Crunchy, crackling pork belly has finally been introduced to my family and we have fallen for it, hook, line, and sinker! Scroll on down to the bottom of this post to learn how to cook pork belly and see both of the recipes that my family has been enjoying.
How To Cook Pork Belly
Pork belly is much more flavorful than a traditional pork roast, with a hint of the smokiness of bacon. Tender bites of meat that almost melt in your mouth, next to crunchy, crackling skin is a fantastic combination.
I’m so pleased that I’ve had the opportunity to learn how to cook pork belly. Now that I have two well-tested and simple methods for cooking this type of meat, I am excited to branch out and see how many other ways there are to enjoy pork belly!
If you’re cooking pork belly for the first time, learn from my experience and look for it first at the Asian markets in your area. Pork belly was easy to find there and it was roughly a third the price of everywhere else I found it.
Tips for Cooking Pork Belly
First, look for a pork belly that is relatively even in thickness and size. The best pork belly I’ve made was the same thickness across and a fairly uniform rectangle.
While a perfectly even cut isn’t always possible, the crackling was much more easy to achieve on the uniform pieces.
Second, use plenty of salt! Use far more than you think you need. If you do not use enough salt, the skin will remain chewy and it will not be very tasty at all.
The fat layer under the skin will react with the salt causing it to puff up and become the crunchy crackling that tastes so good!
How To Cook Crackling Pork Belly
Ingredients
- 2-3 pounds pork belly
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees with one oven rack in the middle and another about 6 inches under the broiler, if it’s on top of your oven. Prepare the pork belly by scoring the skin with a very sharp blade. (I used this inexpensive utility cutter and it worked perfectly.) You want to cut lines through the skin, about half an inch apart all the way across the pork belly, without cutting too much of the fat and exposing the meat. There should be stripes across the whole belly where you have scored the skin. Place the scored pork belly on a large baking sheet or roasting pan, preferably with a wire rack underneath the pork.
- Drizzle the pork with oil and rub it all over both sides of the meat. Sprinkle the pork belly all over with salt, taking care to generously rub it into the slits you’ve made on the skin. Sprinkle with pepper. Place the pork on the middle oven rack and roast at 450 degrees for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees and roast an additional 25 minutes per pound. For a 2 ½ pound roast this is approximately an hour more. Test the roast by poking a skewer into it and seeing if the juices are clear or still milky white.
- Increase the heat to broil and move the roast to the oven shelf under the broiler. Set a timer and broil the roast for 60 seconds, check it and broil an additional 30 seconds, but only as needed! When all of the skin has bubbled up and is puffy, crackling, and golden brown. Remove from the oven and let the meat rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
While the oven-roasted pork belly is a beautiful thing, sometimes, you just don’t have time to wait or the desire to heat up the kitchen!
I combined the cooking method for our Pan Fried Chicken with the ease of Skillet Chicken Bits to make this Skillet Fried Pork Belly possible in less than 15 minutes!
Quick Pork Belly Recipe
The higher fat content of pork belly makes it tender enough to work beautifully as a quick skillet meat. The pork turns out a little bit crispy and just chewy enough to make you savor each bite. My kids went nuts over this pork, and there wasn’t a bite leftover.
I served these bites of pork belly with Salt Potatoes and Sriracha Honey Roasted Broccoli. I’m sure it will be delicious with Simple Asian Rice and Roasted Summer Vegetables as well.
COOK’S NOTE: I trimmed the skin and about half of the fat off of the pork belly for this simple skillet pork. I tried several different skillet cooking methods and there just was no comparison to oven roasting for the crunchy crackling skin. This is a much lighter version and it works great for a weeknight dinner!
{Pan Fried} Pork Belly Bites
Yield: 4-5 servings
(printable recipe)
2 tablespoons olive or flavorless coconut oil
2 pounds pork belly
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Remove the skin and about half of the fat layer from the pork belly and discard. Slice the remaining meat into 1 ½ inch pieces. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Test the oil with a drop of water. If it sizzles, add half of the pieces of pork to the skillet in a single layer.* Let the meat cook for 3 minutes, until browned, then carefully turn each piece over and cook an additional 2-3 minutes on each side, about 8-10 minutes total. Remove to a plate. Repeat with the rest of the pork. Enjoy!
* I recommend covering the pan with a grease shield to avoid making a mess of your stove.
Disclosure: This blog post was sponsored by the National Pork Board. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands I love that help make this site possible!
{originally published 8/19/14 – recipe notes and photos updated 2/8/22}
Jolie Molino says
I would love to find locally sourced pork and visit the farm. I would love for my kids to see where our meat comes from and that they are humanely treated!
Monica Archer says
I have never eaten pork belly. Looks like I will have to try it.
Jane, The Heritage Cook says
I love pork so much that narrowing down my #PorkBucketList is a real chore, but I'll do my best 🙂
1 – I would love to visit a farm where they raise heritage hogs and learn about their methods
2 – It would be amazing to learn how to grind and stuff my own pork sausages in casings with fresh pork
3 – I have always dreamed of visiting the major BBQ areas in the country so I can do my own comparisons between styles, sauces, and traditions. If there happened to be a BBQ competition going on while I was there, even better!
Jane, The Heritage Cook says
I forgot to include the hashtag on the first Tweet, so here is the link to my second one with it in there: https://twitter.com/TheHeritageCook/status/501855372773044224 Sorry, and thanks!
Anonymous says
I have never tried pork belly, or stir fried cabbage and pork, also I have never tasted wild pork. I would like to learn to play the piano, scuba dive and drive a race car.
heather [email protected]
lovey2 says
Love this recipe!
AuroraCat says
i want to try pork rinds, pork ear, and more pork belly! (alisa)
Jenny Moran says
I would use my gift card to go to Ojo Caliente and order the pork belly tacos from their restaurant. Or… Buy a smoker to make all my pork fantasies come true! 😉
Anonymous says
My "pork bucket list":
1. Learn (from a chef) how to cook a great rack of BBQ pork ribs
2. Develop my own special healthy BBQ sauce
3. Try cooking pork with the recipes on this blog
Jennifer Cornejo says
Bacon! I'm on a mission to make my own by next year 🙂
Heather Schmitt-Gonzalez says
I've made many a porky things in my lifetime, but have never cured my own bacon – THAT is #! on my #porkbucketlist!
Sandra Dorris says
1. I need to perfect fall off the bone ribs. A smoker would help with that.
2. I **need** to go to Hey Joe food truck for their Vietnamese pork belly…oh my goodness, so good.
3. I would love to have a pig roast!!
Nikki @Seeded at the Table says
Yay for PorkBucketList! We were introduced to pork belly after moving to Mississippi… just had Pork Belly Corndogs at a restaurant the other day!!
[email protected] says
Gosh, I'd make this recipe and maybe some smoked bacon!
Tamra Phelps says
My #PorkBucketList would include my aunt's home-canned pork sausage balls. They farmed hogs & every year a porker went to heaven to provide sausage, etc. My aunt would 'can' jars of sausage balls.
Anonymous says
I would love to do a whole hog roast. Ate some when in WVa and it was so good. mommafox1943at msn dot com
Anonymous says
I want to make a great pulled pork. I'd love to learn how to make bacon and bbq ribs from scratch.
Christy Spurlock says
Pulled pork and maple smoked bacon
Anonymous says
Can you tell me if there is a lot of cleanup if done in the oven?
Amy @Very Culinary says
Oh my goodness, Mary. THIS. *faints*