Hey Richard. Thanks for the comments! As far as taste goes, my friends and family who have tried it, prefer it to bacon commercially produced. Now to be fair to your question, Premium bacon being the benchmark. There is a brand here that sells for $12-$14 for a 600 gram package, so say just over a pound. This brand is thicker slices, under 1/8", but still thicker than the shavings that most bacon comes as. It is a sugar cured bacon, with a hickory smoke, what I based my "ideal" end result on.
The first thing I notices was out of package texture. The store bought variety seemed like it was over processed, almost like it was tearing apart. Of course cooking time was similar. Again being fair, the store bought was a simple bacon, the one I preferred had molasses added while smoking. Out of the pan, the store bought had a nice chew, crispy edges (how I prefer to have my bacon cooked, not a fan of crispy) Mine was the same, but the flavor! WOW! Pop's brine did it for me! Sweet and salty through and through, great gentle smoke flavor with every bite, and a little sweet flavor kick from the molasses. Surprising, it didnt burn or caramelize like I thought It might.
SO if I have the choice, home made wins. But I cant say I wont eat store bought again. Supply and pricing of bellies will rule. This stuff ended up costing about $3.40 a pound, costs in. If you include the smoker I built, I could have bought a lot of store bought bacon!!