If you actually hail from Canada, you probably know this breakfast meat by its proper name: peameal bacon. Then again, if you're from other parts of the world, you may recognize it as back bacon. No matter what you call it or where you're from, I think we can all agree that thick slices of this bacon make a mighty fine addition to the breakfast table.
Canadian bacon is more like ham than the cured and smoked strips of bacon that most of us are used to. That bacon comes from the fatty belly of the pig; Canadian bacon is typically cut from the loin. As such, it's much leaner than belly bacon and comes in rounded slices rather than strips.
If Canadian bacon is cured at all, it's usually done in a basic brine. Sometimes it's smoked, though not always. In Canada, the loin is also rolled in ground yellow peas or cornmeal before being sliced, leading to the "peameal" moniker. Sliced thick or thin, this bacon has a sweet flavor and a tender, juicy texture even when fried.
A slice of Canadian bacon on eggs benedict is both traditional and fantastically good. Its sweet ham flavor with the runny egg, rich hollandaise sauce, and toasted english muffin is culinary perfection.
Beyond this, Canadian bacon can be sliced into a breakfast hash, folded into an omelet, or served on the side with a plate of pancakes. It also doesn't have to be strictly a breakfast meat. We can chop it up for a pizza topping, toss it with pasta for a lower-fat carbonara, or slice it into thin ribbons to round out a quick bowl of soup.
Try it out in these recipes:
• Eggs Benedict from The Pioneer Woman • Sweet Potato and Canadian Bacon Hash from Cooking Light via MyRecipes • Canadian Bacon Strata from Martha Stewart • Fried Rice with Canadian Bacon from Epicurious • Carnivore Carnival Pizza from Whipped
And if you're interested in making your own Canadian bacon, take a look at Michael Ruhlman's recipe:
• Canadian Bacon: Brining Basics from Michael Ruhlman
How do you cook with Canadian bacon?
Related: Why Don't We Eat Chicken for Breakfast?
(Image: Ree Drummond from The Pioneer Woman)
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Only 2 things? I can't agree, but please let us know what those 'two' things are :)
One of those things better be "marries well," since my fiance is from Canada. And I've never heard him call it peameal bacon. He calls it back bacon.
I call it back bacon too. It's delish and far from the onlky good thing to come from Canada IMO. Nanaimo bars and poutine do come to mind, if we stick with foods. ;)
I've always heard it as back bacon as well. And, oh... nainaimo bars. I need to go put the ingredients on the grocery list right now. (I believe basically everything good in life comes from Canada.)
I'm a recent transplant to canada, and what's shown in the picture there is not what I would call peameal bacon. peameal is very much like our streaky bacon minus the fatty streaks. all meat. what I see in the picture there is ham. However, I'm an immigrant here, I'd take the word of a real canuck over me!
I'm from Canada and well, we call it Canadian bacon too. Or back bacon. And I think there are far more than two good things that come from Canada. First among them would be free and universal health care, something I only really started to appreciate after moving to the US and had to pay a ridiculous amount of my paycheck towards overpriced health insurance. Oh, and maple syrup. And beaver tails (anyone else had those? Perfect after an afternoon of skiing).
Totally agree with ^ on maple syrup and beaver tails. So. Darn. Good.
Just to clarify -- the picture in the article shows the American version of back bacon. The actual peameal bacon has, as the article said, an edge of ground peameal around it. The meat in the picture and the peameal bacon taste very different. You really can't compare the two meats, just like you can't really compare apple with oranges even though both of them are fruits. I am a Canadian living in New Jersey and I have not been able to find peameal bacon in NYC. If anyone knows of a place in NYC, let me know!
I'm another Canadian, and I'd refer to that as back bacon. Tasty, but I generally prefer streaky strips of fatty bacon, unless we're talking pizza.
The texture of the peameal bacon (we also call it back bacon) is a bit different than the slice of Canadian ham, but who cares, they are both delicious :)
Currently, it's the Sugar Shack (Cabane à sucre) time in Canada and owners of sugar shacks are cooking ham and sausages (along with about anything else!) with a touch of maple syrup. The salty-sweet combo is so yummy!
And muddymudskipper needs to explain himself/herself (or go back into the thick, thick mud he/she comes from).
That is definitely back bacon - as a Canadian born and raised I've never even heard of peameal bacon! Beavertails are delicious (but we always called them elephant ears).
Peameal is a particular type of bacon and I've never seen it outside the Toronto/GTA area. It's more like a ham and thicker cut than the back bacon shown in your photo.
Peameal bacon is not an unusual ingredient in Quebec , Opendestiny and La Grenouille. At least in the grocery stores where I live :) They don't necessarly put it where the butcher`s counter is but where they keep the more processed hotdogs, bologna and hams.
Elephant ears? First time I hear that, it's kinda cute! Nom, nom beavertails... Apparently there is a portuguese recipe that's just like beavertail... now if I could only remember the name...!
The pictured meat certainly appears to be Canadian bacon as the author says it is. It is a uniquely American product that is closer to firm ham than to back bacon. Back bacon or peameal bacon is cured pork loin without a rind or reforming. A nitrite or nitrate cure is traditional. Back bacon is traditionally not smoked but can be. Peameal bacon is widely available in Canada at least from Ontario east and seems to be making a comeback in popularity. Canadian bacon is rarely seen in the stores in Canada. For those that can't find it, back bacon (with or without the peameal) is easy to make and can be on your plate in less than a week. The trickiest is to find the curing agent. Morton's Tenderquick works well and is easier to find than most. Don't be afraid of the cure. The nitrate or nitrite cure prevents dangerous bacteria like botulism and is perfectly safe as long as you follow the directions and don't use too much. Nitrates in meat are safe and the concern over cancer causing nitrosamines has been pretty much completely debunked.