Junk Food Nation, I am about to put another pork shoulder into my crockpot to slow cook for 24 hours.  Gonna dry rub it this time and dry cook it, with no added liquid.  Nom nom.  While I was preparing this pork, I began thinking about my love of pork, and it reminded me of this debate I’ve had with my friends – what meat is best?  Yes, I know its silly, but these are the friends that I have.  We talk about girls, sports, beer….and meat.  And we debate what meat is best.

Now it’s a tough question. What do I mean by “what meat is best?” Best single cut of meat? Category of meat? Best quality? Usually when we discuss it, we pose it this way: if you could only eat one category of meat your entire life, excluding all the rest, what would it be?  And for me, the answer is simple: PORK.  And the reason is simple: VERSATILITY.

Think about it.  Sure, poultry has chicken, duck, goose, etc.  And you can have different cuts of beef, and hamburgers.  And seafood is an entire ocean of possibilities.  But to me, nothing can compare to the numerous and wonderfully awesome ways that pork is prepared.  It’s in all my favorite dishes, and by itself is one of my favorite things to snack on.

Let’s rattle them off:

1) BACON.  Are you kidding me?  We are living in a culture that LOVES bacon.  Could I live the REST OF MY LIFE without bacon? Quite frankly, NO.  And I wouldn’t want to!  That bacon smoky taste infuses and improves anything it touches.  Sandwiches.  Burgers. Pastas. Soups.  Even ice creams and chocolates. Bacon and other smoked PORK BELLY is the food of the gods.

2) SAUSAGE.  Um, yes please.  Sausage is my breakfast and bagel necessity.  I need a nice salty sage-infused sausage with my toast, my pizza, my pastas, my eggs, my maple syrup.  That minced combo of meat is just what the doctor ordered.  The flavor doctor, that is.

3) PEPPERONI.  Does this even need a reason?  I’m one of those who likes to go to the store and get pepperoni in those little pouches, and then munch on tiny slices all day long.  Whenever I’m at a reception, my little plastic plate always has blocks of cheese and pepperoni on it.  And pepperoni is a MUST on my pizza.  An always, automatic, permanent topping.

More after the jump.  I celebration of my love of pork, today’s junk food is Popcorn, Indiana Bacon Ranch Popcorn!

My love of Popcorn, Indiana is well documented.  But ever since I reviewed their amazing chocolate popcorns and Chip’ins, I received a few messages that, quite bluntly, stated, “You need to try Popcorn, Indiana’s Bacon Ranch Popcorn!!!” Alright alright, guys – you win.  I finally found this variety at my local Walgreens.

I must say, I love the look of these bags that Popcorn, Indiana uses and that hasn’t changed with the Popcorn, Indiana Bacon Ranch Popcorn. The contrast of green and red is quite lovely.

The look of these popped kernels of bacon ranch popcorn is very mouthwatering.  Looks like they are loaded with ranchy flavor.  Although I think they could’ve replaced “crispy” or “crunchy” with “BACONY.”

Yeah, who DID know, Popcorn, Indiana?  I imagine you have execs who sit around dreaming up flavors.  Well, whoever thought of Popcorn, Indiana Bacon Ranch Popcorn deserves stock options.  I’d never SEEN this flavor on any other chip/cracker/snack food before, so I’m really interested to see how this tastes.

It IS a little disconcerting that this Popcorn, Indiana Bacon Ranch Popcorn doesn’t have bacon as a listed ingredient…but I trust you, Popcorn, Indiana.  You’ve never failed me before.

Popcorn, Indiana Bacon Ranch Popcorn looks as advertised on the bag – speckled with green and orange bits that remind me of ranch dressing while tinged with brown burnt edges that make me think of the smokiness that only comes from bacon.

The open bagged smelled SLIGHTLY of smokiness.  No a real distinct bacon smell, nor ranch smell.  Just smokiness.  Time to munch…

…and Boom goes the tastiness.  But I don’t want to just turn this into a Popcorn, Indiana Bacon Ranch Popcorn love-fest.  Let me be as objective as I can be:

The popcorn: Like many packaged popcorns, this didn’t have the same crunch and pop as freshly popped popcorn.  Still, the crispness was there and no staleness was tasted in any of the kernels.  The popped corn was light and fluffy and pleasant to the tooth.

The ranch flavor: REALLY good.  NOT overpowering and not too sour – sometimes ranch snacks have a tendency to be a little TOO tangy for my taste, but this was just right.  Not too sweet, not too sour, not too buttery and not too salty.  All in all, just a good ranch flavor that coated every bite.

Cheese flavor: Part of the reason why the ranch flavor was so balanced is because there was a bit of underlying cheese flavor to the popcorn.  There were times when this popcorn DID taste a little bit more like a flavored cheese popcorn, but I didn’t mind that.  But yes, the creaminess of cheese was deifitely noticeable.

Bacon flavor: This was a tough one.  There was definite smoky flavor throughout every bite.  And there was a porky aftertaste that lingered….but I didn’t get bacon taste while chewing, per se.  It was more like “Hint of Bacon” or “Smoked Ranch flavor with Hint of Bacon.”  Did I expect more bacon taste? Yes, I did.  That being said, I like how all the flavors worked with each other.

All in all a great snack.  I like the Chip’ins better, but I could eat this Popcorn, Indiana Bacon Ranch Popcorn any day of the week.  You know I love ya, P, I.

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More pork discussion….GO!

4) SALAMI.  My favorite sub at Subway is the Italian – because it’s just bread with slices of sandwich peperoni and salami.  A salty thin sliced treat.  I’m drooling.

5) PORK TENDERLOIN.  Juicy and I’d like to rub it all over my body.

6) PORK CHOPS. You can cook these a hundred different ways, and that bone gives it great flavor.

7) PULLED PORK. Um, have you MET me? Sometimes I’ll be walking down the street and not realize that I’m somehow chewing on some delicious pulled pork at that very moment.  Especially if it’s North Carolina vinegar style.

8 ) HAM and PROSCIUTTO and PANCETTA. Just more kindle for my fire of porky love.

9) AL PASTOR.  One of my favorite ways to have pork – slow roasted on a spit with pineapple juice breaking down the fat.  Insert Homer simpson noise here.

10) I haven’t even MENTIONED FATBACK, PORK MEATBALLS, SOUPS, CONFITS….all of it is scrumptious.

So that’s my spiel. What say YOU, Junk Food Nation?  What meat is best?  I’m listening….but if you’ll excuse me, I have to go check on my pork.

Remarks? Hit me in the comments below or hit me on Twitter @junkfoodguy or on my Facebook Page.

Sincerely, Junk Food Guy