Is Pork Brisket the same as Pork Belly?

[free sample addict aka Tracy L]

I saw a package labeled Pork Brisket in the grocery store today. It looked like the pork belly I've seen in recipes. It had a fatty layer, a meaty layer and some bone. Thanks

[davesmall]

I found Pork Brisket at a local supermarket for the first time yesterday. It came in a cryovac package weighing about four to five pounds. I'm sure these were rib ends or rib tips as described here by other posters. They were dirt cheap ($1.19 per pound) and looked meaty rather than fatty.

When I got home I discovered that the cryovac package would just fit (barely) into our Sous Vide Supreme Demi water oven. So I didn't even unpackage the pork brisket. I simply dropped the cryovac package into the Sous Vide machine, covered with water, and cooked at 160 F for 24 hours. Then I let the package cool to room temperature before opening.

There was a lot of liquid in the package which I strained into a sauce pan and degreased. It was very flavorful so I reduced it to about a cup for use in a sauce.

There were four slabs of rib ends in the package. The meat was very tender, tasty, and moist. I marinated it in a BBQ sauce in the refrigerator for about 8 hours. Then I cut the meat into serving size pieces (3 pieces per slab). The final step was to grill in a not too hot outdoor grill until browned with good color. I basted with the BBQ sauce during cooking. I believe roasting in a 400 F oven would have produced similar reults.

This was outstanding. It made a great meal with leftovers for the freezer. I'll be on the lookout for these in the future. They were a lot more meaty than regular spare ribs. A real bargain too.

BBQ Sauce Recipe
(great depth of flavor)
1 cup pork broth strained and reduced from Sous Vide
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup Marsala wine
1/4 cup chili sauce
1/4 cup Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 dash ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:
2. In a saucepan, mix together all ingredients and cook until slightly thickened. Coat meat with sauce and marinate in refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight
3. Preheat grill for medium heat. Position grate four inches above heat source.
4. Brush grill grate with oil. Place ribs on grill, and cook for 30 minutes, basting with marinade.

[fahrquar1]

I am curious to know if the belly was soft to the degree you wanted. I have been cooking shoulders for 72 hours at 60C, then upping to 68 for three hours at the finish. Then glazing in the oven for 30 minutes at 175-200. The texture is really good for pulling. I note a difference in 48 and 72 hours, preferring the longer time.

[FoodFuser]

This chart may help, too.

http://www.adamsribs.org/about/pork.htm

Intercostales externi and interni, and the pectoralis, are the muscle names. See more about them here: best site on the web for meat questions of anatomy. All sorts of pics and views to play with.

http://porcine.unl.edu/porcine2005/pa...

[Angusbeefman]

Tracy:

A pork belly is what bacon is made from.
When a hog is disassembled the belly is removed
with the bone-IN. This bone is lifted off of the belly.
Those bones are the pork spare ribs.

If you were to take the spare rib & separate the bottom
(cartilage & sternum bone ( aka breast bone) from the spare
rib you would end up with a "St. Louis Style" spare rib which
a lot of BBQ Restaurants specialize in . The bottom part is what is called
"pork brisket bones" with the hard bone (aka breast bone) attached,
These are often merchandised as "Rib Tips".

[Zeldog]

In some of the asian markets in SF they sell two kinds of pork belly, one with bones and one without. I don't believe they are the same cuts, since with bones is a bit more expensive (if they were the same, you would pay more per pound for removing the bones). If the bones are the ends of ribs, pork brisket is probably the same as "pork belly, with bones". I made some bacon with it once. Came out just like bacon made with pork belly, though paying extra for some bones you need to remove anyway was a drag. If you can't find true pork belly it would probably be just as good for other recipes.

[paulj]

You will also find sliced v. whole (i.e. a piece several inches wide or more), and with skin and without.

I suspect that with many recipes, especially ones that call for cooking it whole, it probably does not matter when you use a piece from the front of the pig, or a piece further back.

[free sample addict aka Tracy L]

Thanks for the responses. I really want to try pork belly so I will go to a market that carries it.

[MMRuth]

What are you planning on making w/ the pork belly? BTW - I've had a lot of luck buying great pork belly at a good price at various Latin American run markets.

[free sample addict aka Tracy L]

Either a slow roast or a braise. I'm leaning towards Asian flavors, but my mood may change by this weekend. Thanks for the tip on Latin markets, there is one up the street, which would give me an excuse to buy some pan dulces for Sunday breakfast.

[danhole]

Here in Houston you have better luck getting pork belly at an Asian market.

[danhole]

I sure hope someone can really answer your question Tracy, because I have tried, in vain, to figure this out for quite awhile. There is a grocery store that has some odd cuts of meat and caters to a more hispanic market. They sell a pork brisket that looks fairly meaty and it is really inexpensive, but I have googled it, and haven't found any mention of that cut of meat, specifically. Now there are a few recipes on how to cook it, but . . . I just haven't taken a chance on it yet. It really doesn't look like pork belly to me, or at least not the ones I have seen.

[free sample addict aka Tracy L]

Thanks for trying, I really appreciate it. The butcher was very busy the last time I was in so I couldn't get an answer. i'll report back if I get an answer.

[CPla]

I have not come across any references to brisket in pork, as that is usually a beef cut.

The equivalent part in a pig is usually referred to as the 'shoulder' or 'arm shoulder' if necessary to differentiate from the 'blade shoulder' which gives 'pork butt'.

Pork Belly is the cut to the rear of the arm shoulder.

CPla
www.chefpla.com

[paulj]

In beef brisket is the chest, the front of the underside. The nearest bones are the sternum and associated cartilage. The pork belly would be similar, depending on how far forward it is. The presence of the bone may be why your market used 'brisket'. Regardless of the name, pork belly recipes would be appropriate.

On a pig, belly includes all the underside between the picnic shoulder at the front to the ham (rear leg). On a cow, brisket is the part closest to the front leg. The rest is plate and flank.

[scubadoo97]

As a side note, I'm pretty sure beef fry "kosher bacon" is cut from the brisket

[CPla]

"On a pig, belly includes all the underside between the picnic shoulder at the front to the ham (rear leg). On a cow, brisket is the part closest to the front leg. The rest is plate and flank."

A very precise description; I would have to draw a chart to equal it.