The different types of bacon
There’s not much that compares to a piece of perfectly crisp, fresh bacon. Piled up for breakfast, stacked in a BLT, stirred through pasta… bacon makes almost everything better.
Originally, bacon was made to preserve meat for sustenance during the winter months. Today, curing meats to preserve it for later isn’t necessary, but it’s so delicious that we continue to do so.
How is bacon made?
Traditionally, pork cuts were preserved in salt and ash to cure the meat, then eventually smoked and stored in cellars.
Nowadays, bacon is cured with a salt, sugar and nitrate mix. The nitrate gives it its pink colour. Other spices and flavouring may be added, including black pepper, maple syrup or paprika. Then it may be smoked or a liquid smoke applied to give it extra flavour.
There are different types of bacon, and these types depend on which cut of the pork the bacon comes from. Here’s a breakdown of the most common types of bacon.
Steaky Bacon:
Also referred to as side bacon, this cut comes from the belly or side of the pig. This is the fattiest part of the pig, and streaky bacon is distinctively different from other cuts because of its ‘streaky’ layers of fat.
Because of its high fat-to-meat ratio, it is very tasty, easier to get crisp and it shrinks when cooked as the fat renders away.
Back Bacon:
This type of bacon comes from the back of the pig. It’s a much leaner, round piece of bacon which usually doesn’t have a rind attached. It is the leanest type of bacon, with only a thin layer of fat which can be removed.
This type of cut is more popular with health conscious people who still want to enjoy the flavour of bacon. As there is much less fat content, it doesn’t shrink as much.
Middle Cut Bacon:
This is a combination of both the shortcut and streaky bacon. The large, lean ‘eye’ comes from the back of the pig, and the skinnier ‘tail’ is from the side or belly of the pig.
When preparing for a crowd, this cut of bacon is the best of both worlds, where those partial to streaky bacon can have their fill and those who prefer shortcut bacon don’t miss out.
UK PREMIUM STREAKY BACON (200G)
UK PREMIUM BACK BACON (200G)
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Aussie Meat is The Australian Meat Brand. We deliver Michelin Star-quality Meat, Ocean-catch Seafood, Wine and BBQ Grills across Hong Kong, 5 days per week. Owned and operated by Australians, we deliver finest quality meat which is grass fed, organic, naturally farmed, hormone and antibiotic free meat and ocean-catch seafood from Australian, New Zealand and global farmers jet fresh to your home or office. We understand the value in giving back, our Eat For Charity Program #eat4charityhk donates 5% of our profits towards HK charities.