Which do you Prefer, BACON or CANADIAN BACON?

He He

The Canadian Bacon story

Around the turn of the last century (or as they say, "during the war years"), England had a pork shortage. They imported side bacon from Canada, smoked it and termed it "Wiltshire Sides" in England. Due to this event Canadian bacon was made famous. Over time the United States believed that Canadian bacon was smoked back bacon although true Canadian bacon is not smoked. Our Canadian product is classified by the USDA as uncooked Canadian bacon and is Canadian #1 peameal back bacon.

Peameal definition
During the war years, yellow peas were ground up into meal. Canadian bacon was rolled in this meal. This ensured better curing, shelf life and avoided bacterial problems. Over the years, this tradition was changed to cornmeal, due to the availability of corn.

What is this mysterious food product that circulates North of the 49th parallel, forever out of reach of our American bacon friends’ reach. What, exactly, is Canadian bacon?

Unfortunately, making things worse for our American friends is the fact that they have something already in their grocery departments that makes the absurd claim that it is Canadian bacon, but it’s actually something else entirely. Today, on the Republic of Bacon, we delve into this matter and try to pull out the juicy truth of it all. Follow us after the break as we tell you everything you’ve ever wanted to know about Canadian bacon.

You Call That Canadian Bacon?

First of all, the good news many of our American friends is this: the Canadian bacon that they already know as Canadian bacon, is not actually bacon (or Canadian, for that matter). Canadian bacon is more like ham than bacon. It’s pickled in a sweet mixture, it’s thicker, and when it’s fully cooked, it’s usually soft and juicy. If you were to try to crispify American’s Canadian bacon, you’d get something super dried out. (Think about what would happen if you tried to fry a Sunday ham. Not pretty.)

Some Americans do get to try something that’s closer to Canadian bacon: and that’s when they order Canadian back bacon. Regular American bacon (or as the Brits call it, streaky bacon) is made from the belly of pigs. Canadian back bacon is, well, from the back. This makes it less fatty than American bacon. I know – for some people, less fat means less flavour. But for true back bacon fans, less fat means more meat. And I don’t think I can argue with that logic.

So what is Canadian Bacon?

Canadian bacon – or the stuff we Canadians eat and that Americans don’t really eat – is called peameal bacon. It’s got a light brine on it, and it has that edge of cornmeal on it. It’s also not smoked, the way that regular bacon is. It’s basically as close to a cross between ham and bacon that you can get. While it does have a bit of a salty flavour, it is more sweet than other types of bacon. It’s also not going to get as crispy as American bacon. But that doesn’t mean it’s not delicious!
And if you read all of this you truly do love bacon :hello2: