Waitrose bacon
Waitrose bacon comes from dedicated farms in Britain.
What’s special about Waitrose bacon?
Good bacon starts with the way the pigs are reared, and we buy most of our bacon from the same farms that supply our fresh pork. We know the farmers personally, and they’re committed to our high standards of quality, food safety and animal welfare. We source some bacon from Danish farms too, and they also work to Waitrose standards. All our bacon can be traced back to a group of farms where it was raised.
English bacon
Sold prepacked and from the service counter, our English bacon comes from pigs born and weaned outside, then reared in light, airy barns with straw bedding, where they have room to express their natural behaviours. The range includes smoked and unsmoked back bacon and smoked, rindless streaky bacon.
Dry and speciality cured bacon
These come from the same farms are our English bacon. Dry curing is the traditional way of preserving pork, in which sea salt is carefully rubbed into the meat by hand. The meat is then left to mature, before being sliced into rashers. Dry cured bacon is sold from the service counter, and prepacked. Speciality cures include maple cure and sweetcure, sold prepacked.
Free range bacon
This is produced exclusively for us by three British farmers, from English reared pigs sired by Hampshire boars which roam freely outside. This traditional breed is renowned for flavour and succulence. This traditional breed is renowned for flavour and succulence and can be found in the prepacked bacon aisle.
Organic bacon
This comes from pigs reared on specially selected organic farms in East Anglia and the south west. They’re free to roam outside, and fed an organic, cereal-based diet.
Danish bacon
This comes from selected farms in Denmark, which are committed to Waitrose standards. It includes back and streaky bacon, and lardons.
How do you look after animal welfare?
All our pig farmers work to the Assured British Pig Scheme and the RSPCA Freedom Foods Scheme, and are regularly audited to ensure high standards of welfare and animal husbandry. Pigs are only transported by hauliers approved by Assured British Pigs, and journeys may not last longer than four hours (most are under 1½ hours). On arrival, the pigs are inspected and given rest and fresh water.
Meet the farmer
Roger Newton supplies pork for our free range bacon, from his Norfolk herd of Hampshire Breed pigs.
People say the Hampshire breed pork and bacon has the flavour they remember from when they were young. It really is something special.
Try these bacon recipes:
Mackerel Baked With Sage And Bacon
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It is one of nature's happy accidents that the tastes of mackerel and bacon combine to their mutual benefit. The key to getting the best out of mackerel is to make sure you buy firm, shiny fish with glistening eyes. Ask your fishmonger to fillet two mackerel into four pieces each. He will cut the mackerel into two fillets, then you should cut each fillet into two lengthways. This will le...