Pork Belly Substitute

When a recipe calls for pork belly, a trip to the local supermarket doesn’t always work. Instead, you can use one of these pork belly substitutes to make the perfect meal.

Let’s talk about pork belly alternatives. The key is to find a cut of meat with just the right fat to muscle ratio and pick the right meat for the role pork belly plays in your recipe. We will give you the summary in a handy chart for reference first and then break each option down in more detail below.

Comparison of the Substitutes

Substitute	Attribute	Info to Know
Pork Bacon	Cured Meat. Made from Pork Belly or Side Pork. Streaked with Fat.	Added Preservatives. Shrinks up as it cooks. Smoke and other flavors added.
Pork Fatback	Hard Fat from the Back of Pigs. Flavorful. Moist.	No Meat. High Water Content. Shrinkage.
Salt Pork	Made from Pork Belly. Brined Meat. Moist.	Added seasonings from the brine. Change of flavor. High salt content.
Pork Shoulder	High-Fat Content and Marbling. Inexpensive.	Tough if not cooked slow. Fatty.
Duck Bacon	Smoked. Healthier than regular bacon.	Added Seasoning.
Beef Bacon	Cured Meat. Made from Beef Belly. Streaked with fat.	Beef and not pork. Drier than pork belly. Lower fat content than pork.
Beef Navel	Cut from the belly. Similar cut to pork belly. Flavorful.	Beef and not pork. Drier than pork belly. Lower fat content than pork.
Turkey Bacon	Fewer calories. Cured Meat.	Drier than pork belly or bacon. Made from Ground Meat. Lower Fat Content.
Goose Meat	Fat that renders out. Flavorful. Moist.	Gamey. Tough. Chewy.
Tempeh Bacon	Fermented bean product. Vegan. Flavored to taste like bacon.	Added ingredients like liquid smoke. Lower fat content.
Tofu	Subtle flavor absorbs seasoning. Fat content. Vegan.	Can be tricky to cook with. Needs added flavor as a meat substitute. No fat renders out.
Soy Bacon	Vegan. Easy to make. Similar texture to meat.	Made from soybeans. Low-fat. Needs flavor added as a meat substitute.

How to Choose

When you start looking for a good substitute the first thing to take into consideration is — how will you be using the pork belly? If you are planning to turn your pork belly into bacon, buying pre-packaged pork bacon or bacon substitute makes perfect sense. If your pork belly will be working its way into a stir fry, using beef navel might make more sense.

The second thing to consider is — what do you need from the pork belly substitute? Should you need rendered fat, turkey bacon will not be a good choice. If all you need is added flavor from cooked and rendered fat, fatback is an excellent choice. If your finished dish needs meat and flavor don’t choose fatback.

The third consideration is — how will added seasonings or flavor affect your final dish. Several of the recommended substitutes have a built-in flavor profile such as smoke or liquid smoke flavor, salt, nitrates, or a gamey flavor. Each of these attributes may negatively affect your desired outcome.

Using our comparison chart above, consider your options based on how you will be using the meat, what the recipe needs from the meat, and how the built-in flavor profile of the substitute will affect your dish.

Pork Bacon

Many people consider bacon to be the best pork belly substitute because it is generally the exact same cut of meat. The difference is bacon has been cured, smoked, and has added ingredients such as salt, flavorings, and preservatives. We did a recipe on making your own bacon at home and it was amazing!

Pork Fatback

This cut of meat is not really meat at all but a solid, hard fat cut from the back of a pig. Chopped up or ground it is used in sausage, salamis, and other dishes for flavoring and fat content. If what you need from the pork belly is rendered fat or the flavor of bacon without the meat — fatback is a great pork belly substitute.

Salt Pork

Salt pork is actually made from pork belly. The pork belly is placed in a brine, which has a high salt content. This changes the flavor and moisture content of the meat, but it can still be an excellent substitute for pork belly as long as your recipe can be adjusted for salt.

Pork Shoulder

This particular cut of meat is very affordable. It may also be called pork butt depending on which part of the shoulder the meat is cut from. The beautifully marbled fat renders out of pork shoulder. Cooked slowly, pork shoulder is beautifully tender and moist. It makes great pulled pork sandwiches! As a pork belly substitute, care must be taken that it does not become tough and chewy in the cooking process.

Duck Bacon

Made from the breast of duck, this form of bacon is full of fat that renders beautifully. Moist and full of flavor and duck meat is cooked soft or crisped up. It makes a great pork belly substitute.

Beef Bacon

Exactly like pork bacon except made for beef navel instead of pork. Beef bacon is more dry and has a lower fat content than pork bacon.

Beef Navel

Cut from the belly of a cow. beef navel is very similar in composition to pork belly, but with a bit less fat.

Turkey Bacon

I’m not sure this should really be called bacon. Ground turkey breast is pressed into pieces and made to resemble actual bacon. Most people choose turkey bacon for health reasons.

Goose Meat

Very flavorful, sometimes gamey meat that still has great fat content and can work well as a pork belly substitute. Goose meat is more difficult to find in the United States but is becoming more popular. Careful, this meat can become tough and chewy when cooked incorrectly.

Vegan Pork Belly Substitute

If you work hard to stay vegan and want to replace pork belly in a recipe with vegan options you have a few choices.

Soy

Soy is very good at taking on the texture of meat when cooked properly. Use it as a viable vegan option.

Tofu

As a meat substitute, tofu comes in many different shapes, sizes, textures and forms. Season your tofu to match almost any flavor profile you want. What it cant do and what any vegan substitute really can’t do very well is replace the fat that renders from meat. Because of this, you may need added fat when using a vegan pork belly substitute.

Tempeh Bacon

This is really the best vegan choice if your end result of using pork belly was going to resemble bacon in a recipe. This vegan bacon has liquid smoke and other flavorings added to make it seem like meat that is marinated overnight.

This is made from fermenting soybeans so it’s packed with flavor and protein in every bite. It has an earthy flavor and is dense in structure.

FAQ

Related Articles