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Pork belly expanding its popularity, reach

Pork belly has become very popular among diners.

“It became a trend,” said Patrick Fleming with the National Pork Board, “and now we’ve seen pork belly spread both to casual dining, fast casual and even QSR (quick service restaurants), so it’s been a really exciting trend that has definitely spurred some incremental sales for pork.”

Fleming tells Brownfield Ag News that the trend began with pork belly featured in high-end restaurants as an hors d’oeuvre.

“But we’ve seen a move to all types of recipes and formats,” said Fleming, “I mean everything from really high-end fine dining applications in center-of-plate meals, to, of course, the new pork belly sandwich at Arby’s, which obviously expands its reach and its popularity.”

Despite high demand, pork belly just came off some of the lowest prices ever because of heavy supplies, but Fleming says prices are firming again.  In the last four years, pork belly’s appearance on menus is up more than 150 percent, and it’s available in nearly 5,000 grocery stores.

“We have a lot of people who are making their own bacon, experimenting with hot and cold smoke pork belly,” he said, “or just using it as an ingredient and a flavor, or going for traditional Asian dishes also.”

Pork belly is fancy.  Fleming says it’s on more than 17 percent of white table cloth restaurant menus, while only a few years ago that figure was less than one percent.

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