Pork Belly

[Franci]

Shelby, you did a great job! It looks wonderful and I'm so glad you enjoyed it.

[huiray]

Well done! Looks nice.

Perhaps you might give some thought to going for a pork belly dish that does not fixate on the crispy skin next time?

[Tri2Cook]

As you can see, and like I said, this cut isn't what it should be for true pork belly goodness

That looks exactly like pork belly goodness to me.

[dcarch]

Well done! Looks nice.

Perhaps you might give some thought to going for a pork belly dish that does not fixate on the crispy skin next time?

If you are not interested in the skin and fat:

Pork belly - $3.90 a lb

Pork shoulder - $0.89 a lb.

dcarch :-)

[rotuts]

Wow. looks Soooooo good

what Rx did you finally choose ?

[huiray]

Well done! Looks nice.

Perhaps you might give some thought to going for a pork belly dish that does not fixate on the crispy skin next time?

If you are not interested in the skin and fat:

Pork belly - $3.90 a lb

Pork shoulder - $0.89 a lb.

dcarch :-)

Oh but I AM interested in the fat and skin - I like crispy skin too but I also do pork belly in other ways that do not REQUIRE that the skin be crispy but is meltingly soft and gelatinous instead, or soft & tender, and LIKE it in those ways - as do many other folks, I dare say. :-)

Pork shoulder at 89¢/lb? That's cheap. Still, pork belly is the most favored cut of pork for Chinese folks; with pork shoulder amongst the less favored parts (often not enough fat, amongst other things) and can be a hard sell in some markets. But surely you are quoting NYC prices?

Edited January 28, 2014 by huiray (log)

[Kerry Beal]

I can get shoulder right now for 99 cents a pound at most supermarkets. Belly on sale at $2.29. I did see belly for 99 cents the other day - but no skin.

[rotuts]

cheap it is.

[Shelby]

Wow. looks Soooooo good

what Rx did you finally choose ?

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/128753-roast-crispy-pork-aka-chinese-siu-yook/

I really appreciated the step by step instructions.

[huiray]

BTW, have you seen this old thread?

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/20297-pork-belly/

[Steve Irby]

Great posts. Shelby I too took the plunge for the first time and roasted up a piece of belly that I had dry brined for 4 days with the intent to smoke it on the grill. I decided to change course and cooked it in the oven after reading this post. The pork came from a tamworth hog that I butchered last fall and the skin came out really crunchy without the soda step. I was a little sloppy in the scoring process but lordy is that pork tasty.

[Shelby]

Great posts. Shelby I too took the plunge for the first time and roasted up a piece of belly that I had dry brined for 4 days with the intent to smoke it on the grill. I decided to change course and cooked it in the oven after reading this post. The pork came from a tamworth hog that I butchered last fall and the skin came out really crunchy without the soda step. I was a little sloppy in the scoring process but lordy is that pork tasty.

P1020511(1).JPG

P1020512(1).JPG

Looks delicious! About how thick was your cut?

[Steve Irby]

Great posts. Shelby I too took the plunge for the first time and roasted up a piece of belly that I had dry brined for 4 days with the intent to smoke it on the grill. I decided to change course and cooked it in the oven after reading this post. The pork came from a tamworth hog that I butchered last fall and the skin came out really crunchy without the soda step. I was a little sloppy in the scoring process but lordy is that pork tasty.

P1020511(1).JPG

P1020512(1).JPG

Looks delicious! About how thick was your cut?

It was a little under 2" at the thickest.

[Shelby]

My husband went to the Asian Market again yesterday and brought home these two goodies

One is going to be bacon.

The other is mine to play with…….decisions decisions…..

[Shelby]

Here is a picture of what I'm working with this time. It's got a lot more meat than the last one did. I'm SO torn between doing the crunchy top like I did last time or doing the Chashu pork for ramen.

[scubadoo97]

Wow, that's a meaty belly. Great find Shelby

[IndyRob]

I was wandering around the meat section of my local Meijer and stumbled across a pile of cryovac'd pork bellies.  I never see pork bellies (outside of bacon) at any mainstream grocery.  I didn't know why they were there.  I wondered if there was something going on I didn't know about.   

 

Anyways, the cuts were large (like 5lbs) and not suitable for an impulse buy.

 

Then two days later I was in a Kroger.  Again, the pork bellies.  These were smaller so I picked one up.

 

What's going on? Is there some sort of pork belly holiday I'm not aware of?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Smoke them!  I'm having pork belly for dinner.

 

[Ddanno]

Get them all! Especially if the ribs are still attached 😋

 

The price is wacky over here because of TV chefs (see also kidneys, calves' liver, sweetbreads, lamb and virtually all seafood)

[liuzhou]

Hmmm.

 

Pork belly is the most popular cut here.

[Ddanno]

On 7/19/2025 at 7:09 AM, liuzhou said:

Hmmm.

 

Pork belly is the most popular cut here.

 

I vaguely remember reading about some sort of national stockpile in case supplies run low, is that right?

[liuzhou]

11 minutes ago, Ddanno said:

 

I vaguely remember reading about some sort of national stockpile in case supplies run low, is that right?

 

Yes. The Chinese government imports pork, mainly from the EU, with Spain being the main source. Total imports amounted to $4,6 billion worth in 2024. This is to top up China's own massive production. The USA was also a major supplier but recent events have scuppered that with e\large existing orders being cancelled.

 

They hold large pork reserves which are used to keep prices stable, releasing reserves to lower prices when they rise or withholding them when the price stabilises, It is also held to maintain supplies. This aspect became important during the swine fever epidemic a few years ago. How much is held is a state secret. Prices did rise during the epidemic but not by much and have since fallen back.

 

 

[Vapre]

2 hours ago, liuzhou said:

>recent events have scuppered that with e\large existing orders being cancelled.

 

This might be why you're seeing them in mainstream stores now.

[donk79]

I will say that it recently seems more widely available.  I have purchased pork belly from Costco and our local international foods store for years, but just recently I have noted it being sold at Food Lion, a very mid-road grocer, not noted for carrying anything unusual.