Country Meat Shop Round Bacon
Country Meat Shop's award-winning round bacon
 
Mark Reynolds, owner and operator of Moberly, Missouri’s Country Meat Shop, won the 2017 American Association of Meat Processors (AAMP) Best of Show with his Round Bacon. The product joined the extensive list of products and awards Reynolds and the Country Meat Shop have compiled over the years.

A spinoff of the shop’s traditional bacon, Reynolds says its Round Bacon just goes through a tumbling process to extract the protein before being stuffed into a net and going through the same cook cycle as the regular bacon. Mainly a show product right now, Reynolds does see the Round Bacon becoming a more regular offering soon.

“It’s something I think we’re going to start promoting a lot more in the future here,” Reynolds says.

Country Meat Shop owner Mark Reynolds receives the Best of Show trophy for his round bacon.
Country Meat Shop owner Mark Reynolds receives Best of Show trophy for his round bacon.
 

The same traits that give the product its unique look and case appeal also make the product challenging to cook. Unlike a traditional flat bacon, when a round bacon is cooked in a skillet it will cone, making it more difficult to get an even, good cook. But with the product’s recent success, Reynolds and the team will put more into making it regularly available to loyal customers.

“I think now that we have won with it it’s something we’re going to start promoting and just working on marketing and educating the consumers on how to cook the bacon,” Reynolds says.

He adds that the Round Bacon will appeal to health-conscious consumers looking for a leaner product. “I think it’s something that they’re going to take ahold of and as long as we educate them on how to go through the cooking process whether it be microwave or oven or use a bacon press, I think it’s something that we’ll start selling a lot of product from.”