Bacon, there’s no denying it’s delicious on just about everything (especially things involving cheese!)  So, after a little research, I decided to take on the challenge of making my own.

I found this great video tutorial, which I used to guide me through the process.

Here’s a summary of the steps involved and some snapshots from my process:

1. Pick up a pork belly from your local butcher. Ask them to leave the skin on the pork belly. This helps develop the flavor, and you can cut it off after it’s smoked.

2. Cut the pork belly into manageable chunks so each chunk can fit in its own big Ziploc bag. Add the spices and sugar/salt rub to the pork belly and then put the pork into the Ziploc bags. Set the bags in a cool area. (I used my garage in the winter. This is ideal because the temperature doesn’t change too much.) If you have an outside fridge that isn’t opened that often that would work, too.

3. Mid-week, move the bag around to make sure the sauce has been created (the salt extracting liquid from the pork belly mixing with the spices) and is fully covering the pork-belly. 

4. Take the pork belly out of the bags, rinse off, and allow it to dry for 24 hours. You can let it sit on an oven rack (but make sure no one turns on the oven!) The above photo is what it looks like after drying for 24 hours.

5. Smoke the pork belly in a smoker according to the directions, but make adjustments based on the size of pork belly you buy.

6. Cut off the skin once the pork belly has cooled.

7. Use a slicer to slice up the bacon.

Would you take on this challenge at home? It was a lot of work, but absolutely delicious!

By Mary

A new Tillamook advertising campaign will begin airing in Los Angeles and San Francisco today. The campaign, called “California meets Tillamook” depicts a road-trip taken by two familiar characters from Oregon, Luke and Dale, as they travel throughout California in a Tillamook Baby Loaf Bus introducing the cheese that hails from their home state of Oregon. Check out the commercials below to meet Luke and Dale as they share their love of the loaf with California!

Dear Moguls
Luke and Dale always want to lend a helping hand. Here they give some friendly, sage advice on how Hollywood can make better movies.

Golden Gate
After watching this spot, you’ll want to sample Tillamook Cheese…and possibly the Golden Gate Bridge.

Road Trip Song
Every great road trip — sponsored by a cheese company from Tillamook, Oregon — deserves its own song.

Sasquatch
Oregon and California have many, many things in common. One is that both love great cheese.

Why The Ship
Luke and Dale tell the history of Tillamook Cheese. Why? Because we actually have one.

9 Months Old, Cypress
Luke and Dale know everything about cheese. Trees on the other hand…

State Cracker
Tillamook Cheese goes with all your favorite foods…even if they’re not officially endorsed by the state.

By Mary

Luke and Dale are back at it again to share the cheese that hails from their home state of Oregon with the great people of Texas.

Check out the spots below!

Texas, your everyday foods and everyday recipes deserve the very best cheese, Tillamook Cheese. Only the best for Texas.

Not all cheddars are equal or alike. Some, like Tillamook Cheddar, are far, far better.

Look for Tillamook Cheese on the cheese aisle. But…please, don’t drive to it.

If you can’t find our Shredded Tillamook Cheddar, shred it yourself! It’s fun!

Much like a majestic Texas Live Oak, our sharp Tillamook Cheddar is naturally aged — unlike processed cheese.

By Mary

 
April is National Grilled Cheese Month! To give the grilled cheese sandwich the respect and honor it deserves, Tillamook invited our friends, employees, chef partners, blogger friends and fans to join us for the inaugural Tillamook Grilled Cheese Recipepalooza.

Each day during the month of April we shared a new grilled cheese recipe from one of our contributors in the Loaf Life Blog, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Today, we are excited to share a compilation of these recipes and more in our first ever the Tillamook Grilled Cheese Recipepalooza digital cookbook!

Please share, download, cook and most of all – enjoy!

Happy grilling from your friends at Tillamook!

By Mary

“Come by for a taste of your childhood. Unless your childhood sucked, then we’ll share a taste of ours.”

This is the message that hangs over the NEW Grilled Cheese Grill that is located in Portland, Oregon in the food cart pod on SW 10^th and Alder.

This is now the third location in Portland that you can get Matt Breslow’s delicious grilled cheese sandwiches. Other Grilled Cheese Grill locations include: the double-decker bus on SE 28^th/Ankeny, and the original school bus location on SE 11^th and Alberta. If you’re not in Portland, don’t fret! You can recreate the famous Grilled Cheese Grill sandwiches at home. Visit Tillamook Kitchen for recipes, grilled cheese tips and tricks and more on Portland’s premier grilled cheese hot spot.

I stopped by the new location this week to check out the new location. I ordered the sandwich-of-the-day that was made with Tillamook Medium Cheddar Cheese, bacon, and apples. It was crispy, gooey and delicious.

By Mary

I think the Tillamook Baby Loaf Bus is starting to get comfortable in Texas!

When people think of a production shoot – whether it is for a TV show, movie or commercial, most people think of a sprawling set, large studio, lots of staff running around, props, styling sessions and demanding actors. Well I’m here to tell you that the production of the Tillamook meets Texas TV campaign was nothing like an ordinary production shoot! We wanted to keep things as simple as possible. The goal was to introduce Tillamook Cheese to Texans and capture the authentic interactions they have with people on camera.

With a small crew, a Tillamook Baby Loaf Bus, and a lot of Tillamook Cheese on hand the characters Luke and Dale traveled around Texas introducing Tillamook Cheese to Texans. They visited farmers markets, BBQ restaurants, car shows, a hat shop, iconic landmarks and fields, homes and cities in between! The locations were real, the people were real and we had a really great time bringing this campaign to life! Here are a few of my favorite moments from the shoot.

Watch all six spots in the Tillamook meets Texas campaign here. Enjoy!

With the beautiful Austin skyline in the background, Luke and Dale outline their mission of bringing tasty Tillamook Cheese to the people of Texas on camera.

This is the crew! You have a director, a sound technician, a camera operator and a few others onset that are making sure the commercial comes to life.

By Mary

Hosting an Academy Awards party this Sunday? Check out these websites for ideas on how you can throw a party deserving of an Oscar!

Consider offering appetizers that are related to the films nominated for Best Picture. Epicurious has some great inspiration!

What would your favorite actors drink? Consider hosting a cocktail party in their honor with these recipes from Gourmet Magazine.

Let your guests eat what they wish and when they wish throughout the night by offering a build-your-own taco bar, grilled cheese sandwich bar, or pizza bar. Here are some of my favorite recipes that can inspire what you include on your bar:

• Dipping Quesadilla
• Carne Asada Tacos
• The Kelsey
• Oven Roasted Fennel Sausage Pizza

Photo: Dave_B_/Flickr (Creative Commons)

By Mary

How will you celebrate this momentous occasion?  There are so many ways to indulge, where does a cheese-loving fan even begin?

• Make your favorite grilled cheese sandwich. Check out the Tillamook Kitchen for inspiration.

• Take a stab at winning free cheese by scoring at least 100 points on the Tillamook Know Your Cheese Game.

• Visit the Tillamook Cheese Factory!

• Send your friends a Tillamook Cheese’wich! Check my dog, Porter, out in the Cheese’wich above!

• Host a wine and cheese party for your friends! Click here for tips and tricks for pairing Tillamook Cheese with wines.

How are YOU going to celebrate National Cheese Lover’s Day?!

~Mary of the Tillamook Team

By Mary

I’ve been hearing about The Oaks Gourmet for years now. Not only is ‘Oaks’ (as locals call it) a friendly hang out in the West Hollywood area of Los Angeles, but Oaks has been emerging as a leader in the art of the ‘Grilled Cheese Night’ for years. Every Wednesday night Oaks hosts a grilled cheese night that draws a crowd anxious to sample some of the new grilled cheese creations coming out of their kitchen. The Oaks Gourmet has been open since 2009. This small, neighborhood market serves high quality, delicious food as well as unique beer, wine, cheeses and snacks for purchase.

When the Oaks agreed to partner with Tillamook to appear on the Tillamook Kitchen everyone at Tillamook cheered loudly! We’ve been following their food, and rise in popularity, for years. Even more exciting, I was able to tag along for the shoot at the restaurant!

Chef Greg, hard at work preparing a delicious Tillamook inspired dish!

Owner Greg Morris and Chef Greg put on quite a show throughout the day preparing dish after dish made with Tillamook Cheese. I wish smell-o-vision existed so fans at home could share in the delicious aromas coming out of that kitchen! One of my favorite dishes was the short rib melt, made with Tillamook Vintage White Medium Cheddar. This sandwich is a perfect combination of slow braised short ribs, and gooey cheese on a crusty sourdough roll dipped in au jus sauce. OH MY! You can view the recipe here and make it at home!

Short Rib Melt

Be sure to visit the Tillamook Kitchen to meet the owner and chef behind The Oaks Gourmet, and the tricks and tips that have made them one of LA’s top spots for grilled cheese!

You can follow The Oaks Gourmet on Twitter and Facebook.

~ Mary of the Tillamook Team

By Mary

This week we’re announcing the release of our new line of light yogurts that are naturally sweetened with Truvia® sweetener. To make the best tasting, highest quality light yogurt Tillamook spent two years perfecting the recipe made with NO artificial growth hormones*, NO artificial flavors, NO artificial colors, NO artificial sweeteners and NO high fructose corn syrup. Tillamook is the first light yogurt on the market that is naturally sweetened with Truvia® sweetener and other natural sugar substitutes.

Truvia® sweetener, which is born from the stevia plant, was featured yesterday in a Wall Street Journal article. Tillamook was highlighted in the article for its innovative use of Truvia® sweetener as an ingredient in its light yogurt. “We know we’re not a Yoplait or a Dannon, but we wanted to have a great light yogurt. So we said let’s not use anything artificial,” Jay Allison, Tillamook vice president of sales and marketing.

Tillamook Light Yogurt comes in 6-oz. yogurt cups and contain only 110 calories per serving, 35 percent less than regular low fat yogurt. The full line consists of Oregon Strawberry, Vanilla Bean, Marionberry, Raspberry, Peach, Mountain Huckleberry, Northwest Berry Patch, Pomegranate Blackberry, Lemon Squeeze and Dark Cherry.

Tillamook Light Yogurt will be on shelf at major grocery stores in Oregon and Washington throughout the next few months. Stay tuned to Tillamook.com, and the Loaf Life Blog, for updates on when you can find Tillamook Light Yogurt in additional states at a grocery store near you.

* The FDA has stated that no significant difference has been shown between milk derived from rBST treated and non-rBST treated cows.

**Neilsen period ending 9/3/11.

Truvia ® and the Truvia ® Logo are licensed trademarks of The Truvia Company LLC.

By Mary