"Used for wiping the grill?"... Owner's reaction to complaints about fatty Ogyeopsal

Claimed to Have Been Treated as a 'Troublemaker' During Exchange Request

A customer who received pork belly with a lot of fat at a meat restaurant requested an exchange but claimed to have been treated like a 'troublemaker' and shared the story.

Pork belly that writer A received. Screenshot from an online community

On the 15th, a user named A, who lives in Unjeong-dong, Paju, shared an experience of visiting a Sotttukgeong Samgyeopsal (Iron Lid Pork Belly) restaurant near their home on an online community, asking, "I asked someone who knows meat well. Am I the troublemaker?" On that day, A ordered extra pork belly but felt there was too much fat. The meat in the photo A shared clearly showed a high proportion of fat.

When A requested to exchange the meat, the restaurant owner replied, "Due to the nature of pork belly, this amount of fat is attached." When A countered, "I go out to eat meat every weekend, and I've never seen pork belly like this," the owner said, "Then I will give you another piece as a service," and provided different meat.

However, A claimed, "The owner spoke with a stern expression, making me feel like I was causing trouble without knowing anything," adding, "I ended up feeling bad after going out for a pleasant dinner because I was forced to accept the service." A continued, "The meat given as a service was normal. The owner was so confident that I wondered if it was my fault, so I’m posting this. If I wanted the restaurant to fail, I would have revealed the name. Please tell me if I was too harsh after seeing the meat condition."

A netizen claiming to have worked 22 years in meat processing and butchery analyzed the story, saying, "Looking at the photo, it seems to be the back part of the pork belly where fat is concentrated," and added, "It looks like the photo was taken to emphasize the fat." Another netizen with 30 years of experience in butchery said, "In a plate of pork belly, there are some parts on the back side where the fat is thick like that," and commented, "In my opinion, both parties could have handled the situation better. The owner could have cut off that part diagonally and served it, even if it meant some loss, and A could have shown the entire pork belly, not just one or two pieces."

Other netizens responded with comments like, "That’s just the back end of a low-grade pork belly with a lot of fat," "Isn’t that for wiping the grill?" and "You should ask to exchange the meat before putting it on the grill."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs released the 'Samgyeopsal Quality Management Manual' in October last year. It provides step-by-step guidelines for pig slaughtering, trimming, excess fat removal, and inspection for pork belly processing.

According to the manual, the fat thickness for regular pork belly should be under 1 cm, and for pork belly with skin (ogyeopsal), under 1.5 cm. During this process, fat trimming can be done to a level that does not damage the product's marketability, and parts with excessive fat are recommended to be discarded. However, since the manual is a recommendation, voluntary participation from processing and supply companies is required. Due to the characteristics of pork and the variation in fat layers by pork belly parts, as well as some consumers preferring fat, the manual is not mandatory.