10 Types of Bacon: Learn About Different Bacon Types

Bacon is a fatty type of meat from the belly or back of a pig, typically cured with salt and other seasonings. Diners traditionally enjoy bacon with breakfast, but there are many lunch and dinner recipes with bacon that prove its versatility.

In addition to salt, seasonings like black pepper, paprika, and brown sugar infuse the bacon pieces with extra flavor during the curing process. Additionally, preparers may cold-smoke bacon with woods like hickory to imbue it with a smoky flavor.

Most commonly, diners will find American-style streaky bacon sold in strips, featuring layers of fat and muscle comprising its signature striped look. (However, you can also find it sold extra thick-cut in a large slab—called slab bacon.) Turkey bacon and vegan bacon are common alternatives to pork bacon.

Different cultures and regions salt-cure the fatty parts of a pig to make flavorful meat products with varying textures and tastes. However, all of these are extra-flavorful owing to their high fat and salt contents. Here is a breakdown of the many different bacon types:

1. 1. American bacon: American bacon—also known as streaky bacon, belly bacon, or side bacon—consists of thin slices of pork belly, usually (but not always) cured, smoked, and sold raw. American-style bacon is distinct because of its ability to add a crispy, crunchy texture to everything from burgers to brunch and breakfast foods.
2. 2. Canadian bacon: Canadian bacon (also called back bacon in Canada) takes the form of thick, round slices of pork loin. In flavor, it is similar to sliced ham, though the latter comes from the pig’s back legs. Compared to American bacon, Canadian bacon is a loin cut rather than a belly cut. Canadian bacon is a common component of Eggs Benedict or a traditional English breakfast.
3. 3. Cured bacon: Cured bacon is pork belly preserved with salt and artificial chemical additives, particularly nitrates and nitrites, such as sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite. The curing process transforms pork belly into cured bacon. Curing is a way to preserve meat, extend its shelf life, and prevent spoilage, bacterial growth, and botulism.
4. 4. Guanciale: This cured meat cut comes from the jowl of the pig. This fatty cut of pork gets seasoned with salt and herbs, then cured for at least three months. A popular cut of meat in Italy, guanciale has a salty, fatty, rich flavor similar to pancetta or bacon. It is also one of the primary ingredients in a salty, creamy pasta carbonara sauce.
5. 5. Pancetta: Also called Italian bacon, pancetta is seasoned, salt-cured meat cut from the pig's underside. Pancetta is light pink with a dense, silky texture and nutty flavor. Retailers in Italy commonly sell pancetta in thin slices, but you’ll most often find it sold cubed in the United States. Diced pancetta is a key component in carbonara (an Italian pasta dish).
6. 6. Pork belly: This prime cut of meat comes from the underside of a pig. The pig’s belly contains the fattiest meat, making it a versatile and tender cut with a higher fat content than pork cuts like side or loin. Home cooks may oven-roast or fry large pieces of pork belly to serve as an entrée. Similar to guanciale or pancetta, cooks may also fry cubed pieces of pork belly to add to vegetable or pasta dishes.
7. 7. Prosciutto: Prosciutto is the salt-cured hind leg of a pig that diners typically enjoy uncooked. “Prosciutto” means “ham” in Italian, and the type of prosciutto most common in the United States is actually called prosciutto crudo in Italy (which is different from cooked prosciutto, known as prosciutto cotto). Prosciutto—which has a rosy color and soft, buttery texture—is a fatty cut of meat typically sold in paper-thin slices.
8. 8. Salt pork: Salt pork is a type of cured pork preserved by packing or rubbing the fatty cuts of pork with salt or submerging them in a salty brine. The salt helps draw moisture from the meat and inhibits the growth of potentially harmful bacteria. Salt pork is one of the fattiest cuts of meat on the pig, containing mostly lard with a thin strip of protein. A typical baked beans or collard greens recipe may utilize salt pork for its savory and fatty flavors.
9. 9. Speck: Closely related to pancetta, speck is a smoked variety of ham made with salt-cured or pickled pork belly, fatback, or hind leg. To make speck, butchers season pork with bold spices and herbs and smoke it before curing for several months.
10. 10. Uncured bacon: Contrary to its name, uncured bacon is cured, but without using artificial nitrates. Instead, the curing process involves celery powder or sea salt, which contains naturally occurring nitrates. The labeling on uncured bacon in grocery stores will sometimes say, “No nitrates or nitrites added,” but pork belly needs nitrates and other curing agents to turn into bacon.

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