Bacon Cost Per Pound
Usually, for most 12 to 16-ounce packages of bacon, you will spend anywhere from $4 to $6 or more. This cost will, of course, depend on factors like its quantity, flavor, type, and brand, as well as the market demands and where you are buying it from. There are a lot of brands of bacon available on the market, which makes the price be all over, but as you will notice while going on a shopping spree, the average price will be around $5.
When deciding between your different bacon styles, make sure you’re not getting a low-quality brand with too much sodium or artificial ingredients. A middle-of-the-road option will typically be immersion cured and have some additives thrown in to improve the flavor profile without going overboard. If it’s quality that is most important to you then consider dry-cured bacon that uses less water for preservation which leaves behind more of the original taste.
You can check out our table below for average brand prices you can expect to find in stores:
| Brand | Price Quoted |
|---|---|
| Corn King | – $4 per 12 ounces |
| Bar S | – $4 per 12 ounces |
| Farmer John | – $3 per 16 ounces |
| Country Farms | – $6 per 16 ounces |
| Plumrose | – $6 per 16-ounce pack |
| Hormel | – $4 per 2.52 ounces fully cooked – $5 per 16 ounces – $7 for a 16-ounce Hormel Black package |
| Oscar Mayer | – $7 per 12 ounces – $4.50 per 2.52 ounce fully cooked package |
| Farmland | – $4.50 per 16 ounces |
| Smithfield | – $3.50 per 12-ounce package |
| Store Branded (Great Value) | – $4 per 16 ounces – $3.25 per 12 ounces – $3 per 2.1 ounces fully cooked |
| Wellshire Farms | – $9 for 18 ounces |
| Wright | – $7.50 per 16-ounce pack |
Keep in mind: This list is comprised of average prices we were able to find at local retailers like Walmart.
Freshly sliced bacon often referred to as pork belly, is also available at most retail stores. At the grocery store, you can expect to spend anywhere from $5-$8 per pound of pork belly, while online prices are close to double that. The highest-rated original bacon slabs you will find on Amazon.com for example, have a retail price of around $11 per pound.
BaconPro is a company that tracks retail prices and showcases them across the United States. They found out in November 2017, for example, fresh bacon averaged $4.84 per pound whereas pre-cooked ranged from $32 to as much as $45 per pound depending on the brand or the store selling it. Overall, a big factor in setting the bacon price is the market conditions at any given time.
You might also like our articles about the cost of pork belly, lamb racks, or venison meat.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is an agency that keeps track of the average prices and availability of bacon. This includes how much it costs per pound, as well as its fluctuation over time. In September 2016, for example, a pound would cost you $5.48 on average while August 2017 saw the price reach around $6.36.
Further details on bacon
The bacon flavor that mimics a smoke-like taste can be found in many brands. Depending on the brand, manufacturers may use liquid smoke to speed up the process or it might even have wood-smoked flavors such as apple and cherry woods for an authentic touch. Bacon is a delicacy to be enjoyed in many ways. Adding flavors such as brown sugar or even Cajun spices can make bacon taste great and stand out from other types of meat. Additives may also include salt, nitrites, or artificial flavorings depending on the brand chosen.
Bacon is a staple breakfast item, but figuring out how to cook it can be confusing. Just like with flavors, there are three varying thicknesses of bacon: standard cut (1/16-inch thick), center-cut, or thick-cut. Standard thickness is sliced into strips and works well for pan-frying. A piece of center-cut bacon is perfect for those looking to cut back on fat. Typical, center-cut bacon will contain 30% less of the fatty meat because it comes from an area closer to the bone. Lastly, thick-cut bacon comes with an average of 1/8 inch in thickness and can take twice as long to cook. It will often be used for pasta or soups.
Bacon is a delicious meat that can be cooked to varying degrees of crispiness. It’s often uncooked, and in some cases pre-cooked before packaging so it only needs heating up for one minute in the microwave. Bacon brands found on grocery store shelves include Hormel, Oscar Mayer, Wright, Farmland, Kirkland (Costco), Great Value (Walmart), Smithfield, Farmer Johns, Wellshire, Applegate, Trader Joe’s, and Niman Ranch.
Important things to remember
A butcher may refer to bacon as pork belly; however, you might also find yourself wondering what the difference between these two types of meat really is? In essence: the bacon meat will be a cured pork, which means it will be made with other ingredients like salt or sugar, and sometimes it will be given a smoked flavor. On the other hand, as the meat cures, the moisture will be drawn out along with any harmful bacterial growth, which in turn will encourage the growth of benign bacteria.
Pork belly is the uncured, un-smoked, and un-sliced form of bacon. It starts from underneath a pig but not its stomach; rather it comes from other portions like beneath the animal’s back or around its kidneys. 68% of bacon’s calories come from fat with half considered unsaturated fats which are healthy for your heart. Two slices of bacon alone can have 7 grams of fat and about 400 milligrams of sodium.
Is there any way to spend less?
Store-branded bacon is always a better option than the name brand but at an affordable price. With flavors and tastes that are comparable to their expensive counterparts, it’s worth trying them out.
Buying a big package of bacon at Costco or Sam’s Club can bring the cost down by more than 20%. Most packages found in these wholesale clubs come at around three pounds. If you are interested in buying from your local supermarket, be sure to check for special promotions and coupons that can make it even cheaper.
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Pork products seems too be too old, has old smell, and bacon is not the same and rarely consistent,
No such thing as good breakfast sausage or BBQ in the grocery store anymore.
I think good pork goes to China.