'United States of Bacon' travels to Detroit on Destination America Channel

On tonight's "United States of Bacon," episode titled "The Porker," Todd Fisher traveled to Detroit, where bacon is a staple.

First, he stopped at the "Union Wood Shop" to try all the bacon laden foods that made this place the joy it is for bacon lovers. Their famous sandwich called "The Porker" is what Todd came to try. A trifecta of porky goodness, it contains all pork and Todd even got to see what parts of the hog they use for this pork delight. They specialize in nose-to-tail butchery, and the word barbeque believed to have come from the French pirates, has been disputed as to its origin. Check here to see the various origins of the word barbeque.

The term eating "high on the hog" originated because it was thought that the meat at the top of the animal was the best, but bacon lovers know that the belly is where the best-tasting meat can be found. Co-owner Erich Lines, knows that people from Detroit love their bacon and barbeque and left fine dining to come over to a more blue-collar restaurant.

As chef, Vince Baker showed Todd, the sandwich comes from every part of the hog. They smoke their bacon over green hickory for three hours. It was ready to eat when it came from the smoker, and by the look of Todd's face, it was great. They then started making the sandwich using ground pork to make the burger, on the grill as it sizzled they added local cheddar, Vince then sliced the smoked pork sausage and laid it on top of the burger as the sliced bacon escaped from the oven and became the crowning glory. It was incredible to look at this creation in all its piggy perfection. When Todd took his first bite of the completed sandwich, he was in awe of the wonderful tastes that comingled on his palate.

Next, he went to "Jacoby's German Biergarten," the oldest bar in Detroit. Starting in 1904, when the Motor City imported Germans to work in their factories, they have been serving German food just like Oma used to make. Detroit brags that 25% of the population is in whole or part from German descent. Todd met with Wally Wolff, the owner who gave him a history lesson about "Jacoby's" as he chowed down on their famous rouladen. Todd then went into the kitchen to meet with Louise Love, the head cook who showed him how to make rouladen. Starting with the thinly sliced beef from the knuckle, and adding carrots, onions, pickles, grainy mustard and two strips of bacon. Todd then took it up a notch and added an entire blanket of bacon. It was extra thick and then to the grill where they rolled it on all sides until brown, then into the au jus and into the oven to cook a little while longer. When it was served with spaetzle and gravy, both Todd and Wally loved it. Todd asked Wally if he was adding it to the menu, and he will run it by Louise.

Next Todd went to modify the Coney Dog, so he stopped by "Zeff's Coney Island Restaurant" to up the ante on their signature dish. Todd knows that the icing would be the bacon on top of this, and that is how he had his.

The final stop was "Vinsetta Garage" that started out as a garage and became a restaurant famous for their bacon in 2011. The co-owner Curt Catallo has turned it into a tricked-out garage with an awesome menu. The "Makin' Bacon Burger" is their trademark. It starts out with Vincetta's bacon jam, made from crispy bacon, stewed onions, maple syrup, cider vinegar and coffee. This prevents the burger juices from soaking into the bun and making it soggy. Then a layer of house-made maple bacon, a layer of pancetta, an Italian bacon that is never smoked. Next, a sprinkle of house-rub made from garlic, spices and sugar, on top of that comes the burger, caramelized on the grill with a layer of cheese, and to top it off, molasses-rubbed Canadian bacon. Todd was in pig heaven when he ate that burger on his "United States of Bacon" visit to Detroit.