Two men are on a mission to bring the likes of candied bacon and high-quality charcuterie to the citizens of Miami. Their new venture, Miami Smokers, is launching during Basel - and bacon ambassadors will be taking to the streets of Wynwood to distribute the sweet and salty pork product.
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James Bowers and Andres Barrientos of Aaron's Catering are launching this "urban smokehouse," designed to bring carefully cured meats to the masses. The duo first served up the tantalizing treat during a pop-up brunch at Egg & Dart this past summer, and the response was so overwhelming that they decided to launch a side business.
They hope to set up a permanent spot in a Wynwood storefront early next year, but in the meantime, they'll be hard at work distributing their products to local businesses and restaurants.
As far as the candied bacon goes, they'll have two types. One will be sourced from Florida pork belly and cured with local woods like orange and guava. The other, a high-quality heritage breed source, will undergo a more traditional curing process.
"It takes 30 days to cure it. We use salts and spices and smoke it for 24 hours with applewood and some other hard woods," Bowers says. "We're trying to stay with using local products in our community, that whole ideology."
In addition to the candied bacon, they plan to roll out a line of charcuterie products: cured meats, sausages, etc.
The duo is also behind the Basel Biergarten popping up at The Factory Art Fair next week. And yes, they'll have the pork product on hand.
Bowers said the candied bacon is so delicious, he can't even keep any at home - or it'll get gobbled up in no time.
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