Bacon
Bacon is any of certain cuts of meat taken from the sides, back or belly of a pig, cured and possibly smoked. There also exist imitations of bacon made of other meats: "turkey bacon", "beef bacon", etc. Bacon is generally considered a breakfast food, cut into thin slices before being fried or grilled. It is also a commonly used ingredient in other cooking, valued both as a source of fat and for its flavour.
A side of unsliced bacon is a flitch or slab bacon, while an individual slice of bacon is a rasher (UK, Ireland and Australia) or simply a slice (North America). Traditionally, the skin is left on the cut and is known as bacon rind. Rindless bacon, however, is quite common. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, bacon comes in a wide variety of cuts and flavours whilst bacon in North America is predominantly what is known as "streaky bacon", or "streaky rashers" in the UK and Ireland. Bacon made from the meat on the back of the pig is referred to as back rashers and is part of traditional British and Irish breakfasts.
In recent years in North America, pre-cooked bacon, which can be heated in the microwave for a few seconds and then eaten, has become a popular alternative to traditional bacon. Pre-cooked bacon, under USDA definition, is bacon which has been cooked to a finished yield of 40% or less. In other words, if 1 pound of raw bacon is cooked to 0.4 pounds or less, then it may be labeled as fully cooked bacon. Most pre-cooked bacon is considered shelf-stable (may be stored safely at room temperature) because the water activity is low enough to prevent the outgrowth of pathogenic organisms.
There also exists a product called "Turkey Bacon", which is made from turkey, and is typically more lean than traditional pork bacon. New Zealand's Tegal chicken company has also launched a lean "Chicken Bacon", which is cured smoked chicken that tastes similar to bacon, but has significantly less fat and sodium.
Cuts of bacon
Rashers or slices differ depending where they are cut from:
- Streaky bacon comes from the belly of a pig. It is very fatty with long veins of fat running parallel to the rind. This is the most common form of bacon in the United States. Pancetta is Italian streaky bacon, smoked or green (unsmoked), with a strong flavour.
- Back bacon comes from the loin in the middle of the back of the pig. It is a lean meaty cut of bacon, with relatively less fat compared to other cuts. Most bacon consumed in the United Kingdom is back bacon.
- Middle bacon is much like back bacon but is cheaper and somewhat fattier.
Bacon joints include:
- Collar bacon is taken from the back of a pig near the head.
- Hock, from the front leg
- Gammon, from the hind leg, traditionally "Wiltshire cured" and rolled into a joint. Boiled bacon and cabbage, a traditional Irish recipe, uses a gammon joint.
Back Bacon, or Canadian Bacon
Back bacon is a lean meaty cut of bacon.
"Canadian bacon" is a term used in the United States and Canada, but with differing meanings. In the United States it refers to any lean meaty cut of bacon, but in Canada, "Canadian bacon" refers to a specific variety of unsmoked lean bacon that has been sweet pickle-cured and coated in yellow cornmeal, which is also known as "peameal bacon".
Cooking with bacon
| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 1,918 kJ (458 kcal) | ||||||||||
0.7 g | |||||||||||
45 g | |||||||||||
| Saturated | 15 g | ||||||||||
| Monounsaturated | 20 g | ||||||||||
| Polyunsaturated | 5 g | ||||||||||
12 g | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Other constituents | Quantity | ||||||||||
| Water | 40 g | ||||||||||
| †Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults,[1] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies.[2] | |||||||||||
The classic use of bacon is of being fried for the full English breakfast or similar dishes. The heat melts some of the fat from white parts of the rasher, which therefore shrinks and curls somewhat. This reduces contact with the pan, so the cook has to be present to frequently press the rashers against the pan and move them around. This problem is more apparent with back bacon rashers, which have their white meat round the edge, which then curls upwards away from the heat of the pan. To overcome this problem, the rashers can be placed into ice cold water for a couple of minutes, drained, and dried before cooking.
For the bacon to be browned and crispy rather than chewy, cooks can flip back bacon rashers as they curl away from the heat. Alternatively, one can hold the rashers down using handled iron weights called bacon crispers.
Frying in oil alone will do the job, but browning can be accelerated by using half oil and half butter. The butter browns and adds colour and flavour.
Grilling has none of these problems, as the heat does not come from surface contact. In fact, the white edges of back bacon curl toward the overhead flame, and fat drips off the rasher, thereby increasing the crispiness.
Baking has none of these problems either. Baking at 375-400 degrees Fahrenheit in the oven for 20 minutes will cook thin slices.
One can also place the bacon between several paper towels on a plate in a microwave oven. Some of the fat comes off the bacon, most of which is collected in the paper towels. The bacon cooks quickly and is done evenly.
Fat has pros and cons: some people limit their fat intake for nutritional reasons, although fat is extremely satiating and an excellent nutrient carrier. Fat-sensitive diners may simply pour away the surplus melted fat, or mop it off rashers with paper towels. Nevertheless, much of the flavour comes from the fat. Fresh mushrooms are very absorbent, and soak up melted bacon fat flavour that would otherwise be lost. Sliced mushrooms have more area to help absorption and cooking. Tinned mushrooms are inferior, as they are already saturated with weak brine. Bread may be fried in the bacon fat; black pudding is another absorbent and high-calorie accompaniment.
Bacon is often used with low-fat meats such as turkey or game birds. A rasher or two of bacon can be placed over a roasting bird, and the melting bacon fat helps baste the bird without human assistance. Note the rasher will leave a relatively pale stripe underneath it, so it can be tucked under the skin of the bird. Small birds such as quail can be well wrapped in a single rasher.
Bacon rashers are often added to hamburgers and cheeseburgers. Bacon works well with bison burgers, especially if the bison burger is fried in the bacon grease, which helps in keeping the burger from getting too dry while adding a complementary flavour to the meat. Rashers are also popular in sandwiches; a sandwich with bacon, lettuce and tomato is popularly called a BLT, while hot bacon in bread or a roll (often served with brown sauce or tomato ketchup) is often called a bacon butty.
See also
References
- ^ United States Food and Drug Administration (2024). "Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels". FDA. Archived from the original on 2024-03-27. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
- ^ National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Food and Nutrition Board; Committee to Review the Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium (2019). Oria, Maria; Harrison, Meghan; Stallings, Virginia A. (eds.). Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium. The National Academies Collection: Reports funded by National Institutes of Health. Washington, DC: National Academies Press (US). ISBN 978-0-309-48834-1. PMID 30844154. Archived from the original on 2024-05-09. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
External links
- Cooking For Engineers - Cooking Tests: Bacon (Part I) | (Part II)
- About.com- History of Bacon Part III
- Tegal Chicken's Chicken Bacon product information
