March 19, 2014
by Kirbie
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This crispy pork belly is very easy to make, but you do need to plan ahead since it needs to sit in the refrigeratorovernight before you cook it. A salt rub ensures that the skin dries out, which is key in making it crispy. Crispy pork belly is something we order at restaurants a lot so it’s great to know how to make it at home!
Pork Belly seems to be on every restaurant menu these days. And whenever we see it, Mr. K immediately wants to order it.
So I thought it was time for me to try making my own pork belly. What I love most about pork belly is that super crunchy skin, so for my first attempt, I had to try making a crispy version.
I tried doing a Chinese-style roasted pork belly because that is what I grew up eating. Also, it’s a simple preparation and recipe.
You do have to prepare the pork belly the night before, but all you need to do is score the skin, put on a salt rub, and then let it sit in the fridge overnight to dry out the skin. The next day you put on some more seasoning and then stick it in the oven.
The pork belly skin did indeed come out very crunchy. You have to let the skin blister first, which I was a little sad to see happen because when I was checking on it while it was cooking, it had such a beautiful smooth brown skin layer. There wasn’t much flavor in the actual pork and I think I cooked mine a tad too long. You’re supposed to let all of the skin blister but because the pork belly isn’t completely even, the edges got a little burned before the middle section of the skin finished blistering.
I’m definitely inspired to experiment some more. I want to make the meat more flavorful next time. I also want to see if I can make the skin crispy without having to blister it, like the pork belly I had at Republique.
Adapted from Roti n Rice and Seasaltwithfood
Servings: 8
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes
Total Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes
Course: Main Dishes
Cuisine: Chinese
This crispy pork belly is very easy to make, but you do need to plan ahead since it needs to sit in the refrigeratorovernight before you cook it. A salt rub ensures that the skin dries out, which is key in making it crispy. Crispy pork belly is something we order at restaurants a lot so it's great to know how to make it at home!
Ingredients
- 2 lb pork belly
- 2 tsp coarse salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp five spice powder
Instructions
The night before, score the pork belly skin by using a knife and slicing diagonally across 1/4 inch deep and spacing lines 1 inch apart. Then slice the skin diagonally the other direction so you have a criss-cross pattern all the way across the skin. Rub in salt and black pepper. Let pork belly sit in fridge overnight.
The next day, preheat oven to 375F. Prepare a roasting pan by adding a 1/2 inch layer of water at the bottom. Rub five spice powder on skin and bottom of pork. If desired, add a little more pepper and salt as well. Place pork belly on a wire rack inside the roasting pan so it doesn't touch the water.
Cook about 40-50 minutes until pork belly is cooked. Turn heat up to 500F and cook until all the skin blisters. Then remove from oven. Let pork belly cool slightly before slicing and serving.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Roti n Rice and Seasaltwithfood
Nutrition
Serving: 3oz, Calories: 590kcal, Carbohydrates: 0.7g, Protein: 10.7g, Fat: 60.1g, Saturated Fat: 21.9g, Sodium: 618.2mg, Fiber: 0.2g, NET CARBS: 1
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
Did you make this recipe?I'd love to see it! Mention @KirbieCravings and tag #kirbiecravings!
Posted in: Asian dishes, Main dishes, Recipes
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12 comments on “Crispy Pork Belly”
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Sean — Reply
Might be you could cut behind the fat and meat and add spice there. Also, cooking pork belly slowly — like Carnitas — in a deep fryer would deliver the crispy.
Tks, great site.
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suja md — Reply
looks fabulous!!! Though I never tried pork before, you made me tempting dear!!
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Do you think putting the pork belly in a brine instead of a dry rub would help with the flavoring? Do you think including 5 spice and star anise would probably help as well?
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This was my first experiment so I don’t know for sure. I like the brine idea but you would need to avoid soaking the skin because you need the skin to be very dry before you roast it. I did put 5 spice, though I didn’t have anise. I think I should have maybe rubbed the 5 spice all over instead of just top and bottom. And maybe slit some cuts in the bottom to get more five spice into the pork belly meat.
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Tina — Reply
This looks insanely delicioussss!
