Now that you dare point it out, I think you’re right - you have to go hunting for decent bacon in the UK or else the default (as you might have found on your LNER journey) is something that resembles leather and may be oozing water in the form of a white gloop.
I made my own a few months back - asked the butcher for a belly to cure - and it was just marvellous even though I’d not done it before (and it’s easy). I feel like I’m just waking up to something…
Oooh I would totally make my own bacon if I had a means of smoking it, but am more than happy to settle for making peameal bacon. You should try it! I have a recipe in my more recent post. Home curing is a game changer I didn’t know I needed in my life/kitchen!
But ew— now I have the imagine of that white ooze in my head and the scent of it too 🤪
In the UK we have streaky bacon and back bacon. The latter is what you’re describing as “British” bacon. But neither is inherently more British than the other. Both can be found in most supermarkets and butchers. And we know that if we want to avoid the weepy, disappointing stuff, we have to buy the dry-cured stuff (if we can afford it). Fans of excellent bacon here get it from sources like Emmett’s (a butcher/smokehouse with an online business).
The British and American defaults for bacon are different.
It’s back bacon that you will find in a run-of-the-mill bacon sandwich or on a breakfast platter in the UK. That’s the go to bacon product here and why I (an American) call it “British bacon”.
In the US, it’s the opposite— when you say bacon you get streaky bacon. Basically one in the U.S. has heard the term “streaky bacon.” It’s just bacon.
I get all my pork products from Swaledale, but am consistently impressed (across the board) with the quality of good meat products in the UK (especially in comparison to the U.S.).
Yes, disappointing back bacon is indeed the default in those settings. It ought to be a source of national shame. Imagine being able to get a full English breakfast with Emmett’s bacon: that would be spectacular.
But what I have discovered in all of this is that Canadian peameal bacon rules them all. That it’s not more well-known outside of Canada is a shame because it’s incredible.
Loved the journey through bacon! I too have a love of all things pork. I've been lucky in finding
cottage hams at my local IGA. Not sure what they call that cut elsewhere, but that what they go by in Northeastern Ohio. Great with carrots, potatoes and cabbage. Okay, now I 'm really hungry so I better eat. Really enjoy your writing!
Now that you dare point it out, I think you’re right - you have to go hunting for decent bacon in the UK or else the default (as you might have found on your LNER journey) is something that resembles leather and may be oozing water in the form of a white gloop.
I made my own a few months back - asked the butcher for a belly to cure - and it was just marvellous even though I’d not done it before (and it’s easy). I feel like I’m just waking up to something…
Oooh I would totally make my own bacon if I had a means of smoking it, but am more than happy to settle for making peameal bacon. You should try it! I have a recipe in my more recent post. Home curing is a game changer I didn’t know I needed in my life/kitchen!
But ew— now I have the imagine of that white ooze in my head and the scent of it too 🤪
In the UK we have streaky bacon and back bacon. The latter is what you’re describing as “British” bacon. But neither is inherently more British than the other. Both can be found in most supermarkets and butchers. And we know that if we want to avoid the weepy, disappointing stuff, we have to buy the dry-cured stuff (if we can afford it). Fans of excellent bacon here get it from sources like Emmett’s (a butcher/smokehouse with an online business).
The British and American defaults for bacon are different.
It’s back bacon that you will find in a run-of-the-mill bacon sandwich or on a breakfast platter in the UK. That’s the go to bacon product here and why I (an American) call it “British bacon”.
In the US, it’s the opposite— when you say bacon you get streaky bacon. Basically one in the U.S. has heard the term “streaky bacon.” It’s just bacon.
I get all my pork products from Swaledale, but am consistently impressed (across the board) with the quality of good meat products in the UK (especially in comparison to the U.S.).
Yes, disappointing back bacon is indeed the default in those settings. It ought to be a source of national shame. Imagine being able to get a full English breakfast with Emmett’s bacon: that would be spectacular.
But what I have discovered in all of this is that Canadian peameal bacon rules them all. That it’s not more well-known outside of Canada is a shame because it’s incredible.
Loved the journey through bacon! I too have a love of all things pork. I've been lucky in finding
cottage hams at my local IGA. Not sure what they call that cut elsewhere, but that what they go by in Northeastern Ohio. Great with carrots, potatoes and cabbage. Okay, now I 'm really hungry so I better eat. Really enjoy your writing!
Thanks so much for reading and commenting. I can’t wait to make this again. It really was special and spectacular.