Protein in bacon

#1

Am I really getting much protein when this bacon is so predominantly fat?

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(Geoffrey) #2

I don’t see how just by itself. What other protein do you eat throughout the day?

#3

This is a super fatty bacon, clearly very little protein…
Mine is always more protein rich - and that is a minuscule amount too, a few rashers aren’t much… But I never saw THIS fatty bacon. I wouldn’t be happy with it - but I love pork jowl and that is almost only fat (the almost is important, I need that tiny meat in it :wink: ).

(Joey) #4

I’m :heart:'ing your post because of the bacon porn pic. Thanks for the digestive arousal.

As for how much protein vs fat? Frankly I don’t think there’s a whole lot of either in terms of one’s daily nutritional needs.

Sure, there’s plenty of fat in uncooked bacon (vs. darker muscle/protein tissue) … but we all know what happens to it once we cook the bacon. It becomes liquid.

And then we pour it off (saved for cooking/flavoring other meals) such that it easily fills a jar. In other words, the white fat you see in uncooked bacon barely makes it to your mouth when eating cooked bacon.

Bacon is all about flavor. And being primarily “fat + protein” it fits snugly into a carb-restricted eating format. Hence a favorite of keto’ers. :+1:

But there’s very little of what you started out with that’s left by the time you’re done cooking it.

[Plenty of salt, though, which is also great as we strive to keep our electrolytes up to snuff.]

Enjoy! :bacon: :bacon: :bacon:

#5

Oh I eat a ton. LOL I’m not worried I’m not getting enough protein, but I noticed that all the bacon from our stores around me have very little meat on them at all and it got me wondering if a slice even has the 5g that it purports to.

I know I can make my own but I do not own a smoker and probably never will.

I do love eating this, and I let my bacon sit in the fat liquid in the pan after cooking to either reabsorb some of that fat or at least cling to the slices. It is rather delicious to eat because of the fat, with that delicious crackling flavor. But I think I need to just consider it a serving of fat more than protein. I swear I could drink the liquid bacon grease left in the pan. It’s so tasty.

#6

Sounds just right looking at your bacon :smiley: Mine is maybe half fat? But I can’t tell and it isn’t so important anyway. Mine loses very little fat (just a few rashers, it’s little fat to begin with and it loses only a part of it :D) and I eat it all anyway. If not immediately, a bit later.

But when I make scratchings from some fatty pork, that is a different story. And the result is tasty even with minimal meat (I do love when there is SOME) and no smoking is necessary…

(Bob M) #7

That looks like it has close to zero protein. If they have packages where I can see the bacon, I try to select the ones with more meat. You can’t totally tell, though, because the “meat” could be millimeters thick.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #8

Nope. :bacon::bacon:

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #9

This American bacon we are talking about. Taylor ham and Canadian bacon are not nearly as fatty, because they come from a different part of the pig. The same is true of the uncured back gammon that ,my lover and I used to call “bacon” when we lived in London.

It’s all good. :bacon::bacon::bacon:

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #10

There! All fixed! :grin::grin::grin:

(KCKO, KCFO) #11

I always enjoy bacon for the fat. I am disappointed if I get a package that is heavier on the meat side.

I :heart_decoration::bacon:

#12

Bacon here is usually similarly fatty/meaty, there is some variance but not huge… I want it with the most meat, of course. Bacon is very fatty, after all, even the normal kind but it’s nothing compared to pork belly… That is like @Just_Juju’s bacon in the worst/fattiest case (when it’s still not pure fat, I mean as that is a very common option too. too bad I can’t use different words for these different types as in Hungarian), a bit meatier in the average and the meatiest possible kind is what I like to buy (not fresh, that’s too expensive for something that is more fat than meat. smoked pork is another world but if it’s fresh, I want to eat it in bigger amounts), it’s maybe a bit fatty but I love fat and fatty items have their uses.

#13

Well I usually do too! But then I get home and find this. LOL It’s true of all bacon at any grocery store we visit. Lately I’m trying to save money because we go through a half pound of bacon a day if not more. I was getting really thick and meaty strips from the butcher but it was $9.99/lb and costing me a fortune. This batch of bacon I got from a store called Fresh Thyme that only sells nonGMO, pasture raised and finished meats and such and organic produce. You can’t tell but the slices are at minimum 3/8” thick. They sell these huge 5lb packages of bacon for $4.49-5.99/lb. So much cheaper but hmmm, less meat. At least it’s pasture raised pork. I’m just going to think of bacon as a fat bomb for now until I can afford meatier quality. And my favorite part of bacon is the fat.

(Bob M) #14

@PaulL I like that!

@Just_Juju I’ve found the fat to be much better on local farmer-raised pork (and also chicken). I’ve had some pork from stores where I didn’t eat the fat because it didn’t taste great.

#15

Yes!! That is something I’m noticing with this batch. The fat is incredibly soft and delicious. The melted fat in the pan becomes a solid white too, not an off-white like the butcher shop’s. Definitely more flavor than the butcher shops, even if less meat.

#16

Nope! Get Center cut.

(Geoffrey) #17

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#18

Fat can be quite delicious but fat can be bought for real cheap. I want meat for my money, usually. Pork jowl and pork belly is still nice but I only buy it processed and I never eat much processed meat. It’s just a little treat :slight_smile:
Some of us need to focus on protein more, others can afford eating as much fat as they wish (and for some, it’s not enough and they need to push, that must be tough too).
If you like this bacon and get enough protein from your other items and you don’t even horribly overeat fat as I would end up eating super fatty meat items, enjoy it! :smiley:

(holistciRN) #19

I’d definitely want more protein, that bacon looks like a fat picnic. Bacon labeled “center cut” will have more actual meat than fat.

(Alec) #20

This is what we call streaky bacon. Much higher fat content. My preference. Yummo!