Move over bacon, there's a new crispy, smoky meat at the Iowa State Fair and it's called Schmacon. It's a trademarked name. And a real product. Bold and beefy, Schmacon is a fresh take on bacon. The smoked and cured glazed beef slices are made from whole muscle beef and a proprietary spice blend and cure recipe, which creates a unique sweet and smoky flavor.

BACON, SCHMACON: New at the 2014 Iowa State Fair, the Cattlemen's Beef Quarters restaurant will serve their "fresh take on bacon" as a part of a pancake breakfast.

The Cattlemen's Beef Quarters food stand, operated by the Iowa Cattlemen's Association and the Iowa Beef Industry Council, has added Schmacon to its all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast plate for the 2014 Iowa State Fair. "We are always looking for new and unique beef items," says John Mortimer, manager of the Cattlemen's Beef Quarters. "The combination of beef's popularity and the flavor and texture that's so well loved in bacon makes Schmacon the perfect fit for our breakfast menu."

A new beef alternative to bacon that's lower in calories
Created by Schmaltz Products, LLC, an Illinois company, Schmacon is a new beef alternative to bacon that touts being lower in calories, fat and sodium than most pork bacons. It is currently available for restaurants to purchase. The company plans to have it in grocery stores by the end of 2014. Fareway Stores have indicated they will sell the new beef product when it becomes available.

Breakfast is served daily at the Cattlemen's Beef Quarters from 7 a.m. until 10 a.m. Patrons will have two choices for breakfast: all-you-can-eat pancakes, scrambled eggs and Schmacon or biscuits and gravy served over country-fried steak. The lunch and dinner menu is available from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m.

The Cattlemen's Beef Quarters boasts an exclusively all-beef menu including Prime Rib dinners, roast beef sandwiches, ribeye steak sandwiches, taco salads, third-pound hamburgers and is the home of the original Hot Beef Sundae.

Cattlemen's Beef Quarters is celebrating its 30^th year
Operated by Beef Promotions of Iowa, Inc., the Cattlemen's Beef Quarters is managed by John Mortimer of Dallas Center. Sixty-eight County Cattlemen's Associations in Iowa bring over 1,200 beef industry volunteers to prepare and serve beef during the Iowa State Fair. The Cattlemen's Beef Quarters has been serving beef at the Iowa State Fair for 30 years.

Producer-directed and consumer-focused, the Iowa Beef Industry Council is funded by the $1-per-head beef checkoff. Checkoff dollars are invested in beef promotion, consumer information, research, industry information and foreign market development, all with the purpose of strengthening beef demand.  For more information, visit www.iabeef.org.