Smoked mullet, a specialty of the Gulf Coast from Louisiana’s Lake Borgne to Tampa Bay, got the name Biloxi bacon because it was the people’s meat when real bacon was scarce. The term likely goes back as far as the Civil War, when the Union blockade couldn’t make the population submit because people were able to survive on fish they caught: “You can’t starve us into submission unless you put a blockade on the mullet,” said a Biloxi native. In subsequent lean times, such as the Great Depression, when buying bacon was out of the question, mullet was once again a lifesaver. Netted in shallow-draft boats, mullet is a dense-fleshed fish that is almost always served smoked. A long spell over red oak coals saturates the meat with savory oils and makes it truly as rich as bacon.