Back bacon

Back bacon is a traditional British cut of typically unsmoked bacon sliced to include both the pork loin from the back and a bit of pork belly in the same cut. It is either wet- or dry-cured, and is much leaner than American style smoked side bacon made only from the pork belly.

In Australia, back bacon is known as 'middle bacon' (not to be confused with 'short cut bacon', which does not include the pork belly). See main article.

"Canadian bacon"

"Canadian bacon" is American usage for a form of roughly cylindrical fully cooked back bacon, usually smoked, trimmed into medallions, and thickly sliced. The term "Canadian bacon" is not actually used in Canada, where the product is generally known simply as "back bacon", while "bacon" alone refers to the same streaky pork belly bacon as in the United States. "Canadian" bacon is made only from the lean eye of the loin and is ready to eat; this preparation is closer to ham than standard bacon.

The product may have arisen from a unique form of back bacon which emerged in Southern Ontario called "peameal bacon", which is unsmoked wet cured pork loin trimmed like "Canadian bacon" and traditionally rolled in ground dried yellow peas to extend its shelf life. Today it is generally rolled in yellow cornmeal.