The delectable smell of a slice of bacon wafting up in the morning air throughout the house can wake everyone up and make them hungry. In a sizzling skillet or a lined baking tray, the rich fat gets rendered by frying the delightful strips in its own fat turning them extra crispy. The crispy, salty and juicy slice of heaven might tick off all the high calories, high fat and high sodium boxes but that doesn’t stop it from being the world’s favourite breakfast.
In Denmark, there are more pigs than people! Being the largest consumer of bacon in the world, Denmark meets its demand with over 5000 pig farms housing millions of pigs spread throughout the country.
The History of Bacon
The origin of bacon can be traced back to 3500 years ago in ancient China where the pork belly was salted to preserve it for eating the rest of the year. The term for bacon comes from the old Germanic word “bak” which quite literally meant back. Over the thousands of years of languages in Europe, the word developed into “bacun” in modern French.
How Bacon is Made
Pork belly itself is high in fat and flavourful juices which makes it a decadent delight on its own. Traditional bacon is dry-cured where a raw slab of fresh pork is rubbed with salt and seasonings. This helps develop a more complex flavour for weeks after which it is rinsed and dried. It is either hung to air dry in the cold for months or further flavoured in a low-heat smoker over applewood or hickory wood. It is now an artisanal effort to produce quality bacon that is lower in moisture and higher in flavour intensity without any flavouring or preserving chemicals.
However, most bacon today is wet-cured industrially. All the traditional curing ingredients like salt, sugar, spices, sodium nitrite and other chemicals are mixed into a brine. The slab of fresh pork is either immersed to soak in the brine or injected with it. The flavour is sealed by long and slow smoking for days or weeks. Commercially, the effect is replicated with liquid smoke and a few hours in a conventional oven. It usually results in bacon that is higher in moisture but lower in flavour intensity.
Different types of Bacon
Bacon is a thinly sliced cut of salt-cured pork from several cuts of meat especially the back or the side of the pork belly is loved by all from America to China. Even though the love for bacon is the same worldwide, every nation has its preference for the perfect slice of bacon.
Streaky Bacon - American and European Bacon
American or European bacon is the popular Western style of bacon with long and thin crispy slices streaked with lots of fat. Also known as side bacon or streaky bacon, it is sliced from one side of the pork belly. The pork belly is not very thick but wide and long and layered with fat and meat which results in the streaks of meat and fat in thin and long strips.
Canadian Bacon
The thin, round discs of lean pork meat are known as back bacon in Canada. It is a distinct form of lean meat with little fat from the pork loin closer to the back of the pork behind the pig’s shoulder. It resembles ham in appearance and taste being from the same cut of meat. The pork loins are rolled tightly into a compact log, cured and smoked in a process similar to bacon.
English Bacon
English bacon, also known as Back bacon, is a leaner and meatier variant of bacon, lower in fat. It comes from the pork loin closer to the tenderloin, resulting in a juicier cut. Typically, it consists of a thin slice of mostly meat with a small strip of fat at the top. This traditional cut of bacon is a key centrepiece in a Full English Breakfast.
Chinese Bacon
The traditional Chinese Cured Pork Belly, also known as Chinese Bacon, are dark and thick slices of pork belly marinated in soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, salt and spices for over 3 days. The marinated pork belly is then hung to air dry in a cool and dry place especially in the cold winter wind of China over a few weeks. The tough slices when used in stir fries and hot pots turn into soft and tender chunks of meat and fat that elevate the dish’s flavour.
Pancetta
Pancetta is the premium Italian style of bacon. It is essentially the slab of fresh pork belly rolled up tightly into a compact log cured with salt, herbs and spices and then dried. There are also some types of pancetta which are smoked after the drying process and are known as ‘pancetta affumicato.’ It is commonly eaten raw thinly sliced with a dash of freshly ground pepper. These fine slices of pancetta are often used for paninis and antipasti. Thick-cut cubes of pancetta are rendered for their flavourful fat and tender meat for cooking a variety of Italian dishes including pasta and stews.
Everything is better with Bacon
The different varieties of bacon all over the world are unique from how they are made to how they are used. An Italian pasta dish draws out the fatty flavours of pancetta, and an American breakfast wouldn't be the same without a few slices of bacon. Breakfast, lunch or dinner, a meal is always better with a sizzling slice of bacon.
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