Bacon and chocolate are an unforgiving junk food pair. You need to get so much exactly right: the ratio of bacon/chocolate, the texture of the bacon, the bitterness of the chocolate, etc. If you fail in any of these areas, the critics (me) will never let you work in this town again.
Trader Joe’s rarely lets me down, and even when they do, I know they gave it their all. It was with these hopeful thoughts that I tried their new Uncured Bacon Ganache Bar. The packaging promises “dark chocolate ganache, pieces of uncured bacon, and a hint of smoked salt.” This did nothing to assuage my worries, though. Ganache is basically just Hershey’s syrup, and I don’t know why the “uncured” aspect of the bacon is a selling point. As a general rule, I like cures. They keep people from dying and they make great music. You can see why I was skeptical. Nevertheless, I dove in.
This is a complex and delicious chocolate bar. It’s not too dark or bitter, and the ganache makes it sweeter without going too sugary. I’m now understanding why they went with smoked salt, because I honestly couldn’t tell if I was getting bacon pieces or salt pieces. Instead there’s just a general smokiness to the ganache that really works. It’s surprisingly understated and nothing gets too overpowering, which is an impressive feat for something called Uncured Bacon Ganache Bar. It was EXTREMELY messy though, mainly because I eat like a monster, but also due to the ganache and delicate outer bar.
I liked this candy bar so much that I want to share it with our readers, in a segment that I will be calling The Hungry Games.
Every month, we’ll give away one product that we’re reviewing. It might be amazing, it might be terrible, but at least it’s free. This month, I’m giving away a free Trader Joe’s Uncured Bacon Ganache Bar to one lucky reader! To enter in this little contest, just leave a comment below about YOUR favorite candy bar. I’ll randomly pick a winner and announce them next week. I’ll probably only ship it within the United States, but then again who knows, maybe if you sound really hungry then I’ll pony up for extra mailing costs. THAT’S WHY THEY CALL IT THE HUNGRY GAMES, GUYS. And considering that only like three people read this blog, the odds are ever in your favor.
Average Success of Bacon and Chocolate Pairings Rating: 4.5 out of 10
Pride In Coming Up With the Term “The Hungry Games” Rating: 9 out of 10
Overall Rating: 8.5 out of 10
I’m totally winning this. WHATCHAMACALLIT.
I know for a fact that Whatchamacallit is not your favorite candy bar. Disqualified.
Hmmm. Maybe snickers? Gotta love the chocolate, peanut, caramel combo!
What about you? What’s you’re favorite?
Probably Take Five. I like as much different junk as possible to be crammed into my junk food!
I gotta give the title to Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs; truly the best way to enjoy chocolate and peanut butter. Unless, of course, we’re being picky on what counts as a candy BAR, in which case I’ll give the honors the good old Nestle Crunch bar. There’s just something about licking those chocolate ridges that’s so satisfactory. Inappropriate, but satisfactory.
Count it! What is it about the ratio of peanut butter-to-chocolate in the Reese’s Eggs that is so much friggin’ better than the original? You sold us on Nestle Crunch when you described making love to it. You’re completely right; the textures on the surface of the bar make for a really pleasant experience.