|
|
 |
BaconBacon is any of certain cuts of meat taken from the sides, back or belly of a pig, cured and possibly smoked. The defining element is the cut. There also exists a product called "Turkey Bacon," a pork-free substitute marketed as lower in fat. Bacon is generally considered a breakfast dish, cut into thin slices before being fried, or grilled. It is commonly used as an ingredient in recipes, and is valued both as a source of fat and for its flavour. A side of unsliced bacon is a flitch. An individual slice of bacon is a rasher (UK and Ireland), or a slice (US). 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 a traditional Irish breakfast. 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. Curing means preserving with salt. The traditional dry-cure process involves taking the meat and rubbing it, over a number of days, with dry salt or a mixture of salt, sugar and spices. It is then left to hang for up to 2 weeks in order for the moisture to be drawn out. It must then be left to cure in a cool, dry, airy environment for anything up to 9 months. Less time is needed if it is going to be smoked. The alternative wet-cure process, which produces Wiltshire bacon, involves immersing the meat in brine for two to three days. Sweetcure bacon is produced by adding sugar to the brine. Honey-cured bacon has added honey, and maple cure bacon has added maple syrup. The meat must then be left to hang for approximately 2 weeks until it is cured. Modern mass produced bacon uses the wet-cure process but also involves pumping additional water, sodium nitrite and phosphates directly into the flesh to speed up the process and add bulk; however, this is directly at the expense of flavour. Mass produced bacon is held for curing for 6 to 24 hours before being cooked. It is often regarded as inferior, and can exude unappealing white liquid during frying. Smoking is used to impart more flavour into the bacon and also to speed up the curing process. Unsmoked bacon is sometimes known as green bacon. Smoked bacon is traditionally produced by allowing the cured meat to hang in a room over a bed of smoking wood chips. Using different varieties of wood, such as apple, beech, cherry, hickory, or oak, gives the cured bacon different flavours. Cold smoking involves leaving the meat at a low temperature fire for anything up to 2-3 weeks. Hot smoking involves using a much higher temperature where the meat is partially cooked over a few days. Mass produced bacon is cooked in large convection ovens. The ovens can either be of the "batch" or "continuous" variety. In a batch oven, the bacon is cooked and smoked in the same cabinet. In a continuous oven, bacon hung on a monorail system is moved from a cooking cabinet to a smoking cabinet by an overhead chain. Smoke flavour is imparted to the bacon either using natural smoke obtained by burning wood chips, or by spraying the bacon with a liquid smoke extract. Mass production cooking is much quicker than traditional smoking due to the use of convective heat transfer and can be completed in as little as 6 hours. Check out the following recipes that are tagged "Bacon":
|