Pork belly sought

RRP

With all the pork belly cooks posted I'm planning on egging one. Just some questions though:

where does one buy such?
what is the general weight?
having seen a comment that sometime they still have skin and hair on them is there any trick to cutting that off?
I assume their is much-o grease rendered so is a drip pan wise?
TIA

lkapigian

I get mine @ Costco and they are Skinless- They run +-10 pounds

Gravytrain84

I bought at Costco. They sell them whole or cut in strips. I opted for the 4# pack cut up. 

fishlessman

all the supermarkets here have them, i usually see it near the stock bones. if you cube it or slice it into strips the skin slices off very easily, more work if its a whole slab but still doable. the fat that contacts the skin is very soft.  look for the ones heavy in meat.

HoustonEgger

I've gotten mine at Restaurant Depot and most recently from HEB. 
Weight varies based on thickness and size (anywhere from 6lbs to 20lbs). A fully pork belly can get up to 20lbs if the hog was huge. I bought a 1/2 from HEB this weekend that was just 5.5lbs (skinless)

Cut the skin off if your going for pork belly burnt ends, otherwise leave the skin on for crispy pork skin. You can remove it just like you would trim a brisket, using a boning knife and some handy work. 

And yes, I would recommend a drip pan for the burnt ends, they are nice and juicy!

billt01

@RRP

where does one buy such?
Costco, Sams, but I've had luck at Food Depot and my local butcher..

what is the general weight?
Usually, you get what you get..in my case

having seen a comment that sometime they still have skin and hair on them is there any trick to cutting that off?
razor sharp boning knife...the nipples really freaked my kids out, they connected the dots from our lab to the pig...

I assume their is much-o grease rendered so is a drip pan wise?
no drip needed...IMO

EggMcMic

@RRP
Costco or Alwan's around us. Costco comes without the skin, Alwan's will remove it if you ask.

saluki2007

I get mine from Costco.

THEBuckeye

I've bought belly here: http://thurnsmeats.com in Columbus, Ohio. 

They sell fresh butts, belly's, smoked meats, brats, etc. I did a pork belly for a poolside app for about 12 people with a three pounder. It came cleaned, fat trimmed, etc. 

Look for a good ol' butcher shop. 

I've also bought frozen. Too much fat. Not a good outcome

Malcom Reed's method is a good one: http://howtobbqright.com/2017/04/17/pork-belly-burnt-ends/

He's uses a drip pan and cooks the sliced belly cubes on a pork grid. 

Carolina Q

There's a crappy little butcher shop in my town that sometimes has them. And if they don't, I'm sure they could get one. The one and only time I ever bought belly, I found it at an Asian market. I think it weighed about 2 lbs. And it had a bone! Only 2 lbs and bone in makes me wonder if what I bought was actually belly. Bacon I made from it looked and tasted like bacon though.

Never seen belly in a standard grocery store. 

fishlessman

Carolina Q said:

There's a crappy little butcher shop in my town that sometimes has them. And if they don't, I'm sure they could get one. The one and only time I ever bought belly, I found it at an Asian market. I think it weighed about 2 lbs. And it had a bone! Only 2 lbs and bone in makes me wonder if what I bought was actually belly. Bacon I made from it looked and tasted like bacon though.

Never seen belly in a standard grocery store. 

ive gotten it with the small end of rib bones attached as well

gdenby

There were 2 places near me, a specialty butcher/sausage shop, and an Asian Market. The butcher closed shop. He would order from nearby farms, and the bellies were quite thick. Half a belly, at least 5 pounds.  Sadly, he shut down. Haven't asked from other places yet.

The Asian market usually has them a couple of days a week. Much thinner. I understand Chinese pork species are much smaller than North American breeds. Top end, abt. 3 pounds.

If there is still hair on, run a torch over it, and then a razor. All gone.

You can cut the skin off if you have a really sharp knife. Before I bought some good knives, I used de-greased snap off blades w. a bit of tape around one end so I wouldn't slice my fingers. It is not necessary to cut the skin off unless you want to double the rub on the belly, and save the skin for making cracklins. At this point, I cut the belly into 2" wide strips so I can get bub on the sides. Before serving, the skin cuts right off.

lousubcap

@RRP Costco for the win.  You can ask them to cut their normal 8-10 lb/slabs (that they predominantly offer sliced) in half so you have a whole section to then take the plunge with.  FWIW-

BGEChicago

lkapigian said:

I get mine @ Costco and they are Skinless- They run +-10 pounds

I do the same, they are ready for the BGE, unless you want to make bacon.... I go through on a month!

Biggreenpharmacist

gdenby said:

If there is still hair on, run a torch over it, and then a razor. All gone.

What kinda razor?

510BG

Costco thick cut 

Legume

Biggreenpharmacist said:

gdenby said:

If there is still hair on, run a torch over it, and then a razor. All gone.

What kinda razor?

That’s funny.

DMW

I picked up a 9lb skinless pork belly several months back at Costco and tossed it in the freezer. Go it out tonight and put it in the fridge. Proteins for this weekend are set, SRF brisket and pork belly. Haven't decided yet if I'll do pork belly burnt ends, or just get lazy, season and smoke it whole then serve it sliced. More than likely this will be a last minute call based on weather.

Kupkaked

I like to get them from my local butcher. That way I can have them trim the skin off if present.