America’s Best Bacon is Made in Eastern Iowa

Like a great lover, something about this bacon touched my soul."

Those words come from Scott Gold, the man known as America's Bacon Critic, and he's talking about bacon made right here in Iowa.

The winner is Vande Rose Farms from Iowa Falls in east central Iowa. According to their website, they use Duroc pork, known for its "juiciness, tenderness, and flavor."

America's Bacon Critic clearly LOVES it. Here's more of what he had to say about Vande Rose Farms Applewood-Smoked Artisan Dry-Cured Bacon:

Whether you fry it in a skillet or bake it in the oven, one taste will make your eyes reflexively close as you take a deep sigh of amazement and appreciation and think, “Now THIS is bacon"... That’s your best bacon in the United States. It’s a supremely beautiful product that will delight and dazzle anyone who tries it.

Now, that's what you call an endorsement.

Iowa really SHOULD be number one for bacon. According to Ag Web, Iowa pork exports total more than $4 billion per year. That's more than double our closest competitor, which is Illinois, so we should know a thing or two about bacon. Vande Rose Farms clearly does.

According to the Vande Rose Farms website, their pork is available through private clubs, as well as gourmet retailers and high-end restaurants. It's time to hunt some down because any bacon that touches your soul... well, that's some bacon you've gotta try.

[via Extra Crispy, Vande Rose Farms, and Ag Web]