We sell two applewood smoked bacon lines, both thick cut and both slow smoked over real applewood: America’s Best Uncured Bacon in 2.25 lb or 12 oz packages, and America’s Best Dry Cured Bacon in 12 oz packages. This page compares the two, tells you which is in stock, and explains what applewood smoking means on a label.
Order the uncured line, in stock as of this writing, or check availability on the dry cured line, which sells out. Both ship frozen with dry ice from the bacon category.
- Our two applewood smoked bacons compared
- What applewood smoked means
- Real wood smoke vs smoke flavor on a label
- How to cook and store it
- Questions people ask
Our two applewood smoked bacon lines compared
| America’s Best Uncured Bacon | America’s Best Dry Cured Bacon | |
|---|---|---|
| Smoke | Slow smoked over real applewood | Dry cured and smoked over real applewood chips |
| Cure | Water, salt, turbinado sugar, celery powder (uncured) | Brown sugar, salt, black pepper, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite (dry cured) |
| Slice | Thick cut | Thick cut |
| Packs | 2 or 3 x 2.25 lb, or 6 or 8 x 12 oz | 6 or 8 x 12 oz |
| Hogs | Heritage Duroc, raised on family farms, crate free, antibiotic free, vegetarian fed | |
| Stock (September 2026) | In stock | Out of stock; check the product page |
| Ships | Frozen with dry ice by FedEx; orders placed Tuesday to Friday arrive the following Friday, Saturday, or Sunday | |
Every row is from the two product pages and our shipping page. The lines differ in the cure, not the smoke; we explained the cure difference in what dry cured bacon is and the slice in thick cut bacon.
What applewood smoked bacon means
Bacon starts as the cured belly of a hog; that is USDA’s definition on its bacon and food safety page. After the cure, most bacon is smoked, and the wood is where the smoke flavor comes from.
Applewood is wood from apple trees. “Applewood smoked” on our pages means the bacon was smoked over that wood; our process page describes traditional curing methods, hand crafted rubs, wood smoking, and bacon smoked for over 22 hours.
We chose apple wood for its flavor, and we do not rank it against hickory or any other wood, because we have not run that test. What we can say is what the label says: real wood, named.
Real wood smoke vs smoke flavor on a label
Two things can put “smoke” on a bacon label. One is time in a smokehouse over burning wood. The other is a smoke flavoring added to the cure, which shows up in the ingredient statement as “smoke flavor” or “natural smoke flavor.”
A smoke flavor ingredient does not by itself prove the bacon skipped the smokehouse, and a flavor name on the front does not by itself prove it went in. The producer’s own process statement is the line that settles it, and ours reads “slow smoked over real applewood.” Neither of our cure lists includes a smoke flavoring.
We compared several brands, ours included, on that process line in best bacon brands.
How to cook and store applewood smoked bacon
The same three ways USDA lists for any bacon: a skillet, the oven, or the microwave. Cook it completely; USDA notes that bacon cooked crisp has reached a safe temperature, and that the time depends on the thickness, the heat, and how crisp you want it. For a whole pack, our bacon in the oven method uses a foil lined pan at 400°F.
Storage is USDA’s bacon table: 7 days in the refrigerator and 4 months in the freezer for bacon, 3 weeks and 6 months for bacon cured without nitrites, 4 weeks in the refrigerator for dry cured sliced bacon, and 4 to 5 days for cooked bacon. Follow the package date.
Shipping is the same for both: orders placed Tuesday through Friday ship to arrive the following Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, packed frozen with dry ice, left at the door with no signature, and holiday weeks can shift that, per our shipping page. Put the box in the fridge or freezer the day it arrives.
Which line to pick? The uncured line is the one to order today, in the pack size that fits your freezer; the dry cured line is the one to watch for if you want a rubbed on cure with black pepper in it. Both lines arrive frozen; thaw a pack in the refrigerator, and for ways to use it, read the artisanal bacon experience.
Questions people ask about applewood smoked bacon
What is the difference between applewood smoked bacon and regular bacon?
The wood, or whether wood was used at all. Applewood bacon was smoked over apple wood; other bacon may be smoked over another wood or made with a smoke flavoring. The producer’s process statement tells you which.
What is smoked applewood bacon?
The same thing with the words in a different order: cured pork belly smoked over apple wood.
Is applewood bacon healthy?
We do not make health claims. The wood changes the flavor, not the cut, the salt, or the fat. Read the ingredient statement and the nutrition panel on any pack.
Which brand of applewood bacon is best?
We do not rank brands. Our best bacon brands comparison lists several applewood houses, ours included, with what each says about its smoke and cure.
Two lines, one wood. Applewood smoked bacon is the only kind we make, uncured or dry cured, and both start with Heritage Duroc pork raised crate free on Iowa family farms.
Order the uncured line, or check availability on the dry cured line. Both ship frozen from the farm shop.