fat (.5 grams saturated, 23 percent fat calories), 2 grams protein, 2 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, less than 1 gram dietary fiber, 220 milligrams sodium.

Taste: •

Value: •

Comments:

“The ad for Smacko (bacon for dogs) comes to mind. I could not bring myself to taste it. All I could think of was, ‘Here doggie, doggie.’ ” – Marilyn Moore

“Where is my thesaurus? I need to find a good word for vile, disgusting, objectionable, distasteful, etc.” – Larry Inman

“The look of it is enough to put you off. Pink and white marbling is just wrong! The texture is more of a chip.” – Marcia Oranen