Comstock Lode

Knowing that we were headed for Carson City, a town first established because of silver mining in the area of Virginia City, our pal Chilebrown advised us to visit Butler Gourmet Meats on the main drag in Carson for the best in meats to bring home. He described it as the Mother Lode of meats. Knowing that our pal Chilebrown is a serious meat expert, we complied. Between wedding festivities, we searched out Butler and drooled a bit on their cases.

If one can ever call a butcher shop "lovely," Butler meats fits the description. Scrupulously clean and staffed with eager helpers, it is a pleasure to do business there. Asking a few questions, I discovered that, while their lamb is sourced locally, their other meats come from the Midwest and their chickens from Petaluma, which is close to my home so I decided to purchase only meats they cured or sourced locally. We bought three items to bring home - bacon burgers, barbecued pork ribs, and Comstock bacon.

Behold the bacon.

My lunch was a poached egg on wheatberry bread with a slice of the heavenly Comstock bacon sandwiched between the egg and the toast. I fried the bacon lightly in a pan first (the curing doesn't cook it), then laid it on the toast while I filled the same pan with water and poached my egg. Comstock bacon is cured the same way as regular rasher bacon, but it's much leaner, more like Canadian bacon with just a frill of fat running through. It is hickory smoked, maple cured and nitrate free. All that care is evident in the flavor. It is smoky and rich, with just a hint of maple sweetness - pure pig brought to its highest aspiration.

I hummed with anticipation as I made my lunch and m-m-m-m-ed with appreciation when I took my first smoky, piggy bite. I struck it rich in the Comstock (bacon) lode.