1,200 pounds of pork belly later I finally get it

I always thought trimming pork belly was just a waste of time for the first few years. Then I hit my 1,200 pound mark last month and something clicked. I started paying way more attention to the fat cap thickness and how it affected the final product. My customers actually noticed the difference and started asking for my bacon by name. Now I spend an extra 10 minutes per belly and charge 15% more. Has anyone else noticed a big change after a certain number of pounds processed?

2 comments

2 Comments

bennett.mason11d ago

I finally get it" - yeah buddy, you and about 1,199 pounds of wasted effort before that. Sounds about right for learning the hard way. I bet your early batches came out looking like some kind of sad, floppy bacon. Now you're probably the guy at the farmer's market with the fancy pricing and the smug look on your face. Well good for you, but don't expect me to spend 10 extra minutes per belly unless you're paying my shop rate.

keith_rivera1911d ago

Tbh that whole thing about hitting a certain number before it clicks is just how everything works, not just pork belly. Same thing with learning to season a cast iron or knowing when bread is done proofing. You can read about it, watch videos, but your brain literally needs to process that much hands on time before the pattern recognition kicks in. It's like how nobody really understands their own car's weird little quirks until they've put 10,000 miles on it. That 1,200 pound mark is probably different for everyone based on their setup and standards. Just the way humans learn, taking the long way around until the short cuts finally make sense.

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