My first disappointment with a Trader Joe’s Product. The Pork Belly comes fully cooked but needs to be browned over a skillet before served. Suggestion’s to either Brown the whole loin in a skillet or slice it and brown. Seemed simple enough. But after I browned the entire loin and sliced it it was all white and mushy. It was 90% Fat. Then I sliced it and cooked it a little longer in the pan and to no avail did there appear to be much meat.
Rated 5 out of 5
Dennis Otto –
We cooked it whole then sliced it and served with cubed watermelon, feta and a basalmic reduction. It was quick and delicious. The crunchy exterior of the pork belly balanced the melt in your mouth tenderness of the inside. By the way, it’s pork belly: it’s SUPPOSED to be mostly fat.
Rated 5 out of 5
alexandriaginni –
We sliced and sauteed it with cherry tomatoes and sliced: onions, mushrooms, small red and yellow peppers, and cabbage. Oh my goodness! As Dennis said, quick and delicious. (Actually, I’m devouring the leftovers, which I just heated up — YUM!)
Rated 1 out of 5
Pat Mitchell –
If I could give it a zero rating I would. As the 1st reviewer said it was mostly fat. After slicing and seeing that I fried it to render fat. I’d say it contained maybe? 5% meat and had no particular good flavor to use the browned chunks for anything as I at least hoped for. How can people rave about eating mostly pork fat is beyond me. BTW I love pork. Uncured good bacon is a better choice than this.
Rated 1 out of 5
linda –
The worst product Trader Joe’s have sold to date. This pork belly is precooked…. meaning they boiled the s**** out of it. Nothing can save this. I tried to roast… pan cook… bake… and Lord knows what else. However, the pork belly is stringy and stew like texture. Totally processed. I’m very disappointed Trader Joe’s felt the need to destroy the possibilities with how their customers can cook this pork belly. Also, it leaves a bad after taste due to the over processed ‘precooked’ preperation.
Rated 5 out of 5
Joan Lindsay –
Golly! Pork Belly!! it’s fat and wonderful. I slice and saute, breakfast lunch or dinner it’s delicious. Makes me think i might never to another pork roast again.You could also cut up a bit and put into a pot of beans, with onion and cook down slowly. Awesome!
Not enough stars in option so ******************
Thanks TJ!
Rated 5 out of 5
Patti Hattan –
I’m wondering if some negative reviews were due to undercooking. I sliced it thin (it looked like chunks of fat with a strip of at this point). I sautéed over medium heat like I would bacon. Flipped it several times until it was fully browned and most the fat had been rendered and more meat was revealed. I was left with crisp pieces that still retained just a bit of fat inside. We found it delicious.
Rated 5 out of 5
Bryant Grant –
We’ve cooked this two ways. First in a pan over medium heat (just like bacon). Then we put some in a fryer at 350° until just past golden brown then sprinkled on a mixture of cracked black pepper and brown sugar while still hot. Both were good but the fried was amazing.
Rated 5 out of 5
TJ Murphy –
Some people just don’t know a good thing even is it slaps them in the face.
What is pork belly? Simply, it’s a hunk of fat and meat. Not so simply, it’s a wonderful conglomeration of incredibly tasty and tender of meat and fat.
Think of it this way. Imagine the tastiest piece of pork you’ve ever consumed and add to that a melt in your mouth texture. Wow!
TJs pork belly comes precooked but to make it mouth watering it requires a little effort on your behalf.
I prefer to slice it into 1/4” thick pieces and then I cook if one of two ways.
First, pan fry the slices in a hot skillet which will render some of the fat and give you a crust brown coating. Alternatively I lay the slices on a rack over a pan in my toaster oven and heat at 400 degrees until the edges are golden brown.
Sorry folks, I’ve got to run. Have to get back to Joe’s and pick up some more.
Rated 5 out of 5
TH Murphy –
Some people just don’t know a good thing even is it slaps them in the face.
What is pork belly? Simply, it’s a hunk of fat and meat. Not so simply, it’s a wonderful conglomeration of incredibly tasty and tender of meat and fat.
Think of it this way. Imagine the tastiest piece of pork you’ve ever consumed and add to that a melt in your mouth texture. Wow!
TJs pork belly comes precooked but to make it mouth watering it requires a little effort on your behalf.
I prefer to slice it into 1/4” thick pieces and then I cook if one of two ways.
First, pan fry the slices in a hot skillet which will render some of the fat and give you a crust brown coating. Alternatively I lay the slices on a rack over a pan in my toaster oven and heat at 400 degrees until the edges are golden brown.
Sorry folks, I’ve got to run. Have to get back to Joe’s and pick up some more.
Rated 5 out of 5
Shannon Not Sia Chandler –
I’ve been wanting to try this for a while. The cut reminds me of salt pork slab that they used to make with greens back in the day. Anyway saw this at Trader Joe’s decided why the hell not? It’s crispy from my air fryer and I had it with spicy Bush Baked beans. Was delicious. If you know how to cook and watch a lot of cooking shows you’ll know pork belly (plus watching stock prices ) is amazing. 10/10 will buy again. Yummm
Rated 5 out of 5
ReagsterS –
it’s wonderful ! To these other reviewers giving it ONE STAR because it’s fat, you know NOTHING ! Pork Belly IS Fat. If you want lean meat buy pork loin or tenderloin..
This is exactly what it is supposed to be and it’s delicious
Rated 3 out of 5
Judy –
Erm…I understand Pork Belly is *mostly* fat, but even when ordering it at restaurants, there’s a strip, maybe 1/4-1/3, of meat. This had practically nothing, barely a speck, not even like regular bacon; typically I eat belly with rice but I can’t imagine how I’d eat this.
Sure, air fry this sucker and you’ll get crispy-skinned, tender, melty fat deliciousness (hence the 3 stars) but if you’re expecting any meat, you’ll be disappointed (hence the 2 star deduction).
Rated 1 out of 5
HMVasquez –
This pork belly is skinless, i give it one star
Rated 5 out of 5
Cheryl M –
This pork belly is fantastic! Those expecting pork belly to be a type of roast or shoulder, it is belly fat! I’d describe it a fatty ,crispy bacon when cooked properly, like schichirron.
Rated 5 out of 5
DLC –
So happy with this product! I cut into 1/4 inch strips and fry them up nice and crisp to put on top of my ramen. Have also cubed and browned and put on a soup. Now looking for other ways to use it. Will try the watermelon salad someone mentioned above.
Rated 5 out of 5
Mark –
We’ve been major pork belly fans for some time, and we were pleased to find how wonderful TJ’s pork belly is. One extra step I take is removing and setting aside the very soft buttery fat before browning the pork belly on the stovetop. That soft fat is already cooked, so we spread it on slices of baguette as one would do with butter. It’s an umami blast!
Rated 5 out of 5
Yvonne Ramsden –
Love there pork belly. So glad so triec it. Sliced it and fried it until crispy. Used it in a BLT salad
Perfect if you are on Keto. Please keep it
Rated 4 out of 5
Ham and Bean –
I agree with other reviewers who note that people do not seem to understand what pork belly actually is. If you’re afraid of unctuous, silly slab of pork fat, please move right along. There is also meat, of course, but you won’t need to add oil to your pan. I sliced the slab of belly into about 3/8″ pieces and seasoned with a chipotle honey mix to use in tacos. After about 4-5 minutes per side over a medium to medium-low, a good deal of fat had rendered and the pieces were nicely browned. I drizzled a bit of honey over top and held it in a 350° F oven for about 5 more minutes as I wrapped up the rest of my prep. Once out of the oven I cut the pieces into chunks that were both crisp on the outside and still that irresistible softness inside. I kept sneaking pieces before they made it into the tacos.
Docked one star because while the quality is good and it is extremely convenient, you are paying for that convenience. If you pre-cooked your own pork belly you could save a good bit of money, but I can’t argue with grab and go, cook it up, Bob’s your uncle.
Rated 5 out of 5
Sarah –
Simply good.
Rated 1 out of 5
pork belly –
its not worthy to work with this product…………..all fat … messy….no crispy enough… . dont buy it!!
Rated 1 out of 5
minina –
its not worthy to work with this product…………..all fat … messy….no crispy enough… . dont buy it!! much better to buy bacon already cooked………..less messy and greasy
Rated 5 out of 5
Catherine Clasby –
I’ve never tried pork belly. I cooked it as a chunk which it didn’t “brown” like the picture because it’s uneven, but it still did the job! I also am sure I could have done it better with a better pan and any knowledge about pork belly. From what I understand, it’s supposed to be mostly fat.
I am very happy with the taste! I cooked it with fresh green beans from TJs. Threw them in a pot with a lid and a chunk of butter and lawry’s. And that was dinner! Hubby, daughter, and I were all happy. DEFINITELY WILL BUY AGAIN!
Rated 1 out of 5
Angry Chef –
I purchased this product for the first time when I saw the packaging with a beautiful piece of lean pork. I usually buy the Mexican Carne Pork but I thought that the chance of getting lean meat would be greater with the Pork Belly. WOW was I wrong. This thing was almost total fat, There was a strand of lean meat but that was it. Inedible onless you eat fat.
Rated 5 out of 5
Brigitdeluxe –
It’s unfortunate that people don’t know that pork belly means : the fattiest piece of meat you could possibly eat it.
Yes, this deliciously scrumptious pre-cooked meat met my salivating needs. Stick it in the fry pan, turn until all sides at browned, slice then , decorate it with sweet and spicy chipotle jam on a bed of any dark green. You will not be disappointed unless you are looking for a lean piece of meat and then review my first sentence.
Rated 5 out of 5
Brigitdeluxe –
It’s unfortunate that people don’t know that pork belly means : the fattiest piece of meat you could possibly eat.
Yes, this deliciously scrumptious pre-cooked meat met my salivating needs. Stick it in the fry pan, turn until all sides are browned, slice then , decorate it with sweet and spicy chipotle jam on a bed of any dark green. You will not be disappointed unless you are looking for a lean piece of meat and then review my first sentence.
Rated 5 out of 5
Coco Ono –
Simple in flavor because the cut of meat is already so rich on its own; perfectly juicy and tender! I attended a food board party and my board was pigs-in-a-blanket themed. I used seven different types of protein and this particular pork belly was one of the variations. Even after the food had cooled, the meat still had such a nice texture — much like European ham. I can’t imagine having this regularly because it’s pretty fatty, but I can’t wait to serve it again as party bite treat.
Pro-tip: Ignore the bad reviews. If you don’t know that pork belly is SUPPOSED to be fatty (it’s the cut for bacon for crying out loud), you are a kitchen novice and your opinion holds no real value in this scenario. :’D
Mary –
My first disappointment with a Trader Joe’s Product. The Pork Belly comes fully cooked but needs to be browned over a skillet before served. Suggestion’s to either Brown the whole loin in a skillet or slice it and brown. Seemed simple enough. But after I browned the entire loin and sliced it it was all white and mushy. It was 90% Fat. Then I sliced it and cooked it a little longer in the pan and to no avail did there appear to be much meat.
Dennis Otto –
We cooked it whole then sliced it and served with cubed watermelon, feta and a basalmic reduction. It was quick and delicious. The crunchy exterior of the pork belly balanced the melt in your mouth tenderness of the inside. By the way, it’s pork belly: it’s SUPPOSED to be mostly fat.
alexandriaginni –
We sliced and sauteed it with cherry tomatoes and sliced: onions, mushrooms, small red and yellow peppers, and cabbage. Oh my goodness! As Dennis said, quick and delicious. (Actually, I’m devouring the leftovers, which I just heated up — YUM!)
Pat Mitchell –
If I could give it a zero rating I would. As the 1st reviewer said it was mostly fat. After slicing and seeing that I fried it to render fat. I’d say it contained maybe? 5% meat and had no particular good flavor to use the browned chunks for anything as I at least hoped for. How can people rave about eating mostly pork fat is beyond me. BTW I love pork. Uncured good bacon is a better choice than this.
linda –
The worst product Trader Joe’s have sold to date. This pork belly is precooked…. meaning they boiled the s**** out of it. Nothing can save this. I tried to roast… pan cook… bake… and Lord knows what else. However, the pork belly is stringy and stew like texture. Totally processed. I’m very disappointed Trader Joe’s felt the need to destroy the possibilities with how their customers can cook this pork belly. Also, it leaves a bad after taste due to the over processed ‘precooked’ preperation.
Joan Lindsay –
Golly! Pork Belly!! it’s fat and wonderful. I slice and saute, breakfast lunch or dinner it’s delicious. Makes me think i might never to another pork roast again.You could also cut up a bit and put into a pot of beans, with onion and cook down slowly. Awesome!
Not enough stars in option so ******************
Thanks TJ!
Patti Hattan –
I’m wondering if some negative reviews were due to undercooking. I sliced it thin (it looked like chunks of fat with a strip of at this point). I sautéed over medium heat like I would bacon. Flipped it several times until it was fully browned and most the fat had been rendered and more meat was revealed. I was left with crisp pieces that still retained just a bit of fat inside. We found it delicious.
Bryant Grant –
We’ve cooked this two ways. First in a pan over medium heat (just like bacon). Then we put some in a fryer at 350° until just past golden brown then sprinkled on a mixture of cracked black pepper and brown sugar while still hot. Both were good but the fried was amazing.
TJ Murphy –
Some people just don’t know a good thing even is it slaps them in the face.
What is pork belly? Simply, it’s a hunk of fat and meat. Not so simply, it’s a wonderful conglomeration of incredibly tasty and tender of meat and fat.
Think of it this way. Imagine the tastiest piece of pork you’ve ever consumed and add to that a melt in your mouth texture. Wow!
TJs pork belly comes precooked but to make it mouth watering it requires a little effort on your behalf.
I prefer to slice it into 1/4” thick pieces and then I cook if one of two ways.
First, pan fry the slices in a hot skillet which will render some of the fat and give you a crust brown coating. Alternatively I lay the slices on a rack over a pan in my toaster oven and heat at 400 degrees until the edges are golden brown.
Sorry folks, I’ve got to run. Have to get back to Joe’s and pick up some more.
TH Murphy –
Some people just don’t know a good thing even is it slaps them in the face.
What is pork belly? Simply, it’s a hunk of fat and meat. Not so simply, it’s a wonderful conglomeration of incredibly tasty and tender of meat and fat.
Think of it this way. Imagine the tastiest piece of pork you’ve ever consumed and add to that a melt in your mouth texture. Wow!
TJs pork belly comes precooked but to make it mouth watering it requires a little effort on your behalf.
I prefer to slice it into 1/4” thick pieces and then I cook if one of two ways.
First, pan fry the slices in a hot skillet which will render some of the fat and give you a crust brown coating. Alternatively I lay the slices on a rack over a pan in my toaster oven and heat at 400 degrees until the edges are golden brown.
Sorry folks, I’ve got to run. Have to get back to Joe’s and pick up some more.
Shannon Not Sia Chandler –
I’ve been wanting to try this for a while. The cut reminds me of salt pork slab that they used to make with greens back in the day. Anyway saw this at Trader Joe’s decided why the hell not? It’s crispy from my air fryer and I had it with spicy Bush Baked beans. Was delicious. If you know how to cook and watch a lot of cooking shows you’ll know pork belly (plus watching stock prices ) is amazing. 10/10 will buy again. Yummm
ReagsterS –
it’s wonderful ! To these other reviewers giving it ONE STAR because it’s fat, you know NOTHING ! Pork Belly IS Fat. If you want lean meat buy pork loin or tenderloin..
This is exactly what it is supposed to be and it’s delicious
Judy –
Erm…I understand Pork Belly is *mostly* fat, but even when ordering it at restaurants, there’s a strip, maybe 1/4-1/3, of meat. This had practically nothing, barely a speck, not even like regular bacon; typically I eat belly with rice but I can’t imagine how I’d eat this.
Sure, air fry this sucker and you’ll get crispy-skinned, tender, melty fat deliciousness (hence the 3 stars) but if you’re expecting any meat, you’ll be disappointed (hence the 2 star deduction).
HMVasquez –
This pork belly is skinless, i give it one star
Cheryl M –
This pork belly is fantastic! Those expecting pork belly to be a type of roast or shoulder, it is belly fat! I’d describe it a fatty ,crispy bacon when cooked properly, like schichirron.
DLC –
So happy with this product! I cut into 1/4 inch strips and fry them up nice and crisp to put on top of my ramen. Have also cubed and browned and put on a soup. Now looking for other ways to use it. Will try the watermelon salad someone mentioned above.
Mark –
We’ve been major pork belly fans for some time, and we were pleased to find how wonderful TJ’s pork belly is. One extra step I take is removing and setting aside the very soft buttery fat before browning the pork belly on the stovetop. That soft fat is already cooked, so we spread it on slices of baguette as one would do with butter. It’s an umami blast!
Yvonne Ramsden –
Love there pork belly. So glad so triec it. Sliced it and fried it until crispy. Used it in a BLT salad
Perfect if you are on Keto. Please keep it
Ham and Bean –
I agree with other reviewers who note that people do not seem to understand what pork belly actually is. If you’re afraid of unctuous, silly slab of pork fat, please move right along. There is also meat, of course, but you won’t need to add oil to your pan. I sliced the slab of belly into about 3/8″ pieces and seasoned with a chipotle honey mix to use in tacos. After about 4-5 minutes per side over a medium to medium-low, a good deal of fat had rendered and the pieces were nicely browned. I drizzled a bit of honey over top and held it in a 350° F oven for about 5 more minutes as I wrapped up the rest of my prep. Once out of the oven I cut the pieces into chunks that were both crisp on the outside and still that irresistible softness inside. I kept sneaking pieces before they made it into the tacos.
Docked one star because while the quality is good and it is extremely convenient, you are paying for that convenience. If you pre-cooked your own pork belly you could save a good bit of money, but I can’t argue with grab and go, cook it up, Bob’s your uncle.
Sarah –
Simply good.
pork belly –
its not worthy to work with this product…………..all fat … messy….no crispy enough… . dont buy it!!
minina –
its not worthy to work with this product…………..all fat … messy….no crispy enough… . dont buy it!! much better to buy bacon already cooked………..less messy and greasy
Catherine Clasby –
I’ve never tried pork belly. I cooked it as a chunk which it didn’t “brown” like the picture because it’s uneven, but it still did the job! I also am sure I could have done it better with a better pan and any knowledge about pork belly. From what I understand, it’s supposed to be mostly fat.
I am very happy with the taste! I cooked it with fresh green beans from TJs. Threw them in a pot with a lid and a chunk of butter and lawry’s. And that was dinner! Hubby, daughter, and I were all happy. DEFINITELY WILL BUY AGAIN!
Angry Chef –
I purchased this product for the first time when I saw the packaging with a beautiful piece of lean pork. I usually buy the Mexican Carne Pork but I thought that the chance of getting lean meat would be greater with the Pork Belly. WOW was I wrong. This thing was almost total fat, There was a strand of lean meat but that was it. Inedible onless you eat fat.
Brigitdeluxe –
It’s unfortunate that people don’t know that pork belly means : the fattiest piece of meat you could possibly eat it.
Yes, this deliciously scrumptious pre-cooked meat met my salivating needs. Stick it in the fry pan, turn until all sides at browned, slice then , decorate it with sweet and spicy chipotle jam on a bed of any dark green. You will not be disappointed unless you are looking for a lean piece of meat and then review my first sentence.
Brigitdeluxe –
It’s unfortunate that people don’t know that pork belly means : the fattiest piece of meat you could possibly eat.
Yes, this deliciously scrumptious pre-cooked meat met my salivating needs. Stick it in the fry pan, turn until all sides are browned, slice then , decorate it with sweet and spicy chipotle jam on a bed of any dark green. You will not be disappointed unless you are looking for a lean piece of meat and then review my first sentence.
Coco Ono –
Simple in flavor because the cut of meat is already so rich on its own; perfectly juicy and tender! I attended a food board party and my board was pigs-in-a-blanket themed. I used seven different types of protein and this particular pork belly was one of the variations. Even after the food had cooled, the meat still had such a nice texture — much like European ham. I can’t imagine having this regularly because it’s pretty fatty, but I can’t wait to serve it again as party bite treat.
Pro-tip: Ignore the bad reviews. If you don’t know that pork belly is SUPPOSED to be fatty (it’s the cut for bacon for crying out loud), you are a kitchen novice and your opinion holds no real value in this scenario. :’D