Know Your Bacon – Lesson 1

Some basic “classifications” of bacon that you should know:

Canadian bacon: Oval-shaped cut from pork loin; looks like ham; lean, cured, lightly smoked; called “back bacon” in Canada.

Country-style bacon: Can refer to any thick-sliced bacon; can also be salty, cured, heavily smoked bacon from the same hogs as country hams.

Jowl bacon: Typically a Southern variety cut from pork cheek; cured and smoked like regular bacon, but contains more fat.

Pancetta: Dry-cured pork belly, typically not smoked; often from Italy, but also made in the U.S.; usually rolled and sliced quite thin.

Streaky bacon: British term for typical American supermarket bacon.

Salt pork: Mostly fat, with a little lean, from cured pork belly; not smoked; sometimes called “streak o’ lean;” used mostly for flavoring.

Source: “The Bacon Cookbook” by James Villas (Wiley, $35)