Pork Belly Ordering Tips

Hi everyone,
I recently special ordered a pork belly from the butcher. Skin on approximately 8lbs. I dont really know how much he deals with them. So i went ahead and made bacon from it. I was really disappointed in how much meat there was compared to fat. Compared to regular store bought bacon there seemed to be much less meat.

Now i know if you were ordering a porterhouse, per se, knowing what exactly to order can be the difference btw getting a great porterhouse steak and a t-bone pretending to be a porterhouse.

Is there something I should be real specific about when ordering to get more of a meatier pork belly? I know he doesnt just have a few lying around so i can compare and pick. When he orders it he is getting just one for me from wherever he is getting it.

As far as the quality of the bellies goes, you'll just have to look for a good supplier, preferably a local farmer of Berkshires or the like.
Commercial belly is of notoriously unpredictable quality.
However, good bacon isn't especially lean, you may want to consider buckboard bacon from the shoulder, which is leaner.


~Martin

MartinF DiggingDogFarm said:

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good bacon isn't especially lean, you may want to consider buckboard bacon from the shoulder, which is leaner.

Click to expand...

I agree. Or maybe canadian/loin bacon would suit your fancy. You could have your butcher bone out a crown roast of pork (loin with ribs) and you can cure and smoke that as you would belly bacon. The fat from around the ribs adds a lot to what you would expect from a commercial canadian bacon which is super lean.

I order mine with the skin off from my local butcher, the last ones were $2.69 a pound but they are always nice and meaty, they average 12#

excellent photo Rich. OP if you're set on getting meaty belly bacon maybe try ordering from another butcher if that's available. Seems like trial and error is the best way to go here.

Here is what my butcher gets me, the slabs above were from this case.