Bringing Home the Bacon

Barely more than a serving suggestion, but the two cuts named behave very differently in a pan and neither is ordinary streaky bacon.

• Irish or Canadian baconBoth are back bacon: lean loin with a thin fat rim, closer to a thin ham steak than to American side bacon. It renders little fat of its own, so butter in the pan is useful, though the recipe offers it simply "for a change."
• Heat for back baconMedium heat, two to three minutes a side, until the edges color. Pushed hard it tightens and dries, since there is no intramuscular fat to keep it forgiving.
• "Frizzle"An old term for frying thin slices fast in a little fat until the edges curl and brown. For country ham that means a minute or so per side in a hot skillet, no longer.
• Smithfield and country hamThis is dry-cured, salt-heavy, aged ham sold raw in thin slices, not the pink deli product. A slice is intensely salty on its own; serve it small, with biscuits, eggs or fried apples to balance it.
• Pan drippingsAfter frizzling country ham, a splash of water or coffee in the hot skillet lifts the browned bits into red-eye gravy. It is the standard companion to this cut and uses the salt rather than fighting it.
• Razorback and acorn feedPeriod sales language. Modern Smithfield-style hams come from conventional hogs; look for "country ham" or a genuine Virginia dry-cure rather than the breed and diet described here.
• QuantityNo amounts are given. Figure two to three ounces of back bacon per person, and one thin slice, about an ounce and a half, of country ham.