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In our relentless pursuit of better, there simply are no shortcuts.
Shannon and Erik Duffy grew up in Iowa. So their standards for pork are pretty high. They know the good stuff, and they knew how hard it was to find. And that’s how Tender Belly got started—a company devoted to making bacon that proves you can actually love bacon more than you already did.
Their passion for doing things better now extends to all cuts of pork, and beyond. Certified Awesome. That’s what we call it. A pursuit of excellence in everything we sell. We set our standards high. And when something doesn’t rise up to meet them, it’s not good enough.
Plain and simple.
We stick to insanely high standards not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it makes for superior tasting pork. If our name is on it, you can trust you’re getting the best money can buy.
Crafting the finest pork products takes time and starts from the beginning. We give our hogs time to mature resulting in extra fattiness and marbling, which is then dry-cured for 12 days and Cherrywood-smoked for eight hours. The industry thinks we're crazy. We don't care.
From our heritage hogs raised crate-free on family farms, fed all-vegetarian diets and no antibiotics ever, to the specialty spices, fresh-ground juniper berries and late season Vermont maple syrup that goes into our signature dry rub recipe, it takes the best to make the best.
Everything we do is with respect for the animals and the environment. We make sure our hogs are treated well. We choose farms close to processing plants. We use biodegradable wrapping when possible. And we try to sell every part of the hog, nose to tail, because every life is precious.
Our bacon comes from the ultra-tender bellies of Duroc Heritage breed hogs that are given time to mature, which creates that extra marbling for added flavor and juiciness. Then we hand-apply our signature dry-rub recipe made from the highest-quality ingredients, and slow-cure each belly in small batches. And we mean slow—we give it 12 days to absorb the standout flavors of the dry-rub—then smoke it in Cherrywood for eight hours. Because we don’t brine cure, you get more meat per package, plus, it won’t pop, splatter and shrink down to nothing when you cook it. Finally, we cut it nice and thick for that meaty, rich texture we’re known for.
We put extra effort, not just because we're pork obsessed perfectionists, but because it results in bacon that stands out in a crowd. Blindfold anyone?
When it comes to bacon, the Duffys know best. They recommend cooking Tender Belly bacon in a cast iron skillet, on medium-low heat, flipping once, about eight minutes per side. It’s how you get that crispy, caramelized flavor that makes bacon the best meat ever invented.
