Pork belly

Pork belly is the meat derived from the belly of a pig. In the United States, bacon is made most often from pork bellies. This cut of meat is enormously popular in Chinese cuisine and Korean cuisine. In Chinese cuisine, it is generally marinated and cooked as a whole slab. Pork belly is used to make sweet and sour pork and dongporou (東坡肉) in China. Koreans cook Samgyeopsal on a grill with garlic and green peppers, often accompanied by soju. Uncur... more

Pork belly is the meat derived from the belly of a pig. In the United States, bacon is made most often from pork bellies. This cut of meat is enormously popular in Chinese cuisine and Korean cuisine. In Chinese cuisine, it is generally marinated and cooked as a whole slab. Pork belly is used to make sweet and sour pork and dongporou (東坡肉) in China. Koreans cook Samgyeopsal on a grill with garlic and green peppers, often accompanied by soju. Uncured whole pork belly has more recently become a popular dish in Western cuisine, especially at high end restaurants. Pork bellies and pork belly futures contracts have been traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange since 1961. The unit of trading is 20 tons of frozen, trimmed bellies. Pork bellies can be kept in cold storage for an extended period of time, and generally it is the frozen bellies that are most actively traded. Bellies typically weigh around 14 pounds/6 kilograms. Prices vary depending on the amount of inventory in cold storage... less