Bacon - Streaky Bacon


Strips of Bacon

When we say just "bacon" in the United States, this sliced product is what we mean. It is pork belly, salt cured, smoked and sliced. It may be "thick sliced" or "regular", but even thick sliced is rather thin. In my opinion, it's too thin for many recipe uses. On the other hand, sliced is essential for a lot of other recipes - though I'd generally still recommend the "thick sliced". Typically, slices are 10-1/2 inches long, 2 inches wide and 0.12 inch thick (thick sliced). Flavor, thickness and leanness vary considerably with brand, so find one you like.

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Slab Bacon


Bacon Slab and Strip This is simply regular bacon before slicing. It's generally a deli product of special quality and somewhat higher price. The photo specimen was purchased from the deli department of a large multi-ethnic market in Los Angeles for US $6.19 / pound, compared to the regular specimen above purchased from a discount market at $4.65 / pound. It was 8 inches long and 2 inches thick at the thick end.

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Ends and Pieces


Pile of Bacon Pieces Unfortunately, pigs are not perfectly rectangular, so producing those trays of thin uniform slices involves a lot of trimming at the edges. These trimmings are packaged and sold through some markets. They tend to be sliced a lot thicker and usually are leaner than sliced bacon. This is the way I buy nearly all my bacon, because I use it mostly in recipes where sliced is really too thin. I buy Bar-M brand (produced by Serve-Rite Meat Co in Los Angeles) which has excellent smoky flavor.

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Buying:

  In the United States (and much of Canada), sliced bacon will be found in just about any market that sells any meat at all. Slab bacon will be found in the deli department of most markets that have a full service deli. Ends and pieces will be found in many markets that sell meat, but by no means all. Quality varies by manufacturer.

Storage:

  Vacuum packed bacon will keep a month at least. Once opened it will probably start to mold within a week or so, sooner if not wrapped air tight. If there's just a little blue-green mold, it can be scraped off. If it's orange mold, discard the bacon.

Prep:

  Cut to the size you want.

Cooking:

  Sliced bacon is generally fried, preferably in a little bacon fat or lard. For best flavor it should be fried only partially crisp. Fast food outfits fry theirs all crisp because it is then eternal like cardboard and easy to handle, but it tastes kind of like cardboard too.

Subst:

  Bacon is the only real substitute for bacon, but in some recipes where it doesn't play a major roll, Canadian bacon or ham can be used. If you're Muslim or an observant Jew, your best bet is conversion to a different religion.

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