Happy Irish Bacon Day

By On March 17, 2008 · 5 Comments · In Bacon

irishbacon1.jpg

It’s really St. Patrick’s Day; I just made up Irish Bacon day. I was trying to come up with a good topic for today and then it hit me. Today would be a great day to talk about Irish bacon.

In Ireland and the UK they just call it bacon, but since Americans have their own bacon, in the States we call it Irish Bacon. Irish bacon is very similar to what we call Canadian bacon or back bacon. It is cut from the back meat of the pig and it’s cooked until done, not crispy. In contrast, American bacon comes from the pork belly and is usually cooked until crispy. So as you can see there are big differences between American and Irish bacon.

The differences between Canadian bacon and Irish bacon are small. They are so similar that some people substitute Canadian bacon for Irish bacon in recipes. The only major difference between the two is Irish Bacon has a layer of fat around the meat. Canadian bacon usually does not.

I am personally not a big fan of Irish or Canadian bacon. There are some instances where I enjoy it, but for breakfast or a burger give me American bacon and nothing else.

If you have any fun facts about Irish bacon feel free to share.

 
  • dug

    I lad.May a wee bit of the bacon sizzle your shamrocks alittle.

  • Pingback: The Bacon Chop Secret Society | MrBaconpants.com

  • Pingback: Review of What the English Call Bacon | MrBaconpants.com

  • http://ryanhunt.net Ryan Hunt

    As a meat eating Australian, I love Bacon. I could easily be a vegetarian if it weren’t for bacon. But, as an Aussie, and having lived in England for 5 years (now in Seattle, WA) I can’t believe you treat ‘proper bacon’ with such disrespect.

    The American bacon you speak so highly of is such an inferior product compared to the wonderful ‘Danish Bacon’ we get in the UK and Ireland, and the bacon we get in Australia for many reasons.

    1. American bacon comes with so much fat.
    2. I find it hard to find the actual bacon in American bacon.
    3. You can buy ‘weight watchers’ bacon in the UK. (It still tastes like bacon. (still bacon, but healthy!)
    4. American bacon often comes pre-cooked
    5. American bacon doesn’t taste like meat – rather like “Bacon”.
    6. Proper bacon should be grilled (the bacon you have pictured in your review on proper bacon looks horrible and was probably fried, and I can understand your disgust)
    7. Danish bacon *looks* better. It actually looks like it came from an animal at some point.
    8. Danish bacon tastes better than you’re American bacon.

    So I look forward to the next St. Paddys, St Georges, Australia Day, and any other country saint/holiday that celebrates proper bacon. Keep pushing bacon, and keeping it relevant – but please, don’t go hating on proper bacon.

    - Ryan.

  • Mike

    I should add that when my fellow Australian here says that bacon should be grilled he’s referring to what Americans call “broiling”.