I’ve noticed that Canadian bacon (aka back bacon, peameal bacon) receives a lot of flack on TFP (mentioning no names…gucci), and it always seems to boggle my mind.
First, it is important to note that, in case you haven’t noticed, bacon has achieved a status of worship amongst many members. This is understandable. Bacon is a great foodstuff.
But it is perhaps this status that could explain such negative reactions to such a thing as Canadian bacon. Something so celebrated should not have its image sullied by impostors or imitators, right?
Well, maybe, maybe not.
I think much of the issue revolves around a misunderstanding of what Canadian bacon is and its role in the diet of many a Canuck. It is my purpose here to clarify and to enlighten my dear readers about what is indeed an important, nay integral, foodstuff of my culture.
Canadian bacon, or back bacon/peameal bacon, is essentially made from the same portion of the pig that traditional bacon is made from. The loin (i.e. the back) is the section of the pig from which much bacon is derived, but the sides may also be used.
Probably where most of the confusion rests is in labeling. What is known as “Canadian bacon” in the U.S. may vary from what we know as “peameal bacon” in Canada. Canadian bacon sold in the U.S. (or just “back bacon” in Canada) is cured similar to that of conventional bacon, with the exception of more sugar being used, giving it a slightly sweeter flavour.
Smoked Back Bacon
Peameal bacon, however, is cured in a sweet brine and made with a cornmeal crust, giving it a distinctive sweet and salty taste.
Peameal Bacon
Regardless of the process, Canadian/back/peameal bacon is more akin to ham than conventional bacon due to its being a leaner cut. Conventional bacon has fat that is clearly visible and rather prominent throughout the cut, whereas back bacon looks much like ham. This distinction will explain the quite different flavor and texture differences between the two.
A common misconception surrounding Canadian bacon is that it is “Canada’s version of bacon.” This isn’t the entire picture. The two are rather different cuts of meat and should be treated as such. Conventional bacon can be left tender and fatty or it can be crisped up to varying, and even extreme, degrees. Canadian bacon, on the other hand, is meant to be cooked and left tender. Crispness may form around the edges, especially where peameal bacon is concerned, but the meat is meant to be more akin to ham. One way of describing Canadian bacon is: ham that tastes like bacon.
Canadians do not view back bacon as simply “bacon.” We view it as “back bacon” or “peameal bacon.” Many Canadians, if not most, actually prefer conventional bacon for various reasons. We also produce, process, and consume a lot of conventional bacon ourselves. Back bacon is something special. It is a celebration of a very delicious cut of pork. Let me tell you, there are few more pleasurable experiences than shopping at the historic St. Lawrence Market near Toronto’s waterfront, with fresh peameal bacon sandwich in hand: little garnishing is needed, as the meat is tender and flavourful, and, of course, delightfully stacked. It is the closest thing you can get to a "bacon hamburger."
What is confusing to this Canadian is why there is such a lashing-out from Americans regarding Canadian bacon. What is even more confusing is that this lashing-out, more often than not, is typically coming from self-proclaimed lovers of bacon. What is confusing, ultimately, is why a self-proclaimed lover of bacon would shun
not a substitute for conventional bacon but rather a
further exploration of the wider fantastic world of bacon.
I leave this question to you American bacon “lovers” who would criticize, shun, or otherwise disparage Canadian bacon:
Do you love bacon, or do you not?