pork belly suppliers

One can of course get pork belly/rib at Peoria, but are there any local purveyors of high-quality a la Niman Ranch/Northeast Iowa Specialty Meats or close to it ? I've never seen it at Paulina or Whole Foods.

edit: Subsequent searches turned up Halsted Packing and/or asian markets. Any others ?

Give Paulina a 2-3 day notice, and they'll get some very good fresh pork belly. I assume that Gepherth's would do similar.

You can get decent quality pork bellies at various meat markets around town, I got one at Golden Pacific once and it was perfectly fine and very reasonable.

But no matter where, it's going to be industrial pork, raised in all those ways that Pig Perfect condemns and tasting like standard commercial pork, not Niman Ranch pork. To my knowledge, there's no retail source for naturally raised pork in Chicago, or even if somebody like Whole Foods carries a little now, they're unlikely to have whole pork bellies. You have to find an online supplier like I did with Northeast Iowa Specialty Meats, or find a natural pork producer in the northeastern Illinois area (as I recall, I found some but they only sold 1/4 carcasses or more) and buy directly from them.

Sam Harmon wrote:Give Paulina a 2-3 day notice, and they'll get some very good fresh pork belly. I assume that Gepherth's would do similar.

True, but it would be preferrable (at least to me) to find the wholesalers that supply Paulina or Gepherth's.

Perhaps I don't know what "high quality" pork belly is, but I've gotten excellent, porky goodness out of the belly at the Cermak chain of grocery stores. It's cheap there too. I shop at the one on the 4200 block of N. Kedzie.

Perhaps I don't know what "high quality" pork belly is

Industrial pork:



Naturally-raised pork:



The color, the thickness of the fat around the belly, the flavor are all noticeably different.

Beyond that, I suggest reading Pig Perfect.

It's hard to believe that those pictures are the same cut from the same species. What a difference! Northeast Iowa Specialty Meats does not list a price for pork bellies, but I sent them an e-mail requesting info. Mike, having cooked both industrial pork and naturally raised pork, is it worth the time and trouble to make bacon from the former? I'm anxious to give it a try and thought that I would practice on a less expensive product.

FrankP wrote:

Sam Harmon wrote:Give Paulina a 2-3 day notice, and they'll get some very good fresh pork belly. I assume that Gepherth's would do similar.

True, but it would be preferrable (at least to me) to find the wholesalers that supply Paulina or Gepherth's.

Perhaps, but if everybody chose to follow your lead then we wouldn't have a Paulina or Gepherth's, and the Chicago food scene would be much poorer for their loss. It's a big city version of the whole Wal-Mart conundrum. Metaphorically speaking, I'm not willing to gut my town square in order to save a few cents on a roll of toilet paper.

Sam Harmon wrote:Perhaps, but if everybody chose to follow your lead then we wouldn't have a Paulina or Gepherth's...

I'm not suggesting that I wish to drive Paulina or Gepherth's out of business. I shop at both stores and for the vast majority of their products, they add a great deal of value. For that reason, it is unlikely that either will be closing anytime in the near future. In this specific case, they would be procuring a pork belly on my behalf from a wholesaler. The value add is quite small. I doubt that more than a handful of people are in the market for pork bellies, otherwise both Paulina and Gepherth's would stock the item.

Mike, having cooked both industrial pork and naturally raised pork, is it worth the time and trouble to make bacon from the former?

Read the baconblogging thread. Absolutely it is, not least because it's not that hard, not really any harder than making soup or bread. I enjoyed the bacon I made from Peoria bellies a lot, although I was occasionally frustrated by the process of finding a decent belly that wasn't too thin and marked by some cut-out spots. I like the natural bellies even more, but you'll certainly be happy with the bacon you make from any pork, and it's soooo cheap (under $2/lb., if I recall correctly) it's well worth the experiment.

I believe NE Iowa's price is around $3/lb., but by the time you're done with shipping it's heading toward $5, depending on how you fill the crate. That's still a little under retail bacon prices, which tend to be in the $6 range, but as I noted in the baconblogging thread, I'm just happy not to be paying well over retail for the privilege of making it myself. And I'm happy that my $3/lb. goes straight to the farmer.

Has anyone had any Pork Belly experiences, good or bad, with Halsted Packing House? I am considering trying a new place and didn't want to waste a trip. I remember reading somewhere that they supplied to Paulina, but can't verify.

I am also curious, if I were to select a higher end belly, how NE Iowa compares to say Wettsteins or Jake's Meats? It seems like most of the local farmers have their pork belly for $6+.

I am looking for a naturally-raised pork belly. The thread indicates that while cheap bellies can be had at Peoria, they aren't going to be the best quality.
I am going to make some bacon!

I usually call Butcher and Larder or Publican Quality Meats if I need some fancy belly.

You can order a pork belly from Crystal at C & D Family Farms. They have fantastic product! I have done a meat and egg CSA through them and loved it, and I also visited the farm last year for customer appreciation day. All in all, a fantastic experience both with their meat and at the farm seeing the little piggies. They are at several Chicago farmer's markets. http://cdfamilyfarms.com/

jeannine wrote:You can order a pork belly from Crystal at C & D Family Farms. They have fantastic product! I have done a meat and egg CSA through them and loved it, and I also visited the farm last year for customer appreciation day. All in all, a fantastic experience both with their meat and at the farm seeing the little piggies. They are at several Chicago farmer's markets. http://cdfamilyfarms.com/

Agree!! Beautiful pork belly from pigs that have been raised with love (and no middleman mark-up which is kind of unnecessary for something like pork belly).

You picked a good time to do it - most of the Farmer's Markets are opening this weekend. Many farms will already be selling pork belly, but it never hurts to shoot them an email to ask that they have some for you. Just check the website for the market closest to you to find the meat producers at your market. Jake's Country Meats is at the Logan Square Market, and he almost always has pork belly (good stuff too). Any of the previous mentioned places are good bets as well.

mgmcewen wrote:I usually call Butcher and Larder or Publican Quality Meats if I need some fancy belly.

I live down the street from B&L. I don't know why I didn't think of them!

The farmer's market recos are good too. Good suggestions, all!

If the downtown meat emporia aren't convenient for whatever reason, you could also ask your local butcher (which I realize is getting to be a vanishing breed). Vince at Devon Avenue Meats (currently inside Morningfield's Market in Park Ridge) ordered one for me so I could make porchetta for Christmas 2011. At the time, I didn't think to ask who his supplier was, but if I order one again, I will. The quality was very good, if you judge by the way the guests inhaled it!

How about going to Chinatown for pork belly.

Are there any pork belly or pork skin sources in the Arlington Heights/Wheeling area?

I was thinking of Carnicerias Jimenez, Sunset Foods or Misuwa.

Thanks

Hi,

Carnicerias Jimenez carries pork skin, pork belly with rind and pork shoulder. They are located at 550 W Dundee in Wheeling.

Anyone have a good north side location to obtain pork belly for bang mi? Thanks!

Joong Boo Market
3333 N Kimball Ave.

Marketplace on Oakton always has pork belly in stock. Cheap, too. You should go. Open til 8PM on Sundays, in case this is a pork belly emergency.

4817 Oakton St.
Skokie, IL 60077
(847) 677-9330

Thank you!!

For future reference, Whole Foods usually carries pork belly; H-Mart will have it in a variety of configurations (sliced, chunk, bone-in, boneless, etc.); a higher grade of meat is available at Publican Quality Meats and Butcher & Larder.

C&D farms pork belly is my favorite. During the winter, they home deliver pretty much anywhere in the city, are present at a few indoor farmer's markets and have set times when they stake out a location in their truck to sell (Lincoln Square on Tuesday mornings, Andersonville on Wednesdays I think.) The website has the info. Really great stuff. Eggs, poultry, lamb, beef, etc. available as well--from members of their farm co-op.

boudreaulicious wrote:C&D farms pork belly is my favorite. During the winter, they home deliver pretty much anywhere in the city, are present at a few indoor farmer's markets and have set times when they stake out a location in their truck to sell (Lincoln Square on Tuesday mornings, Andersonville on Wednesdays I think.) The website has the info. Really great stuff. Eggs, poultry, lamb, beef, etc. available as well--from members of their farm co-op.

I picked up a 7 lb belly from C&D a few days back. Going to season and roll it up for porchetta on xmas and cook for guests on Saturday. I will report back.

AlekH wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:C&D farms pork belly is my favorite. During the winter, they home deliver pretty much anywhere in the city, are present at a few indoor farmer's markets and have set times when they stake out a location in their truck to sell (Lincoln Square on Tuesday mornings, Andersonville on Wednesdays I think.) The website has the info. Really great stuff. Eggs, poultry, lamb, beef, etc. available as well--from members of their farm co-op.

I picked up a 7 lb belly from C&D a few days back. Going to season and roll it up for porchetta on xmas and cook for guests on Saturday. I will report back.

Look forward to hearing (seeing??) the result of your endeavor!

Yes, please post in the Porchetta for Christmas thread - seems to be a tradition