If you've been craving crispy pork belly, learn how to cook pork belly perfectly every single time. It's an incredibly easy recipe to turn a slab of pork belly into heaven on earth!
❤️ Why you'll love it
Pork belly is like bacon on steroids; when properly cooked, it becomes crispy on the outside, and the tender pork melts in your mouth. This fatty piece of meat can come out chewy and gummy unless you properly cook pork belly.
Fortunately, this crispy pork belly recipe is incredibly easy, even if this is your first time cooking this cut of pork!
🥘 Equipment Used
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You'll need a small bowl, baking sheet, and tongs to make the best pork belly.
🧾 Ingredients Used
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- Pork belly slices: You can find pork belly in the meat section of your grocery store, or you can get it from a local butcher.
- Pork seasoning: My homemade pork dry rub has spices that add so much flavor to any cut of pork, like garlic powder, cayenne pepper, black pepper, smoked paprika, cumin, and more. Since pork belly isn't cured, like bacon, it needs plenty of seasoning!
🔪 How To Cook Pork Belly
There are several ways to prepare delicious pork belly. These are four easy, reliable methods for perfect pork belly every time.
Make It In the Oven
- Preheat the oven to 285F.
- Dry the skin of the pork belly. Then, rub the flesh with half of the olive oil and seasoning.
- Layer 2 pieces of foil on a work surface (if you have thicker aluminum foil, you can use only 1 layer). Place the belly in the middle of the foil, skin side up. Fold the sides in to enclose the belly, forming an open box. Pinch the corners to seal tightly. Make sure that the aluminum foil is enclosed as close to the meat as possible.
- Place the meat on a baking tray.
- Rub the remaining oil and seasonings on the skin of the pork belly.
- Place in the oven and roast for 2 ½ hours. If you have a thicker pork belly cut, you might need to roast for a little bit longer.
- Remove pork from the oven, then increase heat to 460F.
- Remove the pork from the foil and place it on the baking tray. Return the pork back to the oven for 20 minutes, rotate after 10 minutes if needed, until the skin is deep golden and crispy.
How to Fry Pork Belly
- Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Cut the pork belly into slices or strips.
- Pat the pork belly slices dry.
- Place the pork belly slices and pork seasoning in a large mixing bowl. Mix until the slices are well seasoned.
- Place pork belly slices in the pan. No need to add oil.
- Cook for 7-8 mins on both sides or until the pork belly reaches 165 degrees F.
How to Air Fry Pork Belly
- Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees F and spray the air fryer basket with oil to prevent sticking.
- Cut the pork belly into small cubes, spray with olive oil, and coat with homemade dry rub.
- Place the air fryer pieces in the basket in a single layer with some space between each piece.
- Air fry for 15 minutes and shake halfway through to flip the pieces.
- When the pork belly reaches 165 degrees F, remove it and place it on a paper towel to absorb extra fat.
🥫 Storing and Reheating
If you have leftover pork belly, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. To reheat it, add it to your air fryer or oven at 400 degrees for 5-7 minutes to crisp up the skin again and bring the meat up to temperature.
You can also freeze it on a tray for a few hours before storing it in a freezer bag. Let it thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat using the instructions above.
💭 Tips and Variations
- Move your crispy pork belly to a paper towel to absorb excess pork fat after roasting.
- Score the skin with a sharp knife to get the dry rub in all the nooks and crannies.
- Pork belly is a fatty cut of meat, and that fat needs to be rendered out to get the crispy skin and tender meat. If it's still chewy, keep cooking.
- Fully preheat your oven to ensure you get a crispy crust every time.
- Layer your baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper for easy clean-up.
- If you don't like crispy pork skin, you can get a skinless variety at many grocery stores.
🍽️ What can I eat this recipe with?
Since pork belly is such a fatty cut of meat, I prefer to eat this keto pork belly as a main dish with roasted veggies like air fryer broccoli or asparagus. It's also a great appetizer to serve at a party with cranberry almond coleslaw, Ninja Foodi roasted chicken, or this air fryer salmon recipe.
👩🍳 Frequently asked questions
Do you use oil to cook pork belly?
Although there are different methods for cooking pork belly, I don't use any oil. The pork belly is already so fatty that it doesn't need extra olive oil to make it crispy. The best thing to do is season it well and roast it in a hot oven to crisp up the skin and render the layers of fat. This method always produces crispy skin and tender pork.
How long does it take to cook belly pork?
If you are roasting pork belly in the oven, it only needs about 35-40 minutes in a 400-degree oven. Although this is a short cooking time for pork belly, it's the best way to get crispy skin every time.
Should you salt pork belly before cooking?
Unlike bacon, pork belly is completely unseasoned. Salt draws out moisture and adds so much flavor to roast pork belly. I recommend slathering your pork belly with a homemade pork dry rub. As the fat renders, it will move the seasoning into every bite. This is my favorite way to season pork belly because it tastes so good!
📖 Recipe
How to Cook Pork Belly
Ingredients
- 1 lb pork belly with skin on (not scored)-1.3 inch in thickness
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon pork seasoning use more if you need to
Instructions
Make It In the Oven
- Preheat the oven to 285F.
- Dry the skin of the pork belly.1 lb pork belly
- Rub the flesh with half of the olive oil and seasoning.2 tablespoon olive oil, 2 tablespoon pork seasoning
- Layer 2 pieces of foil on a work surface (if you have thicker aluminum foil, you can use only 1 layer).
- Place the belly in the middle of the foil, skin side up.
- Fold the sides in to enclose the belly, forming an open box.
- Pinch the corners to seal tightly. Make sure that the aluminum foil is enclosed as close to the meat as possible.
- Place the meat on a baking tray.
- Rub the remaining oil and seasonings on the skin of the pork belly.2 tablespoon pork seasoning
- Place in the oven and roast for 2 ½ hours. If you have a thicker pork belly cut, you might need to roast for a little bit longer.
- Remove pork from the oven, then increase heat to 460F.
- Remove the pork from the foil and place it on the baking tray.
- Return the pork back to the oven for 20 minutes, rotate after 10 minutes if needed, until the skin is deep golden and crispy.
How to Fry Pork Belly
- Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Cut the pork belly into slices or strips.
- Pat the pork belly slices dry.
- Place the pork belly slices, soy sauce, and pork seasoning in a large mixing bowl. Mix until the slices are well seasoned.
- Place pork belly slices in the pan. No need to add oil.
- Cook for 7-8 mins on both sides or until the pork belly reaches 165 degrees F.
How to Air Fry Pork Belly
- Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees F and spray the air fryer basket with oil to prevent sticking.
- Cut the pork belly into small cubes, spray with olive oil, and coat with homemade dry rub.
- Place the air fryer pieces in the basket in a single layer with some space between each piece.
- Air fry for 15 minutes and shake halfway through to flip the pieces.
- When the pork belly reaches 165 degrees F, remove it and place it on a paper towel to absorb extra fat.
How to Grill Pork Belly
- Preheat grill to 350F.
- Grill the seasoned pork belly for 3-5 minutes on one side, then flip.
- Repeat until the pork belly is done.
Notes
- Move your crispy pork belly to a paper towel to absorb excess pork fat after roasting.
- Score the skin with a sharp knife to get the dry rub in all the nooks and crannies.
- Pork belly is a fatty cut of meat, and that fat needs to be rendered out to get the crispy skin and tender meat. If it's still chewy, keep cooking.
- Fully preheat your oven to ensure you get a crispy crust every time.
- Layer your baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper for easy clean-up.
- If you don't like crispy pork skin, you can get a skinless variety at many grocery stores.
Nutrition
Tayo Oredola is the founder of Low Carb Africa, where she shares healthy, low carb dishes with global flavors. She is passionate about teaching people how to cook drool-worthy dishes while losing weight and living their best lives. Tayo’s recipes have been featured on MSN, Women’s Health, Parade, Yahoo News, Pure Wow, Essence, and other online publications.
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