Alton Brown Hilariously Jokes About 'Leftover Bacon'

Homer Simpson once said, "Pork chops and bacon are my two favorite animals" (via Royal Bacon Society). Who could blame him? Pork — specifically bacon — is one of those foods that wields the power to add a little magic to other foods. You can add it to a plate of eggs for a nice protein combo. You can slap it on a cheeseburger or chicken sandwich for some extra texture and saltiness. You can also wrap your asparagus with it or chop it in bits and mix it in your mashed potatoes. And of course, you can eat it all by itself.

American television personality and food show presenter Alton Brown is also a big fan of the good ol' bacon. He shared his recipe for Scrap Iron Chef's Bacon and for Blue Cheese Bacon Devils on Horseback online on the Food Network and another for Lacquered Bacon on his own website. He's also shared bacon-cooking tips on his Twitter, including one about roasting bacon.

Needless to say, the man loves bacon, but there was one Tweet in particular about leftover bacon that drew a lot of attention from fans.

Brown Tweeted a simple question: "Could someone help me with a culinary question: what is "leftover bacon"?" The question was a joke, of course, but it apparently went right over the first respondent's head. @Throwerguy gave his straightforward explanation for what leftover bacon is, to which Brown replied, "I don't understand."

The implication, of course, can be summed up with a simple question: How can anyone not finish their bacon? Another fan picked up what Brown meant and said that he'd also never heard of leftover bacon. "Why wouldn't you eat all your bacon?" he commented. A third chimed in and responded to @Throwerguy's literal explanation of leftover bacon. "Nope math doesn't check out. Bacon is never left over," he replied. @ServeThe901 joked that the only type of leftover bacon is turkey bacon.

The original post has been retweeted more than 3,200 times and been viewed more than 5 million times, with many others agreeing that bacon should never be "left over." Although Brown meant his question as a joke, he does have a point; how full do you have to be to not eat all of your bacon?