Those signature crispy, savory bacon strips are an iconic part of the Waffle House experience. But creating that perfect bacon isn’t as simple as it seems. Waffle House has painstakingly engineered and replicated an intricate bacon program across all their locations.
From sourcing custom pork bellies to meticulously dialed-in cooking techniques, no detail is overlooked. The bacon journey starts with thick-cut pork belly slices that undergo proprietary curing and smoking processes.
In the kitchen, the strips sizzle on scorching flat-top griddles, rendered in a thin layer of water to achieve that coveted crispy-but-juicy texture. It’s a fine-tuned dance of heat, time and technique that Waffle House has mastered to serve up those craveable bacon strips.
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BACON:
Price -$3.95
Three Slices of Smithfield® Bacon
Bacon Type:
Waffle House undoubtedly has very stringent specifications for the pork belly bacon they source. While the base is a standard pork belly, they’ve certainly optimized every aspect to create a custom bacon perfect for their needs.
Pork Breed
The pigs are almost certainly a specific heritage breed like Duroc or Berkshire, chosen for their rich marbling and flavor traits. Waffle House has likely identified an ideal pig lineage and fat-to-meat ratio.
Pork Diet
What the pigs are fed can greatly impact the taste of the bacon. Waffle House’s pork suppliers utilize specialized diets free of things like soy or fishmeal that can negatively affect flavor. A custom grain blend promotes the perfect fat composition.
Pork Raising
The living conditions and treatment of the pigs makes a difference. Waffle House’s pork meets strict standards for ethical, low-stress animal raising and housing densities that produce superior meat quality.
Bellies
Only the center-cut bacon bellies are selected, with the ideal lean-to-fat ratio and sublime marbling. Thickness is calibrated to Waffle House’s texture preferences.
Curing
A proprietary curing process using a custom-blended cure mixture allows for precise control of salt levels, smoke flavor and preservative levels in the bacon.
Smoking
Waffle House has meticulously developed their signature smoke profile, using specific wood varietals and smoke generators to achieve just the right smoky essence in the bacon.
Bacon Brand:
Major pork producers like Smithfield, Hormel and others can create private label bacon products tailored specifically for big chains like Waffle House.
These custom bacon brands allow for proprietary recipes, seasonings and smoking processes that differentiate the flavor profile. Waffle House undoubtedly went through extensive testing to find a bacon brand and recipe that perfectly complements their diner-style food.
Cooking Method:
The flat-top grill is the workhorse of the Waffle House kitchen. These griddles can reach searing temperatures over 500°F. But for bacon, the cooks keep the griddle surface at a meticulously calibrated 375-400°F range.
Before laying the bacon down, the line cooks ladle out just enough water to form a thin layer across a section of the griddle’s surface. As the water hits the ripping hot steel, it instantly begins sizzling and releasing vapor.
The bacon slices are then carefully laid out in the water layer in an evenly spaced single layer. This water vapor gently renders and bastes the bacon as it cooks. The pork fat is slowly released, creating that signature crispy, evenly cooked bacon texture.
But it’s not a set-it-and-forget-it process. The bacon has to be frequently basted with the rendered fat and juices, and flipped and repositioned as it progressively crisps up.
Timing is also critical. Overcooking for even 30 seconds can result in burnt, dried out bacon. The cooks use decades of experience, meticulously tracking the subtle color, aroma and sizzling changes to knew exactly when to pull the bacon to that perfect crisp-but-not-burnt level.
Once it’s cooked through, the bacon is transferred to a raised wire rack, allowing excess grease to drizzle off while it retains just enough rich pork fat to impart that signature Waffle House bacon flavor.
It’s an exhaustively honed and replicated process across all Waffle House locations to ensure a consistent, craveable bacon experience in every bite.