Click HERE to head back to the main post about Meat Madness and view the entire bracket.

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Update: Voting on these two match-ups is now closed.  #1 seed Bacon crushed #8 seed Pork Chops 90% – 10%.   In a minor upset, #5 Pulled Pork easily brushed aside #4 Ham 68% – 32%.

In the first Meat Madness vote yesterday, Steak defeated Roast Beef in a landslide, 88% to 12%.  Buffalo just barely edged out Veal by 13 votes, 52% to 48%.

For today’s match-up, we venture into the Pork region.  #1 seed Bacon takes on #8 seed Pork Chops, while #4 seed Ham takes on #5 seed Pulled Pork.  Polls will be open for the next 24 hours, so get your votes in.  Feel free to use the comment sections to explain your vote or argue for who you think should win.

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[poll id=”28″]

ham-v-pulled-pork

[poll id=”29″]

26 Responses

  1. Sean

    2008 was the year of BACON. I expect bacon to make its way to at least the final four, with a good chance of taking it all.

    Reply
  2. Meghan

    Bacon takes the cake on all accounts! Fast, versatile, crunchy and completely ridiculous, it’s clearly the meat of the gods and thus the obvious winner.

    Reply
  3. Mike

    Ham vs. Pulled pork was an agonizing decision… but in the end, if i could only have one for the rest of my life, i’d take ham. a well done spiral ham can be eaten on its own, or you can thin-slice it for a sandwich, it can be added to soups to ratchet up the flavor.. and its’ lean enough not to weigh you down… but god, i do love a good pulled pork. what a choice.

    Reply
  4. KC

    There is no food better than bacon..none. It’s a shame it’s not a healthy food for you. My doctor is appalled that I eat it at least five days a week. Can’t live without it! I’m a bacon addict.

    Reply
  5. shatraw

    there’s so much love for bacon right now. i’m expecting a bacon backlash in the final four. i mean, it’s great, don’t get me wrong, but it’s kind of a one-note meat and think about how often it’s used to compliment the flavor of other food items, rather than stand on it’s own. after all, one can have a steak or a chop, one does not sit down to main course portion of bacon.

    unless, of course, it’s as part of the baconator. or that bacon grill log monstrosity that i’m SO making this summer.

    Reply
  6. Youppi

    my thinking exactly, shatraw. sure, bacon will make it to the final four. it HAS to, but up against, say, Steak or Turkey or Chicken, how can you choose it as the superior meat? Look, Bacon is probably my favorite food, but just because it’s MY favorite, doesn’t mean it’s the best.

    It should get to the final four though.

    Also, I’m all FOR Pulled Pork, and am thrilled at the support it’s getting!

    Reply
  7. Pocket Bacon

    Bacon is the food that makes all other foods better. Therefore bacon is better. Can you honestly say that you could add a pork chop or pulled pork to a steak or a chocolate bar and make a thing of beauty. No. Bacon is the source of all culinary wonder and it deserves recognition.

    I even made an iPhone app called PocketBacon so you can take your bacon everywhere with you. Bacon SHALL PREVAIL!

    Reply
  8. Skiff

    I voted for Ham because it has gravy. There is no “pulled pork gravy,” and Ham gravy is delicious.

    Wait, we can’t vote for any of this. Did you know that pigs raised for slaughter eat SLOP? SLOP! You should see their living conditions. Won’t you think of Wilbur? This is inhumane! I’m going to go eat a chicken sandwich.

    Reply
  9. HeH8Me

    Bacon is meat candy. Like other posters said, bacon makes everything better and is the ultimate meat. Pigs dream of becoming bacon, it’s the pinnacle of their existence to become porky smoked goodness.

    Reply
  10. Raiders757

    Hard to pick between bacon and pork chops. I love them both, but in th eend, bacon is a treat I can’t live without.

    The next choice wa seasy. Pulled pork destroys ham if it’s done the right way. Pulled pork should make it into the final four.

    It’ll be Steak, Shrimp, Chicken, and Pulled Pork in the final four. That’ my prediction.

    Reply
  11. Raiders757

    Skiff, ham doesn’t have gravy. Ham is what it is, ham. We’re not voting on condiments here, and tha’t what gravy pretty much is.

    That’s like saying I voted ofr pulled pork because it has BBQ sauce. A good batch smoked pulled pork destroys ham any day of the week, and I say that living in one of the ham capitals of the world.

    Reply
  12. Skiff

    Well, Raiders757, I think that you’re picking nits and I can vote however I like, especially since its all f-in’ pig anyway.

    I personally enjoy pig prepared as ham more than pig prepared as pulled pork (much like how I enjoy cows prepared as veal more than cows prepared any other way) part of that reason is because ham is often accompanied by gravy, which i enjoy quite a bit, whereas pulled pork is not.

    If next year there’s a condiment bracket, I’ll make sure I don’t vote on whether I like one condiment more than another based on how much I like the foods that condiment goes for.

    Reply
  13. DAVE ID

    If Pulled Pork wasn’t leading I would have screamed UNAMERICAN and I’m Canadian 🙂

    I’ve had Pulled Pork all over the US… it’s one of the best southern meat preps. ever

    Reply
  14. Miles

    Sausage will trump bacon in the end. Bacon is nothing more than a stringy salt-lick. It’s good, but not THAT good. Bacon goes well on burgers et. al because it stands in line and does not get in the way. Try throwing a sausage on a burger….the meats will have to compete for the alpha taste. Sausage is a strong, hefty, flavorful meat. Bacon will go down. You’ll see.

    Reply
  15. Sara DowntoEarth

    What fun! I plugged the tournemanet on my blog.

    I’ve read that bacon is the number one craving that lures vegetarians back to meat. But can it beat out a good steak?

    Reply
  16. Nate

    Bacon definitely wins this bracket. But ham vs pulled pork is a hard one. If I had a dish of sliced ham versus a dish of pulled pork in front of me, which would I take first, take more of, and go back for more?

    In the end, it’s pulled pork for me.

    Reply
  17. Raiders757

    I meant no offense Skiff. Of course vote any way you’ld like. I was just pointing out that it seemed as if you voted for ham only because of the gravy. My bad.

    Ham is served many different ways, just as is pulled pork. To be exact, I have seen pulled pork with gravy, and it looked pretty darn good.

    Don’t get me wrong, I love ham. Hard not to when one lives not far from Smithfield, Va.

    Country Ham(aka salted ham) biscuits = one happy fella.

    Reply
  18. Brendan Clarkson

    can we please stop wasting time discussing other parts of the pig? Bacon is the future, and we need to look forward, comrades

    Reply

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