Pork Belly vs. Bacon: Differences Between the Pork Cuts

Pork belly is a prime cut of meat of a domestic pig that comes from the underside of the animal. The pig’s belly has the fattiest meat, making it a versatile and tender cut with a higher fat content than pork cuts like side or loin.

Grocery stores typically sell pork belly in large slabs or cut in long, inch-thick strips. Home cooks may oven-roast or fry large pieces of pork belly to eat as an entrée or fry cubed pieces to add to vegetable or pasta dishes. The cut is especially common in Asian cuisines, often as a key ingredient in ramen.

Pork belly cuts come from the underside of a domesticated pig, along the ventral line. As the butcher works up along the sides of a pig’s belly, they’ll remove the loins and spare ribs, then the remaining meat in the bottom portion of the area, known as pork belly.

Bacon is a type of thin-cut pork belly that has undergone curing and smoking (typically over wood like applewood or hickory). Curing is a preservation process that involves rubbing bacon in a mixture of salt, nitrates, and nitrites to preserve the meat and impart its characteristic pink color.

Most North American grocery stores sell cured and uncured bacon. Contrary to its name, producers cure uncured bacon through natural nitrate sources like celery powder or sea salt.

Bacon is a cut from the belly of the pig along the ventral line. However, butchers may also make bacon from cuts of pork other than pork belly—for instance, back bacon is from the loin, jowl bacon is from the cheeks, cottage bacon is from pork shoulder, and slab bacon typically comes from side cuts.

Outside of the United States of America, other countries have different types of bacon, so they often label thin-cut pink strips of cured pork belly as “American bacon” or “streaky bacon.”

While bacon is a type of pork belly, they have several key differences:

• Curing: The true difference between pork belly and bacon is the curing process—while pork belly is uncured meat, bacon is a cured meat that undergoes preservation with salt and nitrates to preserve the meat, extend its shelf life, and prevent spoilage, bacterial growth, and botulism.
• Flavor: Since bacon undergoes curing with salt, the meat takes on a salty flavor even when fried without additional salt; In addition, smoked bacon often has additional smoky flavors imparted from the wood. On the other hand, pork belly has no added salt or smoky flavors and will require salting during the cooking process for additional flavor.
• Price: Since the curing process takes several days, bacon is typically a bit more expensive per pound at the grocery store than a simple pork belly cut.
• Thickness: While butchers can cut bacon and pork belly to nearly any thickness, they traditionally prepare bacon thinly sliced to allow for easier frying. At the same time, they leave pork belly thicker to make it more versatile for recipes.
• Uses: Cooks traditionally prepare thin-cut bacon by frying it in a shallow pan, after which they can eat it as-is or add the cooked bacon to salads, soups, and sandwiches. Chefs can prepare pork belly in several ways, including oven-roasting, frying, braising, slow-cooking, or smoking. They can serve it as a meat entrée or tender addition to salads and sandwiches, BBQ spreads, or side dishes.

While you can substitute pork belly for bacon in many recipes, you’ll likely need to adjust the meat’s salt content and cooking time. Bacon is saltier than pork belly—due to the curing process—and needs less time to cook. On the other hand, pork belly is unsalted and needs additional cooking time.

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