Jim,

>To the best of my knowledge, preservative free bacon is simply not
>available locally, so I am hoping that soaking will be a significant step
>to "paleoizing" :)  the bacon.

Barossa Fine Foods in Salisbury sell organic bacon that is nitrite- and
sugar-free. I can buy it at a couple of places locally in Stirling, and BFF
also have a stall in the Central Market that would probably have it.

The ingredients for the bacon are:
pork, salt, emulsifier (?450), spices, water added.

It still contains some undesirable ingredients, but I think it's probably
better than the regular stuff.

Barbara