Oh. My. God. I have discovered lardons!

Lardons are not, as you might expect, something you get when you are inordinately excited by pork products. They're little chunks of raw bacon. Fried, they are somewhat larger and a thousand times more delicious than what we think of as bacon bits.

Everything -- EVERYTHING -- is better with lardons. They make terrific pasta carbonara, they're lovely with home fries (hash browns to my fellow Southerners) or sprinkled over mashed potatoes. Or salad. Or in sandwiches.

Go! Buy lardons (religion permitting)!

Go! Buy lardons (religion permitting)!

this made me laugh! I've never heard of lardons, but I'll have to search for them now! 

(on another note, My recent food discovery: Dipping a wispa into a cup of tea- OMG!!)

(on another note, My recent food discovery: Dipping a wispa into a cup of tea- OMG!!)

That sounds heavenly and deadly at the same time.  Wispa is my favorite!

I think the lardons would have been better in my clam chowder than the bacon...but alas I could not find them when I needed them.......also tinned clams were very hard to find....only at Waitrose.....

Never tried a wispa dipped in my tea but hey I am game to try anything......thanks for the tip!!!!!!

Never tried a wispa dipped in my tea but hey I am game to try anything......thanks for the tip!!!!!!

seriously. the chocolate just oozes into your mouth. Mmmmm. Almost as good as what I'm now expecting from lardons!

Try taking a penquin and nibble the ends off of opposite ends and then stick one end into a cup of coffee and suck like a staw..then pop the whole thing in your mouth and munch!!

Try taking a penquin and nibble the ends off of opposite ends and then stick one end into a cup of coffee and suck like a staw..then pop the whole thing in your mouth and munch!!

I was just about to post this!

I think the lardons would have been better in my clam chowder than the bacon...but alas I could not find them when I needed them.......also tinned clams were very hard to find....only at Waitrose.....

Never tried a wispa dipped in my tea but hey I am game to try anything......thanks for the tip!!!!!!

We got tinned clams from Morrison's at the weekend, John West brand. Thought they were a bit expensive but we just picked up a can for some chowder.

I will certainly be looking for lardons. They sound dangerously yummy! 

Try taking a penquin and nibble the ends off of opposite ends and then stick one end into a cup of coffee and suck like a staw..then pop the whole thing in your mouth and munch!!

I will definitely be trying this too.

Lardons rock.

Aren't lardons basically cut up bacon? Or have I really been missing something?

Jeez, pengi, is there some reason you are incapable of appreciating THE MIRACLE OF CUT-UP BACON???

I suspect they're off-cuts or by-products of regular production. They're just the perfect size to a) lightly grease up a frying pan before putting in the more delicate ingredients and b) finish with absolute optimum ratio of chewy to crunchy.

Jeez, pengi, is there some reason you are incapable of appreciating THE MIRACLE OF CUT-UP BACON???

I suspect they're off-cuts or by-products of regular production. They're just the perfect size to a) lightly grease up a frying pan before putting in the more delicate ingredients and b) finish with absolute optimum ratio of chewy to crunchy.

Lol. No I can I just didn't know I was really missing something.

We got tinned clams from Morrison's at the weekend, John West brand. Thought they were a bit expensive but we just picked up a can for some chowder.

They used to have them at my Tesco, but last time I looked they were gone.  Wahh.

I also use lardons for clam chowder because I am lazy. 

I also use lardons for clam chowder because I am lazy

I would call it efficient.