(Photo: Hans Gissinger)

Ham It Up
One of New York’s greatest food advantages is the presence of skilled, trained-by-apprenticeship butchers in every neighborhood. Here, and starting on page 62, we show some of their handiwork, along with their preferred cooking methods. Pictured, bacon made from Schaller & Weber’s hickory-smoked pork. Head cutter Conrad Krische advises ordering it cut thick—a quarter of an inch—and cooking it in a frying pan over medium heat, which achieves a crispy edge and a tender, chewy center. It’s the use of hickory pork, rather than apple pork, that gives its bacon the edge. “The best piece will taste smoky and salty, not sweet,” he says. (One pound of smoked slab bacon, $6.99; 1654 Second Ave., nr. 86th St.; 212-879-3047.)