First of all, the good news many of our American friends is this: the Canadian bacon that they already know as Canadian bacon, is not actually bacon (or Canadian, for that matter). Canadian bacon is more like ham than bacon. It’s pickled in a sweet mixture, it’s thicker, and when it’s fully cooked, it’s usually soft and juicy. If you were to try to crispify American’s Canadian bacon, you’d get something super dried out. (Think about what would happen if you tried to fry a Sunday ham. Not pretty.)
Some Americans do get to try something that’s closer to Canadian bacon: and that’s when they order Canadian back bacon. Regular American bacon (or as the Brits call it, streaky bacon) is made from the belly of pigs. Canadian back bacon is, well, from the back. This makes it less fatty than American bacon. I know – for some people, less fat means less flavour. But for true back bacon fans, less fat means more meat. And I don’t think I can argue with that logic.
So What Is Canadian Bacon?
Canadian bacon – or the stuff we Canadians eat and that Americans don’t really eat – is called peameal bacon. It’s got a light brine on it, and it has that edge of cornmeal on it. It’s also not smoked, the way that regular bacon is. It’s basically as close to a cross between ham and bacon that you can get. While it does have a bit of a salty flavour, it is more sweet than other types of bacon. It’s also not going to get as crispy as American bacon. But that doesn’t mean it’s not delicious!