Back bacon or Canadian bacon
Back bacon before being sliced
Back bacon is a lean meaty cut of bacon.
Canadian bacon is a term used in the
United States but elsewhere it is simply back bacon. It refers to any lean meaty cut of bacon. In Canada back bacon is sometimes known as
peameal bacon, which refers to a specific variety of unsmoked lean bacon that has been
sweet pickle-cured and coated in yellow
cornmeal (originally, as the name suggests,
peameal was used). Other proteins, such as
turkey and
beef, can be made in the style of peameal bacon by employing this same sweet pickle and cornmeal process.
In the US, products sold as "Canadian bacon" are very often nothing more than pieces of ham cut into circles; not the true peameal bacon popular in Canada. Such "Canadian bacon" is a popular ingredient in fast-food
breakfast sandwiches, including the
Egg McMuffin.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacon