I'm getting a side of pork! What to do with whole pork belly page

[camel]

So I'm getting a whole side of pork, 77 pounds, from a local family. I asked the butcher for the pork belly whole. What should I do with it? Is it hard to make bacon?
Any suggestions out there?
I also asked for fat to make lard... but I've never done that either!

[john_e_turner_ii]

I have made a few roasts that turned out awesome. Also, you can slice it up into 1 inch cubes, marinate it in chinese sauces and spices, and grill on skewers. Really good!

[Fletch666]

I think I've seen it sliced like bacon too. Bought some like that last week. Not bad.

[breadsauce]

I love roast pork belly. The crisp crackling is wonderful.

Pork fat - have you a mincer (grinder)? If so, cut fat into strips, grind, put into a slow cooker and switch on to low. It renders down easily and makes excellent lard for cooking with.

[d2mini]

I think I've seen it sliced like bacon too. Bought some like that last week. Not bad.

We had this at a new local restaurant a few weeks ago.
Freakin awesome.

[Finnegans Wake]

This reminds me that I have a pork belly in the freezer I need to do something with... methinks the grill beckons.

[Satch12879]

Two suggestions:

Confit pork belly - Thomas Keller's got a great preparation, Michael Chiarello, too.
Porchetta - Pork belly rolled up with garlic, chillis, herbs, and salt and then roasted, slowly.

[noodletoy]

ruhlman has a confit pork belly method that is excellent too.

i slice it, long and about 1-1/2 inches wide. place, fat side up, on top of raw sliced onion rings in a baking dish. ( i often put in some garlic cloves and couple chunks of ginger too.) pour boiling water in, just enough to submerge the onions. put in a pre-heated oven at 450. bake til fat starts to crisp, then cover pan with foil. lower oven to 300. bake about 2-3 hours, or til meat is pull-apart tender.

when meat is cooked, remove from pan along with onions. place cooking liquid on saucepan and reduce til thick. season with salt and pepper. a little chinese mustard stirred in is nice as well.

right before serving the meat, run under the broiler to brown and crisp the skin. serve with porky onions and pour sauce over.

[Dice Monkey]

No recipe suggestions but hats off to you for tackling a half of a damn pig. And here I was proud of myself the first time I bought grass fed beef...

[jak757]

Bacon! Simple, delicious. Make your own, and you will never buy it in a plastic package again.