pork Vs bacon ( Archived) (44)

i think pig knuckles are the best part of a pig .... yummy

Bacon is smoked, pork is just meat, but healthier as it's a white meat than red meat!!!!

Bacon is a meat product made from cured pork. The curing process takes place when pork is soaked in salt water for a number of hours and then smoked by burning wood dust from different types of wood under the pork. The smoke cures the meat and adds the flavor. This is not a cooking process but a curing process and the cured meat can be eaten in its raw smoked state or cooked further.

Bacon is cut from the side of the pork carcass and it includes the back, belly and sides, not the head and feet. The side of pork is soaked for several hours and is then called ‘green bacon’. The ‘green bacon’ is smoked for 24 -48 hours. Ham or gammon is also cured pork but not the same as bacon because gammon is part of the leg of the animal not the bacon, middle cut.

Bacon products include pancetta, streaky bacon and Salami, a spicy sausage meat. Bacon is used to produce fat for cooking in the form of lardons. Bacon fat is also used for larding and barding. This is a way to induce flavor and moisture into a joint of meat. The fat is wrapped round the joint or threaded into the meat. Bacon adds a lot of flavor and has become a popular breakfast dish served with eggs.

If you have your own home smoker you will understand the operation. I guess the ones you buy in the shop is just done in a much bigger model!