# Thomas column: ‘Bring home the bacon’ and other pork renderings

Columns share an author’s personal perspective.

Despite its Northern-sounding name, the Boston butt is a favorite cut of meat across the country. Also known as pulled pork because the tender flesh easily tears apart, the butt is one of the best parts of the hog to roast.

While the term may have originated in the North, the “butt” part of the name is not what you’re probably thinking since the cut of the hog actually comes from the upper part of the shoulder on the front leg. Pre-revolutionary New England butchers would pack their meat into casks or barrels called butts for storage and shipment, and other parts of the country soon adopted the term.

If you are fortunate to acquire a freshly barbecued Boston butt, your family will likely congratulate you for “bringing home the bacon.” The origin of this familiar expression is a little obscure, but possibly comes from the quaint 12th-century English custom of giving bacon to a young couple if they were still happy after a year of marriage.

Fortunately, anniversary gift-giving improved in later centuries, but bacon has remained a cheap and readily accessible ingredient whose saltiness and flavor are prized additions to many dishes including the much-loved BLT sandwich. (For a simple breakfast variation, see the recipe for a delicious maple bacon, mayonnaise and egg sandwich).

Another popular pork product seen around contemporary holiday festivities is the baked ham, although this popular dinner centerpiece may not be the only ham at the table since there’s often one family member this term aptly describes. But just how “ham” became associated with individuals who crave the center of attention is a bit of a mystery.

One theory dates from Shakespearean days when actors used ham fat to remove their heavy make-up. These performers became known as hamfatters, perhaps eventually shortened to hams.

The hog also found its way into government. Folks from the North may have coined the name Boston butt, but a more dubious hog term seems to have originated in the South.

First appearing in literature in the second half of the 19th century, the “pork barrel” became a familiar metaphor for appropriations channeled by politicians to favored local projects. It remains a term that still feeds irate political commentators while often souring voters to the political system. An early 20th century writer suggested the term originated prior to the Civil War when Southern plantation owners would place salted pork in big wooden barrels for slaves who would snatch the prized meat before the supply ran out.

Ever since, politicians have been unashamedly grabbing state and federal dollars for pet projects, while themselves sometimes living high on the hog.

The breakfast maple BME sandwich

Love BLTs for a quick lunch? Then try this maple BME (bacon-mayonnaise-egg) sandwich for a tasty breakfast treat.

Cook several strips of bacon in a frying pan until crispy. Drain fat and add 1-2 teaspoons of pure maple syrup. Cook for 1 minute longer, turning the bacon several times in the syrup and set aside. Beat an egg with a fork, add a little pepper, and pour into a hot frying pan with melted butter or margarine. Flip the egg and fold over to roughly the size of a slice of bread. Toast two slices of bread, butter the toast, and spread mayonnaise on one slice. Top mayonnaise slice with bacon then egg and assemble the sandwich. Cut in half and enjoy with hot coffee or fruit juice.

Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery, Ala., and has written features, columns, and interviews for over 800 magazines and newspapers. See www.getnickt.org.