Love firing up your griddle at camp for a hearty breakfast? Then you know bacon is one of those simple indulgences that makes RV mornings unforgettable.
In a recent poll, a quarter of you admitted to eating bacon often, while nearly half of you said you eat it sometimes. Sounds like you like your bacon! And who can blame you?
A recent blind taste test by Serious Eats sampled ten widely available bacon brands to find which delivers the best mix of flavor, texture, and smoke. RVers know that these factors matter whether you’re frying up strips beside eggs or crisping bacon for a BLT.
How the test was conducted
Serious Eats cooked each bacon brand in the oven at a consistent temperature to eliminate cooking method bias. Then each brand was judged for how well it balanced salty flavor, smoky notes, and chewiness without becoming overly brittle.
The standout winner in this taste-off was Smithfield Naturally Hickory Smoked Thick Cut Bacon. Testers praised it for having just the right amount of smoke and salt, plus a hearty fat-to-lean ratio that kept each strip tender with a satisfying bite. Its smoke wasn’t overpowering, making this version versatile enough for breakfast plates, sandwiches, or even crumbled atop salads.
Runner-up honors went to North Country Smokehouse Organic Applewood Smoked Uncured Bacon. This bacon brought a richer, more assertive smoke flavor with a touch of sweetness that some tasters absolutely loved. Its crisp edges and chewy centers made it a good choice, especially if you prefer bacon with deeper smoke vibes.
Interesting takeaway
One interesting takeaway from the Serious Eats test was that the curing method (“uncured” or cured with synthetic nitrites) didn’t directly dictate how good the bacon tasted. Both types could be excellent when the balance of salt and smoke was right. What mattered most for the winning bacons was how they tasted and felt when cooked, not the specific label on the package.
For RVers who love outdoor breakfasts, choosing a bacon that won’t turn brittle on your griddle or overpower the other breakfast staples is key. The Serious Eats results suggest that a thick cut with balanced seasoning and smoke is a reliable go-to at your campsite.
What’s your favorite bacon? Tell me in the comments below.
WANT A HEALTHIER WAY TO EAT BACON? This microwave bacon-cooker cooks bacon easily and without all the oils, grease or fat. Check it out.
MORE BACON!
RVT1250
The best bacon to buy and use when RVing is the pre-cooked variety. They might appear to be too expensive, but when you consider a sealed package can ride around unrefrigerated for months until opening, and 15 seconds in a microwave is all the “cooking” needed to heat up delicious and crispy bacon, with no grease to deal with, it is worth it. I’ve been buying and using pre-cooked bacon for years, many brands are available, including store branded ones, I prefer the Hormel product.
Or the cook-a-few-strips-in-a-sealed-packet type. If you’re not really doing campfire or grill cooking at breakfast, keep it simple and quick, with no gunk to mess up your grey tank.
We only buy Wrights bacon. Best, hands down!
Yep. No one else is even close.
The best bacon I eat is that which I smoke myself from a large pork belly. I smoke up one of those 3 or 4 times a year and have all the bacon I need. Of course, I’m doing that at home…tough to do on the road. In an emergency, I, too, like Wright’s which, I believe, is available at Walmart among other places.
Agreed John. Nothing better than home made. Super easy to make also . Dial in the taste you like, and the thickness you prefer. I do run out at times, and then I’ll usually buy Wrights. Of course I’ve hardly met a piece of bacon I didn’t like.
Hormel Black Label thick slice is our preferred. Usually will cook it ahead of time at home so I’ll not dealing with the grease splatter and disposal. Takes a few weeks to get rid of a pound of bacon. Occasional eaters.
Have a great hack for bacon. Frying it in RV is messy and while we all love the smell, it lingers. We buy the large bacon bits from Sam’s and just sprinkle on a BLT, in a salad or with eggs any time we want!
Doing it outside will attract friends so make a few extra slices.
I buy 5 pound pre-cooked bacon bits (or strips) at my local US Foods. No greasy mess to deal with, just heat and eat. US Foods also sells pre-cooked sausage that I also take camping. I see another also camper does the same!
We love the Wright brand of hickory smoked bacon. I put it on a paper plate and cover it with a paper towel,, then cook it in the microwave. I stopped buying Smithfield when it was bought out by a foreign country.
No favorite brand for me. All of them taste good. I’m suppose to have less salt so I only get it once in a while. My wife surprises me with it. 🙂
Forty to fifty years ago it was easy to find uncooked, canned bacon. It came from one of the Scandinavians countries. Canned bacon is still available, although I haven’t seen it in stores for decades, it can be found on-line. It worked especially well when tent camping and refrigeration wasn’t handy. It had a shelf life of 5 to 10 years.
I prefer Daily’s Bacon from Missoula, MT. They have other plants around the US.
I’m sure all these brands are good, but they are also a lot more expensive than the Walmart Great Value brand that I buy. It costs less and I’ll bet there’s not much taste difference.
if you travel through Tennessee, stop off in Madisonville for some Benton’s Ham an Bacon, it is smoked and cured, just like my grandfather did. I have been taking hogs there to be processed and cured since 1978. It is the hit of the BLT Party at the Chazz Campground in Florida every year (and probably one of the only reasons I am allowed to camp is because I bring the bacon,,,) It can last for months out of the fridge because of the way it is cured, but never makes it that long with me and a hot skillet!
How many of these bacons are owned by the Chinese?
My favored bacon for camping is canned. Failing that, is pre cooked- unless I’m making bacon and eggs in a paper sack. The preferred bag size is #8, the size of the lunch bag many of us remember for school lunch times. You need the paper sack, (check for holes in the bottom- a no-no) enough raw bacon to cover the bottom of said bag, an egg, and a hefty stick about 18 inches long Wait until your fire has died to coals, lay the raw bacon in the bag bottom, crack an egg in the bag roll up the bag top insert the stick thru the rolls, and shortly you’ll have a breakfast with no skillet nor plate to wash
Other neat ways to cook eggs while camping- scrambled eggs boiled in a lock type plastic bag