Is bacon cured like ham? Is it safe to eat raw (out of the package)? Is it smoked?

Question

I live in Australia. I once had a friend who used to eat it raw in sandwiches. Is this safe? Can you undercook bacon? Is it treated the same way as ham (which you can eat straight away) or not? I was just interested

Answer 1

Under absolutely NO circumstances should you EVER eat bacon or ANY pork product raw! Pork meat contains a worm larvae that, when ingested, can cause trichinosis, which is a painful and lingering muscle ailment. The only way to keep this from happening is to cook the pork until is is NO LONGER PINK. (There's no such thing as a "rare" pork chop!)

Smoked bacon also must be cooked before being eaten. "Smoked" means that the meat has been given a smoky flavor by either being exposed RAW to a smokey environment (a "smokehouse") or by being injected with a liquid smoke flavoring. In either case, the pork MUST be cooked before being eaten.

Hams that are "pre-cooked" are safe to eat right out of the package; most hams today are sold pre-cooked. The label will tell you if it is or not.

Answer 2

Cooked sausages are made with fresh meats, and then fully cooked. They are either eaten immediately after cooking or must be refrigerated. Examples include hot dogs, Braunschweiger, and liver sausage. Cooked smoked sausages are cooked and then smoked or smoke-cooked. They are eaten hot or cold, but need to be refrigerated. Examples include kielbasa, and mortadella. Some are slow cooked while smoking, in which case the process takes several days or longer, such as the case for Gyulai kolbász. Fresh sausages are made from meats that have not been previously cured. They must be refrigerated and thoroughly cooked before eating. Examples include Boerewors, Italian pork sausage, siskonmakkara, and breakfast sausage. Fresh smoked sausages are fresh sausages that are smoked. They should be refrigerated and cooked thoroughly before eating. Examples include Mettwurst and Teewurst. Dry sausages are cured sausages that are fermented and dried. They are generally eaten cold and will keep for a long time. Examples include salami, Droë wors, Finnish meetvursti, Sucuk, Landjäger, and summer sausage. Bulk sausage, or sometimes sausage meat, refers to raw, ground, spiced meat, usually sold without any casing.

Answer 3

most hams, when sold in the market are cured and fully cooked, and so can be eaten as they are (unless it says fresh ham or uncooked ham). bacon, however is only cured and often cold smoked, it is never cooked when sold, unless it specifically says "fully cooked". while you are very very unlikely to get ill from eatring raw bacon, it is a nasty idea anyway.

Answer 4

Good question! I wouldnt recommend eating it raw at all....Bacon is cured here in America

Answer 5

NO, bacon comes from pigs, pigs have Trichinosis virus, you could die. Cook, Cook, Cook.

Answer 6

no, but they do sell precooked