Danish bacon is a cured meat made from pigs raised in Denmark. It is cut from the loin of the pig, differentiating it from American bacon, which is cut from the pig’s belly. This meat product has the familiar meat and fat striation of most bacon, but it tends to be meatier than American bacon. The cured meat is particularly popular in the United Kingdom, where it has been imported from Denmark since the mid-1800s.
In Britain, a slice of Danish bacon is usually referred to as a rasher. A very popular British dish containing the meat is a bacon butty, or bacon sandwich. The popularity of this bacon in the United Kingdom can be traced back to the mid-1800s, when the Danish began exporting pigs to the region in a strategic economic move that lead to one of Denmark’s major exports: pigs. To the present day, Danish bacon is fairly difficult to find outside of the European Union.
Bacon is a cured meat which has been prepared in many areas of the world for thousands of years. Some geographical regions have developed their own unique preparation processes. The spices incorporated into the curing process can also vary greatly by region and are likely to include spices native to the area. Like Canadian bacon, Irish bacon, English bacon, and American bacon, Danish bacon has a unique taste and texture.
Because Danish bacon is cut from the loin of the pig rather than the belly, it tends to be a bit meatier than American bacon. This meatier flavor combines with the smoky, salty flavor imbued by the curing process to give what some call the best bacon taste available. In the United Kingdom, the meat is sold under the brand name Danish Bacon™.
The history of Danish bacon goes as far back as the 1800s. Germany had traditionally been a large consumer of Danish pig products, but opted to ban the import of Danish pigs around the middle of the century. Denmark then began importing to the United Kingdom, where the effects of the industrial revolution left the country ripe for food import. British workers simply needed more food than could be produced by the United Kingdom itself. The Dutch people’s strategic economic decision to begin exporting pork to the United Kingdom lead to a huge pork industry that continues to be a large contributor to the Danish economy.