Bringing the Bacon

How Chef Blake and Nueske’s Elevated Azzip’s Pizzas

Chef Blake Kollker knows his way around a pork belly. He can spot quality bacon from a mile away—and that love for the perfect pork bite even extends to his vanity license plate, which is bacon-themed. For years, Chef Blake has relied on Nueske’s Bacon in his high-end restaurant kitchens, including during his tenure as Executive Chef at the Evansville Country Club.

When Brad and Chef Blake began crafting the Azzip Pizza menu back in 2012, it was no surprise that Blake’s bacon of choice was Nueske’s. But while Nueske’s is renowned for its quality, the premium price of their product made it tough to justify for Azzip’s pizza toppings.

That’s when Chef Blake got creative. Instead of using the traditional sliced bacon, he requested the “pieces”—all the leftover trim that doesn’t make it into the bacon packages you see on store shelves. For Azzip, they were perfect. These bacon pieces brought all the smoky goodness and flavor you expect from their sliced bacon. What mattered most, however, was the unmistakable, bold taste of Nueske’s that can only come from smoking the bacon for up to 24 hours over Applewood logs. That’s the kind of flavor that would set Azzip’s pizzas apart.

But the journey doesn’t stop there. We take this premium Nueske’s product and roast it fresh in-house at every Azzip location. Each batch of bacon is carefully roasted to bring out even more of that deep, smoky flavor while achieving the ideal crispiness. Roasting the bacon in-house allows us to control the cooking process, ensuring every piece reaches the perfect balance of texture and taste. By roasting it ourselves, we can elevate the already exceptional flavor of Nueske’s and lock in that savory, mouth-watering bite you experience when it’s sprinkled over your pizza.

Once roasted to crispy perfection, the bacon is chopped and ready to top any pizza of your choice. Whether it’s adding that irresistible crunch to our traditional pizzas or enhancing one of our bold, specialty pizzas, every bite of bacon brings a layer of flavor that’s hard to beat.

So, why Nueske’s? For over 90 years, this family-owned company has been doing things the right way. Founded during the Great Depression, Nueske’s has always been committed to quality. They avoid fillers and excess water in their products, which allows the natural flavors of the pork and smoke to shine through. Nueske’s prides itself on their careful process, from selecting premium pork to their patient smoking method. “We load our smokehouses carefully, grouping product according to weight and size. With the perfect blend of time and temperature, our meats are slowly smoked over glowing embers of sweet Applewood,” they explain.

The result is bacon that’s rich, smoky, and flavorful—the kind that you can’t forget after the first bite. That’s why, at Azzip, we don’t settle for anything less. Every crispy, savory bacon topping on your pizza comes from a partnership rooted in a shared passion for quality, flavor, and creativity. And that’s something worth savoring.

So next time you’re enjoying a pizza at Azzip, know that every piece of bacon has gone through a journey—from Nueske’s time-honored smokehouses to our in-house roasting process—all to bring you a flavor that’s second to none.