My friend Terry, also known as one-fourth of the readership of this blog, likes to quote Satchel Paige on fried foods. Satch said to avoid them, because they "angry the blood." I think I know exactly what he was talking about. Folks back then, especially Southern blacks, tended to fry in pork fat, usually from fat back. I just did something like that.
The other week, when the Fair was still going on, I was having difficulty getting to my usual Publix store. So I started improvising. I found to my surprise that Aldi sells uncured bacon with no preservatives. I was looking for some kind of meat for my pasta e fageoli (or in pop culture speak, pasta fazoo). The first attempt didn't turn out too great because I had forgotten over the years how to make bacon, and Aldi's directions weren't too useful.
So yesterday, I tried again. Also in the interim, Aldi brought back their brown rice spaghetti noodles. The result was much better. However, I'm finding it to be quite angrying to the blood. And so I don't think it's the frying; I think it's the sodium. Sodium in bacon; sodium in fatback. It's nice that the uncured bacon doesn't have any nitrites, but dang; still too salty for me. Also I got a lot more indigestion than I did in the olive oil version of the dish. (Yeah, yeah yeah; bacon AND bacon grease. Probably gilding the lily.)
So bacon sketti probably won't be tried again unless I half the bacon and throw out the bacon grease and use olive oil instead. It's tasty, though, and fun. Ahhhh what the hey! I need some angry blood anyway.
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