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Canadian Bacon Day

Food · March 3

Canadian Bacon Day is about the lean, round, ham-like cut of cured pork loin that Americans stack on breakfast sandwiches and pizza.

Canadian Bacon Day falls on Wednesday, March 3, 2027. That is 127 days away.

Canadian bacon looks more like ham than bacon. It comes in neat round slices cut from the pork loin, a lean muscle along the back of the pig, and it is cured and usually smoked before it reaches the store. Streaky bacon, the kind most Americans picture, comes from the fattier belly instead.

That difference shows up in the pan. Canadian bacon does not shrink into crisp ribbons or leave a puddle of fat behind. It browns at the edges, stays tender in the middle, and tastes mild, salty and a little sweet. Because it is already cooked when sold in most US stores, a minute or two on each side is mostly about warmth and color.

Its tidy shape makes it a natural fit for round things. It sits on English muffins in breakfast sandwiches and under poached eggs and hollandaise in eggs Benedict. On pizza it often shares the crust with pineapple, a pairing people argue about with real conviction.

In Canada the name is not used much. Many Canadians know a different loin product, peameal bacon, which is rolled in cornmeal and sold unsmoked. So the American name points north, while the thing it describes is mostly an American habit.

For a simple plate, try warming a few slices in a dry skillet and eating them with toast and a fried egg. The slices hold their shape on the fork, which is more than most bacon can say.

Ways to celebrate

• Try Canadian bacon on a toasted English muffin with a fried egg.
• Make eggs Benedict at home for a slow weekend breakfast.
• Top a homemade pizza with Canadian bacon, with or without pineapple.
• Taste Canadian bacon and strip bacon side by side and compare.
• Look for peameal bacon at a local butcher counter.

Dates

All national days on March 3

Also on March 3

• National Moscow Mule Day
• National Cold Cuts Day
• National If Pets Had Thumbs Day
• National Mulled Wine Day
• National Anthem Day

Categories: Food days