Pork Belly Recipe

You need just 4 everyday ingredients to make Pork Belly thats crispy on the outside, juicy and flavorful inside, and oh so versatile.

If youve had poorly cooked pork belly – chewy or otherwise unpleasant, you know that technique is important. We looked at several recipes and settled on the master recipe from Momofuku, which David Chang was kind enough to share at Lucky Peach. We expected that he probably knew what he was talking about. What we didnt expect was how ridiculously simple the recipe would be![feast_advanced_jump_to]

This easy recipe works beautifully for both skinless and skin-on pork belly! The only difference is that youll need to score the skin with the skin-on variety before roasting to get that perfectly golden brown and crisp crackling (crispy pork skin) and allow the seasonings to permeate the fat and meat. With the skinless variety, youll skip the scoring and go straight to seasoning.

Pork belly and side pork are the same thing. A pigs belly wraps around the sides, thus how the two terms came to be synonymous. If you ask for side pork or pork belly from your butcher, you will get the same exact cut of meat.

Theyre often confused, but heres the difference: pork belly is a fresh, thick slab of meat cut from the abdomen of a pig. It hasnt been cured or smoked. Bacon has been cured, smoked and sliced and typically comes from belly or back cuts (less fatty).

Oven Roasted Crispy Pork Belly

This recipe works equally well for skin on and skinless pork belly. I cut back on the salt and sugar a bit from Dave Chang’s original recipe.

Prep: 5min

Total: 95min

Yield: 8

Serving Size: 1 serving

Nutrition Facts: calories 297 kcal, Carbohydrate 1 g, Protein 5 g, Fat 30 g, Saturated Fat 10 g, Cholesterol 40 mg, Sodium 599 mg, servingSize 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 1 pound pork belly (skin on or skinless)
• 2 teaspoons fine salt (or 4 teaspoons kosher salt)
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• a few grinds of black pepper

Instruction:

1. For skinless pork belly, move on to the next step. If using skin on pork belly, pat skin dry with a paper towel. With a sharp knife, score through skin every 1/2-inch at a diagonal, cutting through skin and into fat, but not so deep that you hit meat. Repeat cutting in an opposite diagonal to create a diamond shape pattern. (recipe note #1)
2. Season pork belly with salt sugar and a few grinds of black pepper. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 450°F.
4. Roast pork belly for 30 minutes on the middle rack in a heavy, oven-safe pan or skillet, skin side up / fat side up. Reduce heat to 275°F and roast for an hour or more, until tender but not mushy. (Larger pieces of pork belly will take longer. Our one-pound belly was done after an hour at 275°F.)
5. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate until chilled through – at least a few hours and up to 2 days.
6. Once chilled, slice into thick pieces and brown in a skillet on the stovetop until crisp. Enjoy alone or in soups, salads, pasta sauces, ramen and more! (recipe note #2)

Sticky Chinese Pork Belly

Sticky Chinese Belly Pork – Slow-cooked until meltingly tender and then finished with a sticky chilli glaze.

Prep: 10min

Total: 145min

Yield: 6

Serving Size: 1 serving

Nutrition Facts: calories 531 kcal, Carbohydrate 14 g, Protein 33 g, Fat 38 g, Saturated Fat 15 g, Sodium 654 mg, Sugar 12 g, servingSize 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 1 kg (2.2lb) rindless pork belly slices (chopped in half (each piece being approx. the length of your index finger))
• 1 litre (4+ 1/4 cups) hot chicken stock
• 1 thumb sized piece of ginger (peeled and minced (or 1 tbsp of ginger puree))
• 3 cloves garlic (peeled and roughly chopped)
• 1 tbsp rice wine
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger (peeled and minced)
• 1 red chilli (finely chopped)
• 2 tbsp Honey
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 3 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp lemon grass paste
• Chopped spring onions
• Chopped red chillies

Instruction:

1. Add pork belly slices, stock, ginger, garlic, rice wine and sugar to a heavy-based pan. I use a cast iron casserole pan.
2. Bring to the boil, then place a lid on, turn down the heat and simmer for 2 hours.
3. Turn off the heat, remove the pork from the pan and pat it dry using kitchen towels. You can reserve the liquid if you like (Perfect for a Thai or Chinese noodle soup).
4. Chop the pork into bite sized chunks.
5. In a small bowl, mix together 1 tbsp of the oil, along with a pinch of salt and pepper, the ginger, chilli, honey, brown sugar, soy sauce and lemongrass paste.
6. Add the remaining 1 tbsp of oil to a frying pan and heat over a medium-high heat.
7. Add in the pork, along with a pinch of salt and pepper, and fry, turning regularly, until the pork starts to turn golden. Be careful as the oil can splatter at this stage (I recommend a splatter guard).
8. Now pour the glaze over the pork and continue to cook for a couple of minutes, turning the pork often, until the pork looks dark and sticky.
9. Remove from the heat and serve. I like to top with a few spring onions and chopped chillies.

How To Make Slow Roasted Pork Belly | Gordon Ramsay

FAQ

Does pork belly get more tender the longer you cook it?

What are 3 ways that pork belly can be cooked?

• Oven Roasting.
• Slow Cooking.
• Pan Frying.

Is pork belly the same cut as bacon?