Ask any halal burger bar what customers request that they cannot serve and “bacon cheeseburger” comes up fast. Ask a halal café what they wish they could put on the breakfast menu and you will hear the same word.
The answer has been around for years, but the quality has only recently caught up with the demand. Smoked beef, turkey and chicken rashers now give a halal kitchen the salt, smoke and crisp that customers are asking for, without compromise on certification. “Halal bacon” is searched around 1,200 times a month in the UK, and “turkey bacon” more than 5,000 times, which tells you people are actively looking for it.
This guide explains what the three main halal bacon alternatives are, how they differ, how to cook each one in a commercial kitchen, and where they earn their place on a menu. Everything mentioned is stocked by BurgerPro and available in single packs from the online shop for anyone who wants to try before committing to trade quantities.
Bacon, strictly speaking, is cured pork, so there is no such thing as halal bacon in the literal sense. What the phrase describes is a rasher made from a halal-slaughtered animal (beef, turkey, chicken or occasionally lamb) that has been cured, smoked and sliced to do the same job on a plate.
The best of these products are not trying to imitate pork so much as deliver the things people actually want from a rasher: saltiness, smokiness, a bit of chew, crisp edges and a strip of savoury fat that renders against a hot patty. Judge them on that and the good ones stand up very well.
For operators, the important word is certification. A rasher that is halal in ingredients but processed on a shared line is not the same as one carrying a recognised certificate. BurgerPro’s smoked rashers are all HMC certified, which is the standard many UK halal customers look for first.
Beef is the closest to traditional bacon in richness and texture. A good beef rasher has visible fat, renders on the griddle and crisps at the edges while keeping a meaty bite in the centre. The flavour is deeper and slightly sweeter than turkey, and it holds up under strong sauces.
HMC Smoked Beef Rashers come in cases of 10 x 300g. They are the rasher for burgers: a couple of slices on a double smash with cheese and a pink burger sauce gives you the bacon cheeseburger customers have been asking for.
Turkey is leaner, cooks faster and has a milder, cleaner smoke. It crisps quickly and is the easiest of the three to overcook, so watch it. Because it is lean, it suits breakfast plates, sandwiches and anything where the rasher is not fighting a heavy sauce.
HMC Smoked Turkey Rashers also come 10 x 300g to a case. Turkey is the option most customers recognise (it is by far the most searched of the three), so it is a safe first listing if you have never sold a rasher before.
Chicken rashers sit between the two. They are lean like turkey but with a slightly softer texture and a flavour that takes on smoke well. They are a good all-rounder for wraps, loaded fries and breakfast rolls, and they are typically the most cost-effective of the three per slice.
HMC Smoked Chicken Rashers come 6 x 300g to a case, which makes them the smallest case to trial.
If you only stock one: beef for a burger-led menu, turkey for a breakfast or café menu. If you can stock two, beef and turkey between them cover almost every use. Chicken becomes worth adding once you have a loaded fries or wrap line where a lower-cost rasher makes the numbers work.
Rashers behave differently from pork bacon, mostly because they carry less fat. A few habits make a big difference.
Griddle or flat-top, medium-high. Start with a lightly oiled surface; there is not enough fat in turkey or chicken to rely on rendering. Beef will release some fat, but a thin film of oil still helps the first side.
Do not crowd. Rashers steam rather than crisp when they overlap. Lay them flat with space between.
Turkey and chicken: 60 to 90 seconds a side. They go from perfect to brittle quickly. Pull them when the edges are just crisp and the centre still has give.
Beef: 2 to 3 minutes a side. Give the fat time to render and the edges time to darken. A slightly longer cook rewards you with proper crispness.
Finish under the salamander for crowds. For breakfast service, cook rashers to just under done on the flat-top and finish batches under a grill to order. It keeps them crisp without drying out.
Cook from frozen or thawed. Rashers cook fine from frozen on a hot plate, though thawed slices separate more easily and cook more evenly. Follow the pack guidance and your own food safety plan.
This is the headline. Two HMC 2.5oz smash patties or a single HMC 90g beefburger, cheese, two crisp beef rashers, and a squeeze of Nawhal’s Biggy Burger sauce or Colona Big Burger. Add a smoky BBQ sauce and you have a second listing for no extra stock. Every part of it carries HMC certification, and you can say so on the menu. The full burger range is here.
Turkey rashers on a soft roll with egg and a squeeze of ketchup or American mustard sauce is a morning trade builder for cafés and any takeaway open before midday. On a plate, two or three turkey rashers alongside eggs, beans and hash browns gives you a halal full breakfast that finally looks complete.
Chopped crisp rashers over fries with Cheezy Easy sauce and a drizzle of BBQ is the halal version of bacon cheese fries and one of the highest-margin sides you can list. Our loaded fries post covers a dozen more builds.
Chicken or turkey rashers with lettuce, tomato and mayo makes a halal club sandwich. A chicken rasher and cheese toastie is a lunch staple. A rasher inside a grilled chicken wrap with Pita Kebab sauce adds smoke and salt that customers notice immediately.
If you already carry HMC Slow Cooked Smoked Black Angus Brisket, a brisket and beef rasher burger with BBQ sauce is a premium listing that uses nothing you do not already hold. The whole frozen rashers and brisket range is designed to sit together.
Customers who care about halal want to see the word and, ideally, the certifying body. Where a product carries HMC certification, say “HMC certified” next to it rather than the vaguer “halal”. Be equally careful not to overstate: if a rasher is certified but the bun or cheese is not verified, do not describe the whole burger as HMC.
If you sell sauces alongside, it is worth knowing that Nawhal’s sauces are certified vegetarian and described by the brand as halal compatible, and Colona holds halal certification for its range. Our post on halal burger sauce essentials goes into more detail, and the top five halal burger sauces suggests where to start.
Not literally, because bacon is cured pork. “Halal bacon” usually refers to smoked and cured rashers made from halal beef, turkey or chicken that serve the same purpose on a plate.
Beef rashers are closest to traditional bacon in richness and suit burgers. Turkey rashers are leaner and suit breakfasts and sandwiches. Chicken rashers are a cost-effective all-rounder for wraps and loaded fries.
Yes. The smoked beef, turkey and chicken rashers stocked by BurgerPro all carry HMC certification. Check the individual product page for the pack you are ordering.
They are smoky and salty with a crisp edge, but leaner and milder than pork bacon. Most customers find them a satisfying substitute, particularly in a roll or on a breakfast plate. Cooked properly, the smoke and crispness come through without the heaviness of pork bacon.
On a hot, lightly oiled flat-top, or in a frying pan at home, for around 60 to 90 seconds a side, without overlapping. Pull them when the edges are crisp and the centre still has some give, then finish under a grill if you are holding them for service. As with any product, check the pack label for ingredients and allergens before service.
Beef and turkey rashers come 10 x 300g per case; chicken rashers come 6 x 300g. Trade case quantities and pricing are confirmed through the wholesale enquiry form.
Yes. Individual packs are available through the BurgerPro online shop with nationwide delivery.
BurgerPro ships HMC rashers, brisket, smash patties and sauces together from Birmingham to anywhere in the UK, with orders dispatched within 1 to 2 working days. Browse the rashers and brisket range or the wider frozen range, and if you run a takeaway, café or burger bar, complete the wholesale enquiry form for trade pricing.
