There is so much more to pork belly than bacon. (Not that bacon is ever a bad thing, right?) Grilled Pork Belly is like bacon on steroids.
Marinated in a sweet and spicy sauce, this Chili Glazed Grilled Pork Belly results in juicy, flavorful meat with crispy grilled edges.For the first portion of my Pork Bucket List, I learned how to cook an Oven Roasted Crackling Pork Belly.
Crackling on top with tender enough meat to quite literally melt in your mouth, I discovered that pork belly is like no other meat I’ve ever tasted. Over the past month, I’ve had an amazing food adventure as I visited restaurants all over the Phoenix area with my friends and family and continued to cross things off my #PorkBucketList.
Have you entered to win your own Pork Bucket List adventure?! The National Pork Board will be giving away win a $500 Visa Card to one very lucky Barefeet In The Kitchen reader and there’s only one week left to enter the giveaway!
When I began my #PorkBellyCrawl, I’d only tasted pork belly once, and had no idea how versatile it could be. Smoked, Grilled, Deep Fried, Oven Roasted, Braised, Crackling, Pan-Fried, and Fire Roasted; I was lucky enough to taste more pork belly dishes than I even imagined existed and I’m excited to share my favorites with you today.
Here are just a few of the delicious dishes that we enjoyed for our #PorkBellyCrawl:
Pork Belly BLT Sammie {pork belly} from Pig and Pickle
Cracklin’ Duroc Pork Belly {pork belly} from Salty Sow
Lechon Kawali {braised and deep fried pork belly} from Hey Joe!
Street Tacos {pork belly} from Phoenix Street Food
Cebuchon {roasted and glazed pork belly} from Halo Halo Kitchen
Lechon Kawali {deep fried pork belly} from Halo Halo Kitchen
Bacon Board {pork belly confit} from Bootleggers Modern American Steakhouse
PBLT Sliders {smoked pork belly} from Bootleggers Modern American Steakhouse
Pork Belly Taco {pork belly} from Salty Sow
Farm Salad {pork belly and bacon lardons} from Salty Sow
My favorite dish was the Pork Belly Taco at Salty Sow; fork tender strips of smoked pork belly, fresh arugula, feta cheese, and a soft fried egg are wrapped in a buttery flour tortilla. We ordered our tacos with a side of duck fat fries and it was a happy hour not to be soon forgotten!
I could hardly wait to recreate the taco at home, using some of our favorite flavors in a sweet and spicy marinade. (I very rarely cook a meat without a marinade, it adds so much flavor for minimal effort!)
I knew that bacon could be grilled, so I used that same process with extra thin strips of the pork belly. (Smoking the meat would be delicious as well, if you have a little more time and you’re willing to wait.)
Start to finish the grilling was done in just about 5 minutes, and it’s hard to beat that for convenience!
Don’t forget to enter to win a $500 Visa Card towards an adventure of your own! GIVEAWAY CLOSED
Chili Glazed Grilled Pork Belly Strips
Ingredients
- 1 pound pork belly
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 large garlic cloves minced
- 2 tablespoons chili paste
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Remove the skin from the pork belly and slice the meat into 1/8" - 1/4" wide strips. Stir together the soy sauce, olive oil, garlic, chili paste, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. Place the meat in the bowl with the marinade and toss with your fingers or tongs to coat thoroughly. Marinate for 1 hour.
- Preheat the grill to HIGH. Grill the strips of pork belly for 2 minutes, flip and grill another 2-3 minutes. When the pork has cooked through, remove from the grill and place it on a paper towel lined tray. Enjoy!
- Serving suggestions:
- For tacos like we enjoyed at Salty Sow, place a strip of pork belly into a small flour tortilla, add a sprinkling of cheese (Asiago, Feta, Cotija all work well), some greens (Arugula, Spinach, or Crispy Brussel Sprouts), and then top with a fried egg.
- Alternatively, serve the grilled pork belly strips with roasted potato wedges and a salad. The grilled pork belly strips would also be delicious alongside scrambled eggs and toast.
Notes
Want to know how to win your own #PorkBucketList adventure? Giveaway details are posted HERE and you can check out other people’s pork bucket list ideas at PorkBucketList.com! Giveaway ENDS on September 30th.
Disclosure: This blog post is sponsored by the National Pork Board. Thank you for supporting the brands I love that help make this site possible. As always all thoughts and opinions are my own.