Non Pork Bacon Alternatives

The problem is, few animals have anywhere near the fat content of pork. Bacon is actually leaner than some other cuts from the pig (Mmmmmm, fatback...Had fried fatback once, true story.)

So to get a cut of meat with as much fat as bacon? Pretty much impossible. But bacon is also about smoky flavor, and delicious nitrates (and gas phase polycyclic aromatics, the best carcinogen on the planet). There is duck bacon, lamb bacon, beef bacon. There's probably veal bacon, but that'd be pretty expensive.

Most people recommend lamb bacon, if you can't handle pork, but the beef bacon is probably easier to find in the US.

Edit:

Behold fried fatback!

I don't know about bacon, but Cooking Light magazine published a recipe for Duck Proscuttio. I wonder if you could make bacon with duck, since it is much fattier than turkey or chicken.

From what I understand, for beef bacon you want a belly cut of meat, close to the flank or the skirt, most often I've heard of skirt (aka plate) being used. Some people recommend brisket. Here is a chart of cuts of beef, you can see that pretty much anything from the underbelly is recommended.

The basic rule is, the fattier the cut of meat the better. Here is another chart showing the actual cuts, you can see that the brisket, skirt and flank are marbled with fat significantly compared to other cuts. You'll never reach the same level of fat as pork, but if you properly cure and smoke it, you should be able to get something suitable.

You may want to research Halal stores in your area and stop in one of them, they'll probably have some good info (and a nice selection) for you.

I have not made bacon at home, sadly, though this is something I hope to remedy in the near future.

Could you just have my-bacon and your-bacon? Bacon freezes well, so if using it up before it goes bad is a problem that could be an option. We don't eat a lot of bacon, so we roll the pieces individually and then freeze them. I have tried turkey bacon as well, and decided that I'd rather just eat less bacon than try to substitute it out.

There is also Baconaise and Bacon Salt products that you can get online. The Baconaise is really good, I have not tried bacon salt but have heard a lot of good things about it.

There are also soy alternatives, but the flavor and texture is not as good. I enjoy both beef fry (as the beef alternative is called here) as well as turkey bacon, depending on the application as they have different flavors and textures.