SC - Canadian Bacon

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Christine A Seelye-King wrote:
> 
> I just have to throw this in here, as the definition of this food seems
> to have been lost in the recent discussion.

Well, it was discussed, but not emphasized...

>         Canadian Bacon is actually the whole pork loin (same piece of
> meat as a beef tenderloin, think filet mingon) that has been smoked.

The eye of the loin and the tenderloin are two different muscles,
separated by what are called fingerbones, which project from the
chinebone or vertebrae. On a hog the tenderloin is rather smaller than
the Canadian bacon I have seen, so I still think Canadian bacon is the
loin proper, with the fat and bone trimmed down to the circular-sectoned
"eye". The pricing would tend to support this too. Also, real Canadian
Bacon (as in the bacon eaten in Canada, when it is not the typical
American belly or "streaky" bacon) is made from boneless pork loin, with
the somewhat tougher and fattier rib meat or "deckle" left attached.
Where I live this is called Irish bacon. What can you do...?  

> I
> actually believe that the term comes from the fur trapper days of
> Michigan and other northern fur states, but I could be wrong there.  I do
> not believe that Canadians use the term.

Exactemundo, any more than Americans call streaky belly bacon, American
bacon. I have no idea where the term comes from but the idea of
attaching a place name to a cut of meat is not unprecedented as a
distinguishing factor. See Boston pork butt, California Club steak,
which in Califirnia seems to be known as a New York club steak, and New
York Sirloin, which is in fact loin and not sirloin at all, and so
called because it is shaped vaguely like New York State when you lay it
on its side ;  ). Presumably some butcher, or more probably some
wholesaler, near the U.S.-Canada border,  sold both products and found
the need to distinguish between the types of bacon favored in the USA
and Canada.

Incidentally, a note I'm sure will end up in Stefan's collection ;  ) :
the Irish usually call loin or back bacon "boiling bacon", not Irish
bacon, because it often gets boiled and eaten with cabbage in Ireland,
where corned beef was virtually nonexistent until maybe fifty years ago.
Yeah, the meat staple of the British army and navy would go over REALLY
well over there...we _did_ get onto this discussion by talking about
boiling bacon, didn't we?  

Adamantius
______________________________________
Phil & Susan Troy
troy at asan.com
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