What is peameal bacon?

Peameal bacon is Canadian dry-cured back bacon made from the top loin cut. Once sliced, it is also known as "peameal".

In Quebec, this preparation of back bacon is called "jambon de dos" and is traditionally prepared by wet-curing the meat in brine.

When fully cooked, the interior flesh is a very light brown and the exterior is dark brown, with a texture similar to a well-cooked, but still moist chicken breast.

Although it is called peameal bacon, there are no peas or peameal involved in its preparation.

The name is derived from the traditional process of dry-curing the bacon in a mixture of salt, water and ground yellow field peas; once cured, the dried peas create a hard crust around the bacon and the peas are discarded