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International Bacon Day is an unofficial holiday that takes place on the first Saturday of September. But we think bacon deserves more — hence,  InsideHook’s Bacon Week, a collection of stories old and new celebrating salt-cured pork (and in some cases, non-pork or even non-meat) in all its sizzling glory. 

You won’t find the best bacon at your local supermarket or even at your local butcher shop. For more variety, better cuts and some truly fascinating bacon alternatives (lamb bacon, anyone?) we suggest heading online and trying out a few of these thick-cut, farm-fresh bacon purveyors.

Below, the 10 best places to buy bacon online:

(And when it arrives on your doorstep, remember you should be baking your bacon, not frying it.)

For our money, this is the single best place to buy bacon online. The difference with Porter Road? Transparency about where each cut of meat comes from, a lack of middlemen (Porter Road owns their slaughterhouse and distribution center) and working exclusively with local farmers. The guys process all the meat in Kentucky, then hand-cut every piece at their Nashville shop. Their thick-cut bacon is pasture raised and free of hormones or antibiotics.  

This carnivore-friendly subscription service has a strict adherence to 100% grass-fed beef — but for bacon fans, it’s ButcherBox’s frequent “free bacon for life” offer that might keep you coming back (essentially, they throw in some artisanal bacon with each box you order).

“Bland bacon sucks.” That’s a pretty solid sales pitch from Tender Belly, a Denver-based pork purveyor that doesn’t add water to its meat; their process is simply rubbing pork bellies with freshly ground spices, letting it marinate for a few days, and then slow smoke ’em with cherry or apple wood. Note: You’ll have more luck finding this in stores than ordering online (the link below will show you who carries the brand).

For the pork equivalent of Kobe beef — Kurobuta — bacon fans can turn to a family-owned business founded in Idaho in 1968 that uses only 100% purebred Berkshire hogs. That means their bacon is culled from pigs raised without hormones before being smoked and cured to its salty-sweet ideal.

Get your freak on, indeed. This bacon seller offers wet-cured, dry-cured, uncured, and no-nitrate bacon varieties, some fascinating flavor profiles (sriracha honey bacon, apple cinnamon bacon, etc.), several bacon-of-the-month package deals and actual bacon candy. 

Members of this legendary Ann Arbor deli’s Bacon Club get a monthly delivery of 12-16 ounces of artisanal bacon that’s supposedly brought seven vegetarians back from the dark side. Available in 3-, 6- and 12-month subscriptions. 

The best bacon for drinks? Besides offering a wide-ranging Bacon of the Month bundle, these butchers also offer up individual packages of Chile Margarita, Vanilla Bourbon and Bloody Mary Flavored bacon.

Bacon isn’t just about pigs. This regenerative pasture-based farm in Indiana offers up a hardwood smoked lamb bacon cured with celery juice powder and sea salt.

You can find dozens of meat purveyors and famous restaurant bacon selections at this online marketplace, but focus your attention on Peter Luger; once a secret menu item, these thick-cut slabs are a highlight of this iconic Brooklyn steakhouse.

Heritage breed pork, humanely raised without crates and fed a 100% vegetarian diet, and previously only sold to high-end restaurants. Baker’s also specializes in hard-to-find cuts — including uncured back bacon chops and sous vide slab bacon.  

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