The milky liquid you are talking about is one of the perils of buying cheap bacon. Brine injection is a fast cure, used to produce commercial brands quickly. Real bacon should be salted for longer, either in a wet (brine) or dry cure. Then it should be hung for a time to get a real depth of flavor. Whether or not you want smoked bacon is really up to personal taste (or the recipe you are using). I think dry cured bacon is best for frying if you want a dense, meaty bacon in the pan with no liquid leaking from it. Now to the cut you choose: Back bacon is leaner, taken from what would be the loin of pork, if it were fresh. That's the best type for sarnies. Streaky bacon is usually made from the belly, and has a lot more fat content, making it perfect for cooking in stews or for crispy lardons in salads. There are excellent brands around these days and most of the big supermarkets have realized that they need to offer more than the dreaded vac pacs of danish bacon (sorry Denmark). Pancetta, which is Spanish, French or Italian dry cured streaky, is usually a safe bet. And, did you know, it is really easy to make your own? Hugh Fearnely - Whittingstall's recipes for curing pork are excellent. We now follow them to make our own hams and bacons at Great Queen Street, and customer feedback has been very positive.