Pork belly substitutes

What to use when you can't find Pork belly at your butcher

Pork belly is the traditional name in United States. Outside that tradition, butchers carry comparable pork cuts under different names — sometimes the same anatomical piece, sometimes a close cousin. The alternatives below are grouped by country so you can match what your local butcher actually carries.

United States

Spare ribsapproximate

Both come from the belly/underside of the pig and share rich fat content and flavour, but belly is boneless while spare ribs are bone-in from the same general area.

France

Lard fuméclose substitute

Same anatomical primal — lard fumé is the cured-and-cold-smoked version of the fresh pork belly. The smoke and cure transform texture and flavour fundamentally.

Germany

Bauchspeckclose substitute

Same anatomical primal — Bauchspeck is the cured-and-cold-smoked German version of fresh pork belly.

Italy

Pancettaclose substitute

Same anatomical cut — pancetta is the salt-cured form of fresh pork belly. American bacon is the smoked-and-cured equivalent.

Lardo di Colonnataapproximate

Adjacent primal — lardo is from the back fat (along the loin), pork belly is from the underside. Both are pork-fat cuts but anatomically distinct.

United Kingdom

Back baconapproximate

Anatomically adjacent — the streaky/fatty edge of a back-bacon rasher is from the pork belly (where US streaky bacon comes from). British back bacon combines both loin and belly in one rasher.

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