Thin Sliced Side Pork - 0.8 lb
TC Farm
$14.99
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TC Farm
Thin Sliced Side Pork - 0.8 lb
This is pure pork belly — the same primal that becomes bacon — sliced thin and sold with absolutely nothing added: no cure, no smoke, no seasoning. It comes from one of two partner family farms, Farmer Keith's 550-acre operation or Farmer Kerry's farm in Montrose, Minnesota, both raising hogs the slow way with real pasture access and feed grown on the same land the pigs rotate through.
- Year-round pasture and wooded-lot access on both farms; rotational grazing lets each field rest and recover before the next pass.
- Fed transitional organic corn, barley, and alfalfa grown on-farm — zero soy in the ration, which is genuinely rare in U.S. pork production.
- No hormones, no growth drugs; hogs grow roughly 20% slower than conventional, producing measurably higher Vitamin D and deeper fat character.
Pork belly, sliced thin, sold pure — no cure, no brine, no seasoning, nothing but the primal itself. Each pack runs approximately 0.8 lb and comes from one of two partner family farms: Farmer Keith's 550-acre operation or Farmer Kerry's farm in Montrose, Minnesota, both raised to the same TC Farm standard. What that standard means in practice is worth knowing before you cook it.
Keith's farm turns out roughly 250 hogs a year across 550 acres — a number small enough that every animal has genuine year-round access to open pasture and wooded lots rather than a pen. Kerry raises heritage forest hogs, a rare small lard heritage breed, on green pastures and wooded lots with rotational grazing across his Montrose acreage. Kerry came up through culinary school in Sonoma County in the early 2000s, where he learned breed conservancy and flavor-first raising alongside the agronomics — and it shows. He describes the fat on his forest hogs as tasting almost like butter, and the marbling runs heavier than most heritage breeds you'll find. Both farms use a rotational grazing system: fields are moved before they're overgrazed, native plants get time to recover between passes, and water runoff stays in the soil instead of carrying sediment off the property.
Feed is where this pork separates itself most plainly from what fills most grocery coolers. The ration on both farms is transitional organic corn, barley, and alfalfa — grown on the same land the hogs rotate through — and there is no soy anywhere in it. That last part matters more than it sounds. Soy meal is the default protein source in American commercial hog production because it is cheap and widely available; removing it from a ration requires deliberate substitution and costs more to run. For households managing soy sensitivity or soy allergy, it's not a minor label claim — it's the difference between a safe protein and one that isn't. Feed composition also shows up directly in fat character, and soy-free fat renders differently and carries a cleaner flavor.
Neither farm uses hormones or growth drugs, and the result is a hog that grows about 20% slower than a conventionally raised animal. That slower timeline isn't just a welfare story — it's a flavor mechanism. Longer growth periods allow intramuscular fat to develop more fully and give muscle tissue time to accumulate the compounds that carry pork flavor. Pasture access adds another measurable dimension: hogs raised with genuine outdoor exposure produce pork with significantly higher Vitamin D levels than confinement-raised animals, a difference that shows up in laboratory analysis, not just in marketing copy. On Kerry's farm specifically, the forest hogs carry exceptional marbling relative to their size, and the belly primal on those animals is notably rich.
In the pan, this cut behaves almost identically to bacon — because it is, structurally, bacon before the cure and smoke. Heat a cast-iron or stainless skillet over medium heat, lay the slices flat without crowding, and cook 3 to 4 minutes per side until the fat renders and the edges begin to brown. A griddle works well for larger batches. For a wok application, render the slices over high heat until the fat is translucent and just starting to crisp, then use the rendered fat as your cooking base for vegetables or rice. USDA recommends a minimum internal temperature of 145°F for whole pork cuts, with a 3-minute rest; slices this thin will exceed that temperature before the rest even begins. Salt after cooking — seasoning beforehand draws moisture to the surface and can steam the fat instead of rendering it.
Ingredients: Pork.
Common Questions
What exactly is side pork, and how is it different from bacon?
Side pork and bacon come from the exact same primal — the belly, which runs along the underside of the hog between the shoulder and the ham. The difference is purely in processing: bacon is cured with salt and sodium nitrate (or nitrite), often smoked, and sometimes sweetened. Side pork is none of those things — it's the raw belly primal, sliced and sold as-is. That means you control all the seasoning, you're not taking in added nitrates, and you're tasting the actual fat character of the animal rather than the cure. Thin-sliced side pork renders and crisps in a pan in about the same time as bacon, just without the sugar browning or smoke flavor.
How rare is soy-free pork, and why does it matter for my family?
Soy meal is the dominant protein source in American commercial hog rations because it is inexpensive, energy-dense, and available at scale — the overwhelming majority of conventionally raised pork in the U.S. is produced on soy-based feed. Raising hogs without soy requires a deliberate replacement protein strategy, typically grain-forward rations with higher barley or alfalfa content, and it costs more to run. For families managing soy allergy or soy sensitivity, this is a meaningful distinction: soy proteins can carry through into pork fat and tissue at detectable levels, and a soy-free ration removes that variable. Beyond the allergy angle, feed composition influences fat character — soy-fed pork and soy-free pork render and taste differently, and many cooks who have cooked both notice the cleaner flavor in the fat of soy-free animals.
What does transitional organic feed actually mean, and is it the same as USDA Organic?
It is not the same as USDA Organic, and TC Farm does not claim that label. USDA Organic certification requires a three-year period during which land is managed to organic standards — no synthetic pesticides, no synthetic fertilizers — before the certification can be granted. During that three-year window, the operation is called transitional organic: the practices are fully in place and being documented, but the certification clock is still running. The feed grown on both partner farms is managed to those organic standards during the transitional period, which means no synthetic inputs on the fields the hogs eat from and rotate through. Calling it transitional organic is the honest description; claiming it as USDA Certified Organic before the certification is issued would be inaccurate.
Does 'pasture-raised' on a pork label actually mean anything legally?
No federal standard defines pasture-raised for pork in the United States — USDA does not regulate the term the way it regulates Organic certification, which means any producer can print it on a label without meeting a defined threshold of outdoor access or space per animal. What TC Farm describes is specific and verifiable: year-round access to open pasture and wooded lots on both partner farms, with a rotational grazing system that moves animals before fields are overgrazed and gives each section time to recover. Farmer Kerry's hogs in Montrose, Minnesota rotate through green pastures and wooded lots in a managed sequence that protects native plant species and prevents soil erosion. Farmer Keith's 550-acre operation runs roughly 250 hogs per year — a stocking density that makes genuine daily pasture access logistically possible in a way it isn't on operations raising tens of thousands of animals.
Is there a measurable nutrition difference between pasture-raised pork and conventionally raised pork?
Yes, and the most consistently documented difference is Vitamin D. Hogs with genuine outdoor sun exposure synthesize Vitamin D through skin contact, and pork from pasture-raised animals shows measurably higher Vitamin D content than pork from confinement-raised animals — this has been confirmed in peer-reviewed nutritional analysis, not just claimed on labels. The slower growth rate on both TC Farm partner farms — approximately 20% longer than conventional commercial timelines — also allows more time for intramuscular fat to develop and for the flavor compounds in muscle tissue to accumulate. Faster growth in conventional hog production compresses that development window, which is one reason commercial pork is frequently described as bland compared to slower-grown animals. These differences are measurable at the tissue level and are not simply marketing language.
How do I cook thin-sliced side pork, and what internal temperature should I target?
Treat it like uncured bacon: lay the slices flat in a cold or medium-hot cast-iron or stainless skillet, cook 3 to 4 minutes per side over medium heat, and let the fat render gradually rather than blasting it on high and seizing the surface. A griddle works well if you're cooking a full pack at once. For wok cooking, render the slices first over high heat until the fat is translucent and just starting to color, then use that rendered fat as the cooking base. USDA recommends a minimum internal temperature of 145°F for whole pork cuts with a 3-minute rest — slices this thin will reach and exceed that temperature well before the rest period matters. Salt after cooking rather than before; salting raw belly draws surface moisture out and can cause steaming instead of rendering, which slows browning and crisping.
How should I store and thaw this product?
Keep it frozen until the day you plan to cook it. The safest and best-quality thaw method is to transfer the sealed pack to the refrigerator 24 hours before cooking — the slow thaw keeps the tissue temperature in a safe range and minimizes moisture loss from the slices. If you need it the same day, submerge the sealed pack in cold water and change the water every 30 minutes; most packs this size will thaw fully in under two hours this way. Do not thaw at room temperature or under warm running water — both methods create uneven temperature gradients and increase surface bacterial activity. Once thawed, cook within 1 to 2 days and do not refreeze. Kept solidly frozen at 0°F or below, the product holds quality for up to 12 months.
Keith's farm turns out roughly 250 hogs a year across 550 acres — a number small enough that every animal has genuine year-round access to open pasture and wooded lots rather than a pen. Kerry raises heritage forest hogs, a rare small lard heritage breed, on green pastures and wooded lots with rotational grazing across his Montrose acreage. Kerry came up through culinary school in Sonoma County in the early 2000s, where he learned breed conservancy and flavor-first raising alongside the agronomics — and it shows. He describes the fat on his forest hogs as tasting almost like butter, and the marbling runs heavier than most heritage breeds you'll find. Both farms use a rotational grazing system: fields are moved before they're overgrazed, native plants get time to recover between passes, and water runoff stays in the soil instead of carrying sediment off the property.
Feed is where this pork separates itself most plainly from what fills most grocery coolers. The ration on both farms is transitional organic corn, barley, and alfalfa — grown on the same land the hogs rotate through — and there is no soy anywhere in it. That last part matters more than it sounds. Soy meal is the default protein source in American commercial hog production because it is cheap and widely available; removing it from a ration requires deliberate substitution and costs more to run. For households managing soy sensitivity or soy allergy, it's not a minor label claim — it's the difference between a safe protein and one that isn't. Feed composition also shows up directly in fat character, and soy-free fat renders differently and carries a cleaner flavor.
Neither farm uses hormones or growth drugs, and the result is a hog that grows about 20% slower than a conventionally raised animal. That slower timeline isn't just a welfare story — it's a flavor mechanism. Longer growth periods allow intramuscular fat to develop more fully and give muscle tissue time to accumulate the compounds that carry pork flavor. Pasture access adds another measurable dimension: hogs raised with genuine outdoor exposure produce pork with significantly higher Vitamin D levels than confinement-raised animals, a difference that shows up in laboratory analysis, not just in marketing copy. On Kerry's farm specifically, the forest hogs carry exceptional marbling relative to their size, and the belly primal on those animals is notably rich.
In the pan, this cut behaves almost identically to bacon — because it is, structurally, bacon before the cure and smoke. Heat a cast-iron or stainless skillet over medium heat, lay the slices flat without crowding, and cook 3 to 4 minutes per side until the fat renders and the edges begin to brown. A griddle works well for larger batches. For a wok application, render the slices over high heat until the fat is translucent and just starting to crisp, then use the rendered fat as your cooking base for vegetables or rice. USDA recommends a minimum internal temperature of 145°F for whole pork cuts, with a 3-minute rest; slices this thin will exceed that temperature before the rest even begins. Salt after cooking — seasoning beforehand draws moisture to the surface and can steam the fat instead of rendering it.
Ingredients: Pork.
Common Questions
What exactly is side pork, and how is it different from bacon?
Side pork and bacon come from the exact same primal — the belly, which runs along the underside of the hog between the shoulder and the ham. The difference is purely in processing: bacon is cured with salt and sodium nitrate (or nitrite), often smoked, and sometimes sweetened. Side pork is none of those things — it's the raw belly primal, sliced and sold as-is. That means you control all the seasoning, you're not taking in added nitrates, and you're tasting the actual fat character of the animal rather than the cure. Thin-sliced side pork renders and crisps in a pan in about the same time as bacon, just without the sugar browning or smoke flavor.
How rare is soy-free pork, and why does it matter for my family?
Soy meal is the dominant protein source in American commercial hog rations because it is inexpensive, energy-dense, and available at scale — the overwhelming majority of conventionally raised pork in the U.S. is produced on soy-based feed. Raising hogs without soy requires a deliberate replacement protein strategy, typically grain-forward rations with higher barley or alfalfa content, and it costs more to run. For families managing soy allergy or soy sensitivity, this is a meaningful distinction: soy proteins can carry through into pork fat and tissue at detectable levels, and a soy-free ration removes that variable. Beyond the allergy angle, feed composition influences fat character — soy-fed pork and soy-free pork render and taste differently, and many cooks who have cooked both notice the cleaner flavor in the fat of soy-free animals.
What does transitional organic feed actually mean, and is it the same as USDA Organic?
It is not the same as USDA Organic, and TC Farm does not claim that label. USDA Organic certification requires a three-year period during which land is managed to organic standards — no synthetic pesticides, no synthetic fertilizers — before the certification can be granted. During that three-year window, the operation is called transitional organic: the practices are fully in place and being documented, but the certification clock is still running. The feed grown on both partner farms is managed to those organic standards during the transitional period, which means no synthetic inputs on the fields the hogs eat from and rotate through. Calling it transitional organic is the honest description; claiming it as USDA Certified Organic before the certification is issued would be inaccurate.
Does 'pasture-raised' on a pork label actually mean anything legally?
No federal standard defines pasture-raised for pork in the United States — USDA does not regulate the term the way it regulates Organic certification, which means any producer can print it on a label without meeting a defined threshold of outdoor access or space per animal. What TC Farm describes is specific and verifiable: year-round access to open pasture and wooded lots on both partner farms, with a rotational grazing system that moves animals before fields are overgrazed and gives each section time to recover. Farmer Kerry's hogs in Montrose, Minnesota rotate through green pastures and wooded lots in a managed sequence that protects native plant species and prevents soil erosion. Farmer Keith's 550-acre operation runs roughly 250 hogs per year — a stocking density that makes genuine daily pasture access logistically possible in a way it isn't on operations raising tens of thousands of animals.
Is there a measurable nutrition difference between pasture-raised pork and conventionally raised pork?
Yes, and the most consistently documented difference is Vitamin D. Hogs with genuine outdoor sun exposure synthesize Vitamin D through skin contact, and pork from pasture-raised animals shows measurably higher Vitamin D content than pork from confinement-raised animals — this has been confirmed in peer-reviewed nutritional analysis, not just claimed on labels. The slower growth rate on both TC Farm partner farms — approximately 20% longer than conventional commercial timelines — also allows more time for intramuscular fat to develop and for the flavor compounds in muscle tissue to accumulate. Faster growth in conventional hog production compresses that development window, which is one reason commercial pork is frequently described as bland compared to slower-grown animals. These differences are measurable at the tissue level and are not simply marketing language.
How do I cook thin-sliced side pork, and what internal temperature should I target?
Treat it like uncured bacon: lay the slices flat in a cold or medium-hot cast-iron or stainless skillet, cook 3 to 4 minutes per side over medium heat, and let the fat render gradually rather than blasting it on high and seizing the surface. A griddle works well if you're cooking a full pack at once. For wok cooking, render the slices first over high heat until the fat is translucent and just starting to color, then use that rendered fat as the cooking base. USDA recommends a minimum internal temperature of 145°F for whole pork cuts with a 3-minute rest — slices this thin will reach and exceed that temperature well before the rest period matters. Salt after cooking rather than before; salting raw belly draws surface moisture out and can cause steaming instead of rendering, which slows browning and crisping.
How should I store and thaw this product?
Keep it frozen until the day you plan to cook it. The safest and best-quality thaw method is to transfer the sealed pack to the refrigerator 24 hours before cooking — the slow thaw keeps the tissue temperature in a safe range and minimizes moisture loss from the slices. If you need it the same day, submerge the sealed pack in cold water and change the water every 30 minutes; most packs this size will thaw fully in under two hours this way. Do not thaw at room temperature or under warm running water — both methods create uneven temperature gradients and increase surface bacterial activity. Once thawed, cook within 1 to 2 days and do not refreeze. Kept solidly frozen at 0°F or below, the product holds quality for up to 12 months.
- __Storage_Location:
- Frozen
- __Volume:
- 700
- __Owner:
- TCFarm
- __badge:
- Pasture-Raised