The Worst Thick-Cut Bacon Comes From This Classic Brand

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Thin-cut bacon is perfect for wrapping jalapeños, topping smash burgers, or shattering over fresh green salads. However, if you like bacon that's both crispy on the edges and meaty and slightly chewy on the inside, opt for thick-cut. While it does take longer to cook than thinly sliced bacon, this variety of cured pork has a heartier bite and retains moisture, making it juicier and richer with flavor. That said, you have to select a reliable brand that's guaranteed to deliver on both texture and taste. Surprisingly, the worst of this variety comes from the classic brand Oscar Mayer. Billed as "naturally hardwood smoked thick cut" on the label, this product came last in our ranking of seven thick-cut bacon brands on a technicality; it was too thin and therefore disqualified from our deliberations.

No matter whether it's thick-cut or wafer-thin, bacon is wet or dry cured with salt before it's smoked and sliced. Oscar Mayer's offering, which costs just over $7 for a 16-ounce pack, is prepared in the same way but smoked with hardwood to enhance its flavor profile. Though it had a deliciously salty and savory taste, the bacon was simply too thin after we baked it. It came out super crispy, so there was unfortunately no juicy middle nor any chewy spots to enjoy. For this reason, we deemed it ineligible and excluded it from the running.

Seeing as it wasn't the flavor but the thickness of Oscar Mayer's bacon that was disappointing, the product does have plenty of positive online reviews regarding its taste. For instance, one shopper on Walmart said, "[I]t was delicious, very crunchy, easy to bite into, good bacon flavor. Buy it and try it, you will be glad you did." Another said, "The BEST bacon.. Flavor and quality superior to others and so may have to pay a little more for this brand but it's worth it." However, there are also reviews that disagree with our finding that the bacon was too thin to be classed as thick-cut. One shopper claimed that Oscar Mayer delivered on thickness while other brands fail.

Oscar Mayer also makes a center-cut, thick-sliced bacon. However, if it's the same thickness as the hardwood variety, this product would be too thin to qualify as a bona fide thick-cut option in our taste test as well. You may also want to avoid Oscar Mayer's turkey bacon. The loser in our ranking of turkey bacon brands, this product was overwhelmingly salty and smoky. Plus, it came out thick and chewy instead of crisp and crunchy after cooking.