Fans of bacon are shocked to learn how the processed meat is actually made in grisly video showing the manufacturing process
- Discovery Channel video showing the bacon making process has resurfaced
- READ MORE: Social media ERUPTS in furious debate over BACON packaging
A video showing how bacon is made has resurfaced – and it has taught fans of the meat how it is really made.
The clip, which was originally aired by the Discovery UK channel in 2018 and has reappeared on YouTube, shows some grim insights into how the processed meat is made.
But bacon fans say it hasn’t put them off eating the pork product, with some saying it made them want to throw a strip on the grill.
The detailed video shows how bacon, which is processed and sometimes even pre-cooked in factories, starts with pork bellies.
These large piece of the pigs are tossed into a big tumbler – this action softens them, making it easier to remove the skins.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=GAqIynamBMY%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26hl%3Den-US
The savoury streaks are a staple of the classic English Breakfast, and are usually enjoyed with eggs, beans, toast and a hot cup of tea or coffee
A metal hanger called a ‘comb’ is pressed into the pork bellies so they can be hung onto a rack – where they will receive a shower of liquid smoke
Each pork belly then goes skin-side down onto a conveyor belt. This conveyer carries the belly to a long automated blade that slices the skin away from the meat.
The skins drop onto another conveyor belt to be processed into pork rinds.
Meanwhile, the meat pieces head toward a flipping device, turning them back-side up, so that workers down the line can trim off any remaining pieces of skin.
Next, workers mix up a brine solution that will cure the pork. Salt is funnelled into a tank of water and mixed thoroughly until dissolved, before liquid smoke and other flavourings are added.
The pork bellies now pass under an injector head, and its needles repeatedly inject the curing solution into each pork belly.
A metal hanger called a ‘comb’ is pressed into the pork bellies so they can be hung onto a rack.
They are then transported to the ‘drench cabinet’ for a shower of liquid smoke, which adds colour to the surface to the meat, as well as flavour.
The pork bellies are transferred to a big oven, in which they will cook for five hours, at a low temperature. This will allow the flavours to permeate the meat.
Meat pieces head toward a flipping device, turning them back-side up, so that workers on the line can trim off any remaining pieces of skin
A worker funnels salt into a tank of water and mixes it thoroughly until the salt is dissolved, which adds to the flavour of the bacon
Workers load the meat into chutes which sway back and forth over a blade – slicing the meat into bacon-sized pieces
After this process, the meat goes into a blast freezer for a quick cool down, then into another cooler for a couple of days.
This cooling process firms the meat, which makes it easier to slice.
The pork bellies then head to a sizing station where their sides get a quick trim.
They also get passed through a metal detector to ensure pieces of the metal hanger have not become lodged in the meat.
After that, the pork bellies are stacked and wrapped, and stored in a freezer until they’re ready to be sliced into bacon.
They are cut up on what is called the ‘slice line’.
Here, the workers load the meat into chutes. The chutes sway back and forth over a blade which slices the meat into bacon sized pieces.
The almost-finished browned bacon is loaded onto parchment paper so that it can be packaged and distributed.
The bacon strips fall neatly onto a conveyor belt. Another conveyor belt rolls over the slices to secure them for cooking in a browning microwave.
As the fat cooks off the bacon, it drains into a trough – the dripping from this fat will be used to make gravy and pet foods.
The cooked bacon now exits the microwave, and comes under the watchful eye of an inspector, who discards broken or not-up-to-par slices.
Mechanic wheels now roll the browned bacon slices onto parchment paper, with a tiny electronic eye keeping track of the number of slices.
Finally, the bacon is stacked for packaging, and is ready for distribution.
Bacon-lovers expressed joy and enthusiasm over the video – and even gave the workers a nod for their ‘hard work’
After watching the video, viewers tool to the comments section to share their thoughts, with many appearing surprisingly positive given the somewhat grisly manufacturing process.
One, voicing their appreciation for the workers, wrote: ‘This hasn’t reduced my love for bacon in any way, I just think about how much work it takes.’
Another agreed, adding: ‘Wow!!! This is a serious process! No wonder bacon is so expensive.’
And a third was also impressed by the clip, writing: ‘I love the no waste of delicious pork belly I kinda just wanna get a whole piece and throw it on a grill.’
However, while viewers of the bacon video were not put off the meat, some fans of Worcestershire Sauce vowed never to consume it again, after watching a video revealing the manufacturing process and ingredients.
Source: Read Full Article