I just found a brand of back bacon made here in the U.S. (Beeler’s), and I understand this is the kind you use to make an English “bacon butty”. Although I heard about them once, I’ve never seen or tasted this sandwich before.
I’d like to serve them tomorrow for lunch. What’s the best way to prepare them? Will a hamburger bun do? Should it be toasted? Should the back bacon be really crisp or should I leave it kind of chewy? Any info would be helpful.
Felicity Cloake in the Guardian had LOTS of opinions.
Good bacon is hard to find. I’m gonna think of you enjoying your bacon butty.
But from what I can tell it’s bacon on buttered white bread with catsup added. You can add literally anything else your heart desires.
I say a slice of avocado would be nice.
A bacon butty is several layers of bacon, covered in HP Sauce, on a soft, round, buttered bap.
Yeah, simple as can be – buttered roll, bacon, add HP sauce (or, I’ve also seen ketchup). Delicious!
No HP and no ketchup. Just a heavily buttered roll.
Seems like a field-expedient BBQ sandwich, assuming that a “bap” is the white or brioche bun that it appears to be.
It’s a matter of opinion in the UK. But in reality most people have smoked back bacon (just bacon as we call it), can be on a roll, or sliced bread (but UK sliced bread is different, so probably a roll), and a sauce, typically Brown (Tarmarind and molasses, made by HP or Daddies, there are fans of both, the differences are noticable but not dissimilar), but sometimes Ketchup (personally never eaten a Ketchup one when there is brown sauce).
Not complicated, but bacon is different in US and Brown sauce probably unavailable.
Yeah, googling shows that a bap looks like our hamburger bun, but maybe a bit more substantial. I’m thinking a grocery store kaiser roll will do.
For my first attempt, I’ll skip any sauces, because I want the taste of this delicious back bacon I just found to come through. I’ll try to get the bacon crisp but not overcooked, and toast the buttered roll under the broiler.
What you call “back bacon” is probably known to Americans as Canadian bacon. Much leaner than “streaky” bacon, which is 50% or more white fat that renders and gets crispy when you fry it.
I’ve had real Canadian bacon, and it differs considerably from the meat in McDonalds’ Egg McMuffins. What Mickey D’s calls “Canadian bacon” is more like thinly sliced ham steak.
(Ironically, I’m sitting in a McD’s as I write this! 
)
And yes, you can get “brown sauce” in the US, Heinz 57 being one of the brands that are available.
Not quite. Here’s a link to proper back bacon. Canadian bacon is in the neighborhood, though.
A number of the sandwiches sold in British pubs (e.g., cheese and onion, chicken and mushrooms) are made with baps. Unlike Kaiser rolls, which tend to have a crisp crust, they’re dense and very soft round buns. In my experience, brioche-style hamburger buns are a closer match.
Yep, that’s the meat Bob and Doug MacKenzie have for breakfast along with their Molson’s. 
The “Canadian” (or “Canadian-style”) bacon served at McD’s apparently got its name when the product was first imported from Toronto to New York City.
Yeah, whenever my mother would serve Canadian bacon at breakfast, my reaction was always “That ain’t bacon, that’s ham.” I still don’t see any meaningful difference between the two (eating-wise; I know they come from different parts of the pig, but that’s a technical distinction that makes no difference when someone promises you bacon and doesn’t deliver).
I bet it would be even better if you slid a couple of slices of grilled beef right there between the bacon and the bap.
Maybe add some cheese, too.
Pickles would also be a nice touch.
Bacon on a buttered bun I’d be inclined to add peanut butter if nothing else.
Have to admit the butty sounds rather plain but the bacon is probably exceptional.
A1 steak sauce isn’t the same, but it’s in the ballpark too.
I’d be tempted to add a fried egg to this sammich.
A somewhat different texture of bread, though.
Many do.
Generally, one can find back bacon in the U.S., though it’s typically called “Canadian bacon” here. (And, I see that I’ve been scooped on this, and I suppose that “true” back bacon is probably less common.)
A lot of grocery stores here now have “imported foods” sections, and I’ve bought HP Sauce at my local grocery store, as well as on Amazon. I tried HP during COVID, decided that I like it, and usually have a bottle of it on hand. I also like Heinz 57 Sauce, and while they are not dissimilar, I find the flavor to be different.