Being a lover of bacon and living in a community that has multiple religions I got curious about if there was kosher bacon, if yes then what. This article is the result of that research.
Can Regular Bacon be Kosher?
No bacon from pigs isn’t kosher. But you can find other types of bacon that is kosher and that you can use in your everyday cooking.
So on the question “Can you buy kosher pork”. The answer is. No, all pig meat is strictly forbidden when talking about Kosher.
Is There Any Kosher Bacon?
There are a few examples of kosher bacon I will get a bit more into detail on some of them now. But for all of them, you have to make sure and check the label description of the product to be 100% sure that it is Kosher.
Is Turkey Bacon Kosher?
Yes, Some brands of turkey bacon are kosher and one of these is “Empire Kosher Natural Uncured Turkey Bacon” Another is “Hod Lavan Turkey Bacon” Available at the same place. It is the only companies that I know that currently advertises that their turkey bacon is kosher. So go an check em out and write your review of them below in the comments.
Duck Bacon
One of the more overseen types of bacon is Duck Bacon. it also comes in a few versions that are kosher but they can be very difficult to find especially in your local supermarket, even going online it can be hard to buy kosher duck bacon. One brand that you could search for is “Pelleh Duck Bacon” it varies on who sells it but this will give you something to look for. I have contacted the company as to getting some link for you to buy the product.
Is Lamb Kosher?
Yes, is lamb is one of the 10 ritually clean species animals (the sheep), and that it has split hooves and chews its cud. This means that Lamb Meat is Kosher. If it is properly slaughtered and processed. so remember to check.
This means that if the sheep is slaughtered by a trained and God-fearing shochet (Who performed the Shechita form of slaughtering that Jewish law demands)
Kosher Beef Bacon?
There is actually one brand that makes kosher Beef Bacon. They call it Facon, which only means that it is Fake Bacon. Personally, I haven’t tried it yet but this is what the manufacturer says about it:
“Smoky and salty, this dry-cured beef tastes and cooks up just like the real thing! Whether you serve it atop a juicy burger, sprinkled over a salad or cooked into a pasta sauce, your food will take on a new depth of flavor that will have you coming back for more.”
We are salivating at the thought of a kosher BLT, a Facon wrapped chicken cutlet grilled to perfection, Facon on a burger and Facon and eggs.
So does any of these taste like real bacon?
Well, to be honest, No, not exactly. The turkey bacon is more lean and low fatty which you can also taste in the meat, so is the duck bacon but it has a little more bite to it. The lamb bacon comes close in the taste, the salt and fat combined gives it a closer resemblance to regular bacon. But to look on the bright side they are all lower in fat so you will be able to eat more and they a kosher, so just find the one that you like and go for it.
Fun Kosher Bacon Fact
Bacon Salt is actually kosher and if you don’t believe me then check how the company describes it here.
Some additional information about Kosher.
I will talk a little about what is making meat kosher and what you might need to know when looking for kosher meat. I will talk about how the meat is butchered in a kosher way and what animals that are considered pure in the kosher sense. I will also talk a little about what is the difference between halal and kosher slaughter is.
What is the Shechita?
The Shechita is a way of slaughtering that is performed by the shochet so that the meat can be considered kosher. There are some guidelines that the shochet has to follow. I have listed them here in short.
- The carcass must be examined for treifos (physical imperfections, often in the lungs, that would render the animal non-kosher)
- The sciatic nerve must all be removed by people competent and trustworthy to do so.
As lamb is a kosher species of animal (has split hooves and chews its cud), lamb meat is kosher if properly slaughtered and processed.
Yes, sheep are a kosher species of animal. Of course, in order to get from a living sheep to kosher mutton, you still need the animal to be properly slaughtered by a trained and God-fearing shochet (shechita is the specific form of slaughter that Jewish law demands; a shochet is someone trained in and competent to perform shechita), , and blood, forbidden fats, and
Pure Kosher animals
In Deuteronomy 14:4-8 there are explicitly mentioned 10 animal names are considered ritually clean. I have listed em below, some of them are a little troublesome to be completely sure on since it is old translations.
- Ox
- Sheep
- Goat
- Deer
- Gazelle
- Antilope
- Yahmur (Refer to roe deer and to oryx)
- The’o (Wild Goat or Wild Ox, The translations are not completely sure on this)
- Pygarg / Dishorn (Usually been interpreted as some form of antelope or ibex, but due to translations )
- Camelopardalis (Means camel-leopard and referrers to the giraffe. But the Giraffe dident naturaly live i Canaan