Who doesn’t love bacon? It is juicy, flavorful and crispy with a versatile complement like eggs, burger, chicken breast and so on. And actually, there are tons of types of bacon and we picked 15 of them to introduce to you. Let’s dive in!
Table of Contents
How Is Bacon Made?
Traditionally, Bacon is primarily pork belly or loin (sometimes other parts or other meat like beef) rubbed with salt and spices for a week, then dried and smoked.
But it is quite different when it comes to mass production. The mass-produced bacon is cured with salt, sugar, sodium nitrate and antioxidants. After that, the bacon producers will dry and smoke the meat.
Sometimes, the bacon is uncured, unsmoked, or not adding sugar or nitrates, and some high quality bacon is smoked over real wood.
15 Types of Bacon
There are numerous types of bacon according to different factors. For example, where the cut of meat is sourced in the animal, what animal meat or ingredient is it made of, how it is processed etc.
► Read More: 20 Pork Cuts Must to Learn (American Cutting Diagram)
1. Streaky Bacon / Belly Bacon
Streaky Bacon is one of the most common types of bacon you can find in nearly every shop. It may be simply labeled as Bacon. And sometimes it is called American Bacon, or Side Bacon which indicates the fact that it originates from the side (or belly) of the pig.
Since Streaky Bacon is obtained from the belly of pork where it is one of the fattiest parts, it is rich in fat. Also, it has parallel layers of fat that form a streak pattern, thus it got the name. It tastes incredibly mouth-watering and crispy after searing thanks to the wealth of fat.
2. Slab Bacon
Slab Bacon is actually a whole smoked pork belly (it is rubbed with salt and sugar before smoking) which is the source of bacon strips. Having Slab Bacon, you could slice it whatever you want: bacon cubes, bacon strips, thick bacon, thin bacon, or any types you prefer.
3. Jowl Bacon
Jowl Bacon comes from a small part of the meat of the pig’s cheek. This is the most all-round cut of bacon since it possesses all the desirable features. Jowl Bacon is delightfully rich and tender with a perfect meat and fat ratio. When it is cooked, the fat melts and creates an amazing fat essence which makes it crispy and bold in flavor.
4. Back Bacon
Back Bacon comes from pork loin. The pork loin is the middle back of pigs which is a leaner part with a mild flavor. Due to the leanness, it is meatier with a higher meat to fat ratio. This also leads to a chewier and thicker texture. Back bacon is more common in the United Kingdom and Canada.
5. Ham Bacon
Ham Bacon is taken from the back leg of a pig where the muscles exercise much. Therefore, it is packed with flavor but the texture is rather firm. Familiarly, the producers use this part of pork for ham but some of them treat it as bacon. Thus, here is the ham bacon you can opt for other than the standard streaky bacon. The Back Bacon and Ham Bacon are the leanest types of bacon.
6. Thick-cut Bacon
Thick-cut Bacon is generally the thicker version of Streaky Bacon if it is not stated specifically. In most cases, the thick-cut bacon is 50% thicker than the regular bacon. And in order to stand out from the millions of bacon shops, some of them produced various types with different thickness such as double-cut and triple-thick-cut.
The thicker the bacon, the less crispy the texture. This is because the thickness makes meat more difficult to be dehydrated and so it maintains the fairly chewy texture. If you prefer the meatier bite, Thick-cut Bacon could satisfy you.
7. Sugar-Free Bacon
These years, more and more people tend to eat less sugar due to health reasons. And here it is, the Sugar-Free Bacon. When making the ordinary bacon, the producers will add salt and sugar plus other additives. But they withdraw sugar for some bacons so if you eat on a ketogenic diet or Atkins diet, this is tailor-made for you.
8. Canadian Bacon
Canadian Bacon is actually a kind of back bacon from Toronto. In Canada, it is simply called “Back Bacon”. This type of bacon is a thick cylindrical slice of bacon that is cured and sometimes smoked. Since it comes from pork loin, it is lean with a soft texture and a sweet note. Typically, Canadian Bacon is fully cooked and ready to eat for sale.
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9. Pancetta (Italian Bacon)
Pancetta is an Italian version of bacon which is made from pork belly. It is cured by salt and pepper, then the producers will curl in a tight roll and wrap it with a casing to maintain the shape. Making Pancetta does not involve smoking. The red meat and white fat layers make the cross-section look like a lollipop when it is rolled. Pancetta has a unique rich flavor that is different from ordinary bacon.
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10. Lardon (French Bacon)
Lardon, or Lardoon, is bacon strips or cubes with ⅜ inches (about 1 cm) wide. The French Chefs always use it to flavor foods since it tastes salty and rich in fat. For instance, making tartes flambées and beef bourguignon use Lardon to add an extra kick of flavor. Lardon has a higher content of fat than that of American Bacon, plus it is thick, it comes with a crispy and a tender mouthfeel at the same time.
11. Beef Bacon
Beef Bacon is, obviously, bacon made of beef. It is usually meat from the plate of cattle which is the source of short ribs, hanger steak and skirt steak. The plate is fairly fatty and hence it is suitable to produce bacon. It has the robust beefy flavor that pork bacon does not have.
12. Turkey Bacon
If you do not eat pork, or if you are looking for a healthier type of bacon, Turkey Bacon is your choice. It is turkey meat and prepared in the bacon way. Turkey bacon is lean and low in calories which is a great alternative to pork bacon.
13. Duck Bacon
Duck Bacon is also an excellent substitute for pork bacon apart from Turkey Bacon. It has only half the fat of pork bacon but is flavorful and juicy as well.
14. Vegetarian Bacon
Vegetarian Bacon, also known as Veggie Bacon or Vacon, is bacon made from veg that is typically low-fat and cholesterol-free but high in protein and fiber. The common ingredients to make Vegetarian Bacon are coconut, tempeh, shiitake mushrooms, seitan and more.
15. By Wood
We can classify various types of bacon depending on the wood of smoking. The smoked bacon tastes subtly different according to the wood, each of them has their own characteristic.
For example, Hickory smoking wood creates a pungent smoke but adds a strong taste to the meat. And another popular wood for bacon—Applewood has a mild flavor which delivers a fruity note to bacon. Additionally, Cherry wood is mildly sweet with a fruity flavor that matches all meats. If you have a keen tongue, remember to pay extra attention to the wood of smoking.
Can Bacon Go Bad?
Yes! Although bacon is cured, it does have a shelf life. Generally, bacon can be stored for 2 weeks in the refrigerator or frozen for 8 months in the freezer. However, if you open the package, its shelf life is shortened to 1 week in the refrigerator and 6 months in the freezer. And the cooked bacon can last for 3-4 days in the refrigerator and around 1 month in the freezer. Different types of bacon have different shelf life and do read the expiration date on the package.
To know if it goes bad, check the color, smell and texture. Under normal circumstances, the bacon is in a natural pink hue. If it is brown or gray, or even has a green and blue tinge or mold spot, it is rotten, don’t eat it! Fresh Bacon has a natural meaty smell with a bit of savory salty-smell, if it smells like sour or fishy, it is deteriorated. Other than that, the bacon with an abnormal slimy texture is a sign of going rancid, toss it immediately.
Is Bacon Healthy? Is it Protein?
Bacon is made from pork belly or other parts of pork (or other meat of animals) which contains the same rich nutrition of the animal meat. It is protein-rich as well as having a great amount of vitamins and minerals.
Moreover, although bacon contains quite a great deal of fat, it is fairly beneficial. This is because half of them is monounsaturated fat and mostly is oleic acid. They are the major composition of the health benefits of olive oil which help reduce blood pressure and level of “bad” cholesterol.
However, there are some concerns about the health due to the production process.
Since curing bacon requires a lot of salt, it has a great content of salt. Overdosing salty food in the long term may raise blood pressure and the risk of getting stomach cancer.
In addition, the producers usually add nitrates or nitrites. After high heat cooking, it will become nitrosamines which are carcinogenic. So avoid high temperature cooking for bacon. And luckily, some shops do have the nitrates- or nitrites- free bacon.
So is bacon healthy? umm…this may be arguable. But enjoying occasionally is not a big problem, just bear in mind that don’t overdose! Eating too much of any food is not healthy.
How to Cook Bacon?
Low-middle heat is the name of the game for bacon. This melts the fat and creates a crispy but not burnt texture. Here are the 3 ways to cook bacon.
1. Pan Fry
Start cooking in a cold cast iron pan. Lay the bacon on a cold pan and turn on low-middle heat, the fat will melt soon. Next, flip the bacon when it starts to curl. And keep flipping regularly for even cooking until it reaches your preferred crispness. Finally, absorb the excessive oil with a paper towel. If you are going to pan fry more bacon, pour the oil aside in order to prevent too greasy.
2. Oven Bake
Oven baking bacon has no fuss. First, preheat the oven at 400°F (205°C). Then, place the bacon on a baking tray lined with aluminum foil. Bake for 15-20 minutes according to the thickness. Likewise, absorb oil with paper towels.
3. Microwave
Microwaving is the easiest way but the result is less crispy. To do so, place some paper towels on a plate and put the bacon on it. And microwave on high for a minute, cook for an extra 30 seconds if necessary until it is hot. After that, transfer the bacon to a plate, otherwise it will stick on the paper towel when it cools down.
How to Get Rid of Bacon Grease?
Never throw the bacon grease down the drain. Trust me, you will never want to deal with a clogged pipe.
If you just pan-fried the bacon, pour the grease into an unuseful container and throw it like regular trash. It’s better to wait until it cools down and becomes a solid fat, and so it will not leak out.
And if you oven bake or microwave on foil or paper towel, just simply wait until the fats solidify and then throw the foil or paper towel into the trash can.
Summary
So now you know these 15 types of bacon thoroughly. Each of them has their features and it’s not difficult to fit for the different needs of your whole family. Choose the bacon you are interested in and cook for the next breakfast!
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