Ashamed I don’t know this already, but saw this at the supermarket and I’ve typically seen porkbelly whole like how Costco sells it, but what the hell is this? Just looks like bacon to me, I know that bacon IS belly but what’s different about this stuff?
Pork Belly question
RobC
(Robert C)
#2
Pork Belly “Thin Cut” sure looks like half length bacon to me!
In the link below, part of the definition of “Pork Belly” is unsliced bacon.
Maybe just a way to get you to spend $7.99 a pound for bacon?
I would want it to say “hormone free”, “no antibiotics” or at least “organic” at that price.
JohnH
(John)
#3
It looks like bacon, but tastes and cooks up differently. I got some thick-sliced pork belly at my local Korean market the other day (frozen). I cooked up aboug 2/3 pound of it in my skillet. I ended up needing to add a little bacon fat from my jar in the fridge.
It was excellent. It tasted like a cross between bacon and pork chops. Basically is it not cured with sugar or smoke flavoring like bacon is, but is the same part of the pig.
I am hoping to find a source of fresh sliced that’s a little cheaper than what I paid ($16 for 2 pounds).
MyUsername
#4
AFAIK pork belly is just plain pork muscle and fat. To make bacon they treat pork belly with curing and flavorings and so on. We tried it a few weeks ago at the Korean BBQ we like, and we decided it was a bit tough, and as mentioned above, tasted a lot like a pork chop. While I love bacon (who doesn’t?),I’m skeptical about the chemicals in it; so I wonder if you could get something similar but with pork belly.
David_Stilley
(Full Metal KETO AF)
#5
Pork belly is a tough cut that is helped by curing or longer cooking time. It will be tough if cooked quickly generally. One Chinese technique involves deep frying a large cube (watch out! Major splattering!) and then slicing thick and steaming for quite a while on top of salted mustard greens. Very Keto! Also a thick strip boiled for about 10 minutes, cooled and sliced for stir frying is classic as in Twice Cooked Pork.
Wahinewanders
(Brandy)
#6
I braise or steam a pound or two chunk of pork belly every week, then put it in the fridge to slice up for lettuce wraps or soup or well, whatever I want to use it for. If you slice a pork belly that you’ve pre-cooked and throw it in a pan to reheat, it’s then already had the cook time it requires to become more tender and it’s fabulous. More economical too. The idea that they’re charging more for a preparation that’s bound to produce inferior taste and texture kind of grinds my gears.