England, food paradise for bacon fans – 10/17/2023 – Cozinha Bruta

For those who like bacon, England is a culinary paradise – despite all the mockery that is made of British cuisine. It was the English who invented bacon, although the Americans are famous, and here it is a serious matter.

To begin with, the definition of bacon is much broader than the Brazilian one.

In Brazil, bacon is always smoked pork meat. According to the most recent legislation, only the cut extracted from the animal’s belly can simply be called “bacon”; Variations, such as rib bacon and sirloin bacon, require these details on the packaging.

Here in the UK, bacon doesn’t even need to be smoked to begin with.

There’s smoked and unsmoked bacon, just cured with salt. And then it forks again: the cure can be dry (in air), wet (in saline solution) and sweet (with the addition of sugar, molasses or maple syrup).

As for cuts, the most common are “streaky bacon” (the belly bacon we know) and “back bacon” (which takes meat from the loin and belly). There is also “bacon medallion”, made only from sirloin, without fat.

The formats can be normal slices (“rashers”), “thick cut” (cut twice as thick, great for grilling and eating with eggs) and “lardons” (diced belly bacon.

It has organic bacon and bacon without nitrites (preservatives that give that pink color to hams and similar products).

What they don’t have, at least not in central London supermarkets, is bacon in larger pieces. Much less one that comes cooked and can be stored at room temperature.

Loin, here, is always cured and cold smoked (or not). And it’s good, how good it is.

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