Natural form

Raw bacon slices showing the alternating fat and lean muscle layers before cooking.

Shows the distinctive streaky marbling pattern that defines bacon and distinguishes it from other cured pork products.

Proteins

Bacon

Smoky, salty strips that crisp up and flavor everything

Smoky, salty, and irresistible, bacon crisps for breakfast, crumbles over salads, and renders its fat to flavor a whole pan. Keep it cold and sealed, or freeze.

Bacon is pork (usually belly, sometimes back/loin) cured with salt and nitrites and often smoked, then sliced — a flavor bomb of salt, smoke, and rendered fat that crisps into one of the most beloved ingredients anywhere. Streaky bacon from the belly is fattiest and crispest; back bacon (the British rasher) is meatier and leaner. Beyond breakfast, bacon is a building block: its rendered fat fries eggs and vegetables, its crisp bits crown salads and pastas (carbonara, amatriciana use guanciale or pancetta cousins), and a few lardons add smoky depth to braises and beans. Cooking it low and slow renders the fat for even, crackling crispness.

Measured in: g
Storage: Refrigerate
Shelf life: 14 days

Find it in

Meat Section

Types & varieties

Streaky (American) bacon

Belly, fatty, crisps best — the classic strip.

Back bacon (rasher)

Leaner, meatier loin cut; the British/Irish standard.

Pancetta

Italian unsmoked cured belly, often rolled; for pasta and lardons.

Guanciale

Cured pork jowl — fattier and richer; the true carbonara fat.

Lardons

Thick bacon batons for salads, stews, and quiches.

Streaky Bacon

Bacon cut from the belly, with alternating streaks of fat and meat (American-style). Crisps to a shatter when fried; the classic for crumbling, wrapping, and breakfast plates.

How to choose

Choose bacon with even meat-and-fat streaks; dry-cured bacon shrinks and spits less than wet-cured (which can ooze white liquid in the pan). Smoked adds depth, unsmoked is milder. For Italian dishes, reach for pancetta or guanciale rather than smoked bacon.

How to store / food safety

Refrigerate sealed and use within about a week of opening; the cure extends its life but it's still perishable. It freezes well — separate slices for easy use. Cooked bacon and rendered fat keep in the fridge for a week or two. The nitrites in cured bacon mean it's eaten in moderation as part of a varied diet.

How to cook

For even, crisp bacon, start it in a cold pan (or a low oven on a tray) so the fat renders slowly before the meat crisps — high heat from the start burns the lean and leaves the fat flabby. Save the rendered fat for frying eggs, potatoes, and vegetables. Lardons are browned to render and crisp before deglazing into a dressing or stew.

Common uses

Breakfast stripsBLTs and sandwichesCarbonara and pasta (as pancetta/guanciale)Salads and lardonsWrapping meats and vegetablesFlavoring beans, braises, and soupsQuiche and frittataBacon jam and toppings