Bacon is a beloved breakfast staple and cooking ingredient around the world. But not all bacon is created equal. While most people are familiar with American-style bacon, there are different varieties to discover. One such type is streaky bacon, popular in the UK but less common in the US. If you’re curious what exactly streaky bacon is all about, read on!
What is Streaky Bacon?
Streaky bacon comes from the belly of the pig. It contains long veins of fat running through the lean meat, which renders as it cooks to give each slice its signature marbled appearance. This streaking gives the bacon its descriptive name.
Streaky bacon is also referred to as “American-style” bacon in the UK while American bacon is called “Canadian-style”. This refers to the cut of meat not where it’s produced.
Here are some key traits of streaky bacon:
- Contains both fat and lean meat
- Long, thin slices
- Fat renders as it cooks
- Signature streaks through the meat
- Also called bacon strips
How is Streaky Bacon Made?
Streaky bacon is made using pork belly through a process of curing and smoking:
-
Curing – Pork belly is cured for up to a week in a mixture of salts, sugars, and preservatives. This firms up the meat, adds flavor, and preserves it.
-
Smoking – Many streaky bacons are smoked after curing, This infuses flavor and gives the meat its classic reddish-pink tint
-
Slicing – Once cured and smoked, the pork belly is sliced into long thin strips to produce streaky bacon slices ready for cooking.
The exact process may vary between producers, but generally follows this basic curing and smoking method before being cut into slices.
Popular Uses for Streaky Bacon
This fatty, flavorful bacon variety lends itself well to:
-
Wrapping – The thin, pliable slices easily wrap around foods like sausages, shrimp, chicken, and more.
-
Laying – Drape streaky bacon over proteins or veggies before roasting for added moisture, flavor and crunch.
-
Chopping – Diced streaky bacon is the perfect crunchy, salty addition to recipes like potatoes, pasta, Brussels sprouts and mac and cheese.
-
Snacking – Crispy cooked streaky bacon slices are delicious eaten on their own!
Thanks to its high fat content and crisp texture when cooked, streaky bacon can elevate almost any dish.
Streaky Bacon vs. Other Bacon Types
How does streaky bacon compare to other popular bacon varieties?
Streaky Bacon
- From pork belly
- Contains fat and lean
- Long, thin slices
- Best for wrapping, chopping
American Bacon
- From pork belly
- Thicker slices, less streaky
- Higher meat-to-fat ratio
Canadian Bacon
- From pork loin
- Very lean
- Thicker, round slices
- Similar to ham
Irish/Back Bacon
- From pork loin
- Lean
- Flat slices
- More like ham
So while streaky and American-style share the same cut, streaky is fattier with characteristic marbling. Canadian and Irish are both leaner pork loin bacon.
Buying and Cooking Streaky Bacon
When shopping for streaky bacon, look for:
- Good marbling of fat
- Meat that isn’t too dry or tough
- Even, thin slices
- Reputable producer
To cook, either pan-fry over medium heat, or bake on a wire rack at 400°F for 12-20 minutes until desired crispness. Drain excess fat after cooking.
Is Streaky Bacon Healthy?
Like most pork products, streaky bacon is high in saturated fat and sodium. The nitrates used to cure most bacon may also carry health risks when consumed in excess.
However, as part of a balanced diet, streaky bacon can be enjoyed in moderation. Opt for high-quality, minimally processed varieties when possible.
Creative Uses for Streaky Bacon
Beyond breakfast and burgers, consider these tasty ways to enjoy streaky bacon:
- Bacon jam
- Candied bacon
- Bacon salt
- Bacon fat for cooking
- Baked potato topping
- Bacon mac and cheese
- Bacon wrapped chicken
- Carbonara pasta
- Bacon meatballs
- Clams casino
- Bacon sushi
With its versatile flavor, the possibilities are endless!
Streaky Bacon FAQs
Here are answers to some common questions about this fabulous bacon:
Is streaky bacon the same as American bacon?
- Not exactly. American bacon also comes from the belly, but usually has less marbling than traditional streaky.
Why is it called streaky?
- The long streaks of fat running through the meat give it this descriptive name.
Is streaky bacon crispy?
- When cooked properly, yes streaky bacon becomes deliciously crispy!
What’s the difference between streaky and back bacon?
- Streaky comes from the fatty belly while back bacon comes from leaner loin meat.
Should I boil or fry streaky bacon?
- Frying is best to render the fat and achieve crispy cooked texture.
Discover the Joy of Streaky Bacon
Now that you know what sets streaky bacon apart, it’s time to enjoy this unique bacon variety! Seek it out at your local butcher or specialty store. Revel in its marbled texture when raw, then sizzle up slices to fatty, crispy perfection. This classic British bacon is worth importing for any bacon lover in the States. So embrace the streaks – your dishes will thank you.
A Cross Between Canadian & American Bacon
To describe back bacon, it helps to say that the cut is like a mix of American and Canadian bacon. This is because back bacon does look like a mix of the two.
Americans love streaky bacon, which is made from pork belly that has been cut from the fat-streaked padding on the side of the pig. This type of bacon is so popular in the US that it’s almost a national obsession. Americans love bacon, but we feel that they take the fast food approach to producing bacon.
In Canada they do things slightly more to our British tastes. They usually make bacon from the loin of the pig. The loin is a lean medallion of meat with little fat that makes beautiful, round slices of lean bacon that are tasty but not as good as bacon can be when it’s at its best.
You can get both pork belly and pork loin in one cut of British back bacon. The fatty streaky part attached to the rounded lean part of a rasher (slice) of back bacon is the pork loin.
We British make great bacon because we know how to cut the meat so that rashers (slices) of bacon include both belly and loin in one beautiful piece of meat. This makes for an irresistible and unforgettable bacon eating experience that has been perfected over the centuries by tradition.
It is necessary for a rasher (slice) of British back bacon to contain both pork belly and pork loin in order to be suitable for a traditional full English breakfast. The two different cuts of pork, each with its own qualities, combine to make bacon heaven, and the British have been cutting bacon this way for hundreds of years.
A Guide To English Back Bacon
A full English breakfast just isnt the same without traditional British back bacon. People in Great Britain love bacon, but it’s only been a cultural tradition there for hundreds of years. The history of bacon includes genetic pigs bred just for bacon, a very specific cut of bacon, and different ways of curing and smoking bacon in different parts of the country.
Back Bacon only loosely refers to the cut of bacon, not the part of the pig from which the pork is taken. This is not helpful if you want to know how to make traditional Back Bacon.