A Clash of Bacons: American streaky vs. British back bacon
Charlotte wrote a post about British bacon vs American bacon. Now everyone is expecting a response from me. I mean, I love bacon, so that's not a big deal. Our American friends are wondering if I will defend American bacon's honor, while our friends in the U.K. are waiting for a rebuttal.
1. It's not quite all meat.
It is true that
streaky bacon has more marbling than British bacon. This is actually a double-edged
sword. Like a fine steak, it does add more flavor to the bacon. The marbling
does cause American bacon to shrivel up. For some, this change in shape is
desirable, for others, not so much. This can be avoided in two ways. Make sure
that the heat is not too high, or you could use an item such as a bacon press.
(The Japanese refer to something like this as a drop lid.) This flattens out
the bacon, makes it cook more evenly, and gives it a more uniform appearance.
2. There is a lot of grease, due to the marbling.
While bacon
grease is probably the easiest way to start a house fire, it also has its own
utility. It's not recommended to put grease of any sort down the drain, as it
is solid at room temperature. So you can collect it in a grease container. Why
would you do that? To save your pipes, for one. But the other reason is that
bacon grease is an amazing alternative to oil or butter. It adds delicious
bacon flavor to anything. It is especially good for things like American
pancakes.
Or you can even use it instead of butter for grilling the bread for a
nice American B.L.T. You can also grill bacon in a grill pan or a George
Foreman grill to allow the grease to remove itself from the bacon. It's common
to lay the bacon between sheets of paper towels(or kitchen towel in the old
country) to drain most of the grease from the cooked bacon.
3. American Bacon is also great for Cooking
While Charlotte
talks about how British bacon is good for cooking. American bacon also has its
merits. Because of its shape, American bacon can be "woven" into a
bacon blanket. Think EpicMealTime, here. The cool part about that, is that not
only do you get the amazing bacon flavor on your main dish, such as a whole chicken
or turkey, the grease keeps the bird (or other dish) incredibly moist. Also,
American bacon makes great squares to add to salads, or any other dish. Streaky
bacon also makes a great base for Jake's Amazing Bacon Pancakes.
4. The flavors.
The other thing
about American bacon is that there is a large variety of flavors. Charlotte
denounces this. However, I don't see her denouncing all the different flavors
of tea. In fact, I see her collecting all of them. That comment would probably
land me on the couch, in any normal situation. Luckily, or unluckily, however
you want to look at it, I'm already sleeping on a couch.
There are a lot of
flavors for bacon in the states, including the standard smoked and unsmoked. Bacon.
Most flavors use different types of wood for the smoking process. Hickory and
Applewood are two of the most popular, the latter, giving just a hint of
sweetness. It's good for people like me that don't typically relish in mixing
savory and sweetness together. There are also more sweet and savory flavors
such as: Maple(hint of maple syrup flavor), peppered(the outside is covered in
cracked black pepper), brown sugar(another different type of sweetness), and
even stranger flavors like buffalo(flavored like what we use as a traditional
wing sauce here.)
My conclusion
While I haven't said that American bacon is directly better
than British bacon. I am saying that each form of bacon has its utility.
British bacon is much better for a hearty bacon sandwich, but I feel it would
be too much for something like an American B.L.T.
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