Bacon Makes Everything Better

 We cannot continue to be dependent solely upon belly value as the sole driver of carcass value. It is time for the pork industry to discover versatility offered by other carcass cuts.
We cannot continue to be dependent solely upon belly value as the sole driver of carcass value. It is time for the pork industry to discover versatility offered by other carcass cuts.
(National Pork Board and the Pork Checkoff)

Freshly toasted bread, rich pimento cheese and farm fresh lettuce and tomato – sound like the makings of a pretty good sandwich. When you put the “b” in bacon and make it a pimento cheese BLT, it’s hard to resist this option at one of my favorite local restaurants. As the adage goes, bacon makes everything better. You can find bacon on everything from donuts to sandwiches and chocolate cake to jalapeno poppers. It’s by far one of the most versatile meat products in the industry.

In the last year, consumers have been tested. We’ve discovered the price elasticity of the most popular component generated from the pork carcass. The belly complex had continually increased in value for decades, serving as the primary driver for carcass value.

Belly quality is influenced by carcass weight, the animal’s diet and gender, as well as seasonality. We know how to alter it to increase belly firmness, thickness, yield and sliceability. In stores, consumers find a wide variety of seasonings and cuts. Bacon has no substitute. Whether you prefer your bacon chewy or crispy, even the worst bacon is delicious. In my household, we enjoy a wide variety of pork products, but bacon will always be my favorite.

It was a sad day when my wife discovered $6 per package bacon at our local grocery store last spring. She passed it by. We cannot continue to be dependent solely upon belly value as the sole driver of carcass value. It is time for the pork industry to discover versatility offered by other carcass cuts. As consumers see more expensive meat in their grocery store cases, the time is right to promote the versatility of pork. 

With increasing carcass weights, we must continue to think about new ways to use the same cuts of meat. This is what the beef industry has done during the past 20 years with beef value cuts such as the flat iron, Denver steak, ranch steak and petite tender. The research by my friend Dr. Dwain Johnson at the University of Florida and his colleague Dr. Chris Calkins at the University of Nebraska resulted in added carcass cut-out value and a more balanced ratio between middle meats and end cuts.  

My friends Dr. Anna Dilger and Dr. Bailey Harsh at the University of Illinois are making boneless triceps chops from picnics and boneless serratus chops from Boston butts to mimic the beef ranch and Denver steaks, respectively. Results presented at our recent Reciprocal Meat Conference are promising relative to consumer acceptability of these new chops. Additionally, we also need to add value to the pork loin through cut versatility and possibly quality segregation. 

We need to be diligent to add value to all of the carcass and not just the belly. Maybe in the future, pork loin nuggets and triceps chops will be as popular as that BLT!

More from Farm Journal's PORK:

Want Better Pork? Use a Meat Thermometer

The Secret to a Great Holiday Ham

Meat Matters: Is Bigger Better?

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