Not All Bacon Is Created Equal: A Guide to the Different Types of Bacon

Bacon is one of those foods that everybody thinks they know. You fry it. It's salty. It smells incredible. End of story.

But the gap between a strip of commodity bacon from a factory and a thick-cut, dry-rubbed, hardwood-smoked slice from a real smokehouse is wider than most people realize. It's the difference between instant coffee and a proper pour-over. Same ingredient, completely different experience.

We carry bacon from three producers who each take a different approach: Ossian Smoked Meats out of Indiana for classic smokehouse bacon, Old Major out of Indianapolis for heritage-breed and paleo-friendly options, and Broadbent's out of Kentucky for dry-cured country bacon. Here's what separates them and how to pick the right one for your kitchen.

How Bacon Is Made: The Basics

All bacon starts the same way: a pork belly. What happens next is what separates the good from the forgettable.

The belly gets cured, which means it's treated with salt (and often sugar and spices) to preserve the meat and develop flavor. There are two methods: wet curing, where the belly is soaked in or injected with a liquid brine, and dry curing, where the salt and seasonings are rubbed directly onto the surface. Dry curing takes longer but concentrates flavor instead of diluting it with water.

After curing, most bacon is smoked. The type of wood matters. Hickory is the standard, producing a bold, classic smoke flavor. Cherry and applewood run sweeter and milder. Some producers use a blend. And some mass-market brands skip real smoking entirely, substituting liquid smoke flavoring sprayed on in a fraction of the time. If you've ever wondered why your bacon tastes flat even after crisping it perfectly, that's probably why.

The final variable is the cut itself. Thickness matters. Thin-sliced bacon crisps fast but can shatter. Thick-cut bacon holds its texture, renders more fat, and delivers a meatier bite. Heritage-breed pork tends to have better fat-to-meat ratio and more complex flavor than commodity pork raised for volume.

The Types of Bacon We Carry

Classic Smokehouse Bacon: Ossian Smoked Meats

If there's a "default" bacon at Carnivore Club, this is it. Ossian's Premium Smoked Bacon is a 2 lb pack of thick-cut, naturally hickory-smoked bacon from a family smokehouse that's been operating in northern Indiana for nearly 80 years. The Sorg family smokes everything in small batches over real hickory, the same way they've done it since 1946.

This is no-nonsense bacon. It crisps up beautifully, renders clean fat, and has a balanced smoke flavor that doesn't overpower everything else on the plate. It's the kind of bacon that works for breakfast, on a burger, in a BLT, or chopped into pasta. If you want one bacon that handles everything, start here.

Heritage-Breed Smoked Bacon: Old Major

Old Major's Traditional Smoked Bacon is crafted from heritage-breed pork bellies. That matters because heritage breeds carry more intramuscular fat and more flavor than the lean, fast-growing breeds used in industrial production. Old Major hand-trims every belly, dry-rubs it with a proprietary blend of seasonings, and smokes it low and slow over real hickory and cherry wood.

The result is a deeply flavorful bacon that's smoky, savory, and subtly sweet with just enough fat to crisp up in a hot skillet without curling into nothing. No artificial cures. No water injections. No shortcuts. This is bacon made by butchers who know that great flavor takes time. At $13 for a 1 lb pack, it costs more than grocery store bacon. You'll taste why immediately.

Paleo Bacon: Old Major

If you're running Whole30, keto, or just prefer your bacon without sugar, Old Major's Smoked Paleo Bacon is the one. Same heritage-breed pork, same real hickory and cherry wood smoke, but with zero sugar in the cure. It's dry-brined without water to concentrate natural flavor, then slow-smoked for a rich, savory bite and a deep finish.

Most "uncured" or "no sugar" bacons on the market sacrifice flavor for the label. This one doesn't. It's clean, thick-cut, and holds its own against any conventional bacon. Whether you're strict paleo or just prefer fewer ingredients, this bacon delivers without compromise. Also available as part of the Paleo Value Pack if you want to stock the whole freezer.

Kentucky Country Bacon: Broadbent's

Broadbent's takes a completely different approach. Their bacon is made the Kentucky way, using the same dry-curing and hickory-smoking traditions they've practiced since 1909. This is country bacon, which means it's saltier, smokier, and more intensely flavored than standard bacon. Think of it as the country ham of the bacon world.

We carry three varieties from Broadbent's:

Hickory Smoked Bacon (14oz) — The classic Broadbent's cut. Salt-cured and hickory-smoked in Kuttawa, Kentucky. Bold, smoky, and distinctly Southern. This is the bacon that belongs next to biscuits and red-eye gravy.

Brown Sugar & Honey Heritage Bacon — Dry-cured with brown sugar and honey for a sweeter, more caramelized finish. The sweetness balances beautifully against the salt and smoke. Outstanding for glazing, candying, or just eating straight from the skillet.

Pepper Bacon (14oz) — Coated in cracked black pepper before smoking. It adds a sharp, warm bite that cuts through the richness of the pork fat. Great on burgers, in carbonara, or anywhere you want bacon with a little more edge.

Canadian Bacon: Ossian Smoked Meats

Ossian's Smoked Canadian Bacon is technically not bacon at all, at least not in the traditional sense. While regular bacon comes from the pork belly, Canadian bacon comes from the loin. It's leaner, rounder, and sliced into medallions rather than strips.

Ossian smokes theirs over real hickory for a clean, savory flavor. At 3 lbs per pack, it's a substantial amount of protein. Canadian bacon is fully cooked and ready to eat cold or heated. It's the classic choice for eggs Benedict, breakfast sandwiches, and Hawaiian pizza (we won't judge). It also works well diced into omelets, quiche, or fried rice where you want smoky pork flavor without the heaviness of belly bacon.

Bacon Ends & Pieces: Ossian Smoked Meats

This is the cook's secret weapon. Ossian's Premium Smoked Bacon Ends & Pieces are the irregular cuts and end pieces left over from slicing their premium bacon. Same cure, same smoke, same quality, just not uniform enough for neat strips.

At $7.99 for a 2 lb pack, this is the best value in our entire bacon lineup. Chop them up for soups, beans, pasta, baked potatoes, or breakfast scrambles. Render the fat for cooking. Use them anywhere you need smoky pork flavor without needing pretty strips. If you've never cooked with bacon ends, you're leaving serious flavor on the table.

How to Pick the Right Bacon

Tips for Cooking Better Bacon

Start in a cold pan. Don't preheat the skillet. Lay the bacon in cold and bring the heat up gradually. This renders the fat slowly and evenly, producing crispier bacon without burnt edges and raw centers.

Oven method for big batches. Line a sheet pan with parchment, lay strips flat without overlapping, and bake at 400°F for 15 to 20 minutes. No flipping, no splatter, and every strip cooks evenly. This is the move when you're cooking for a crowd.

Save the fat. Pour rendered bacon fat through a fine mesh strainer into a jar. Store it in the fridge. Use it for frying eggs, making cornbread, searing vegetables, or anywhere you'd use butter or oil. Bacon fat from properly smoked bacon tastes better than most cooking oils you'll find at the store.

Don't crowd the pan. Strips need space between them or they'll steam instead of crisp. Cook in batches if you need to. The extra few minutes are worth it.

Country bacon runs salty. Broadbent's bacon is dry-cured and will be saltier than what you're used to. Adjust your seasoning accordingly and let the bacon do the heavy lifting in the salt department. It's especially good paired with something sweet (honey, maple, brown sugar glaze) or something rich and fatty (eggs, grits, biscuits).

Shop the Full Bacon Collection

Every bacon in our bacon collection comes from producers who cure, smoke, and cut their own product. No co-packers, no mystery sourcing, no liquid smoke. Three producers, three different traditions, eight different options.

If you can't decide, start with Ossian's Premium Smoked Bacon as your everyday go-to and Old Major's Traditional Smoked for when you want to taste the difference heritage-breed pork makes. Add a pack of Bacon Ends & Pieces for cooking, and you've got a bacon lineup that covers every meal for weeks.

Looking for ham from the same producers? Check out our guide to city ham vs. country ham for a breakdown of what Ossian and Broadbent's do on the ham side.