The county of Wiltshire in England has been the center of bacon since the 18th century.  Wiltshire became a bacon center by an accident of location.  At that time many pigs were imported from Ireland and driven in droves from Bristol on the west coast of England to London.  Calne in Wiltshire a regular resting places for herds of swine was thus assured of a constant supply of pigs for curing.

In the early part of the 19th century a method of curing pork by curing 1/2 pork sides in a brine curing solution became known as the "Wiltshire Cure".   The "Wiltshire Cure" method produces a low salt sweet bacon that is sought after all over England. 

How is "Wiltshire Cure" different from the normal method of curing bacon in America?

   In a word, Time!  Although the curing ingredients are about the same the difference is the time and care needed to produce the "Wiltshire Cure", and the cuts of pork used to make William's Back Bacon.  Regular American bacon, (the Brits call it Streaky bacon,  because it is mostly streaks of fat with a little lean meat), comes from the belly of the pig and is cured by large bacon factories is as little as 4 hours.  First they inject the bellies with a brine and cure solution, then tumble the injected bellies in a large vacuum tumbler to break up the fibers of the meat and cause the curing solution to go all thought the meat.  Next the bellies are cooked for a while, placed in a bacon press, the bacon press shapes the bellies into squares to make the bacon look better in the package when it is cut and packaged.

  Here at William's we have the time to cure our back bacon the time honored "Wiltshire Cure" way.  First we start with the finest pork loins, then we have them cut to our specifications and with no more than 1/8 inch back fat.  Then we place the "British Style Pork Loins" in a special curing solution and allow them to cure naturally.  During the curing process a beneficial bacteria in the brine solution carries the cure throughout the loins causing them to become tender and imparts the flavor that is unique to the "Wiltshire Cure" Back Bacon. This process takes from 4 to 7 days to complete.   As we say, it takes Time and we have the time to make our back bacon right.

William's Back Bacon has about 70% less fat than normal American bacon and you can see the difference in your frying pan. William's Back Bacon does not shrink in the pan, and is not greasy when you eat it. This means you need less slices of bacon for a meal.