New Crispy Pork Belly

Steven Pennington

This new cooking technique for pork belly produces exceptionally crispy and delicious results. It's a bit more work than the usual method but well worth the effort. Your guests will be impressed.

Print Recipe

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 2

Total Time 2 5

Course pork

Cuisine Asian

Servings 3 people

Calories 789 kcal

Suggested Equipment

Ingredients

1 pound Pork Belly A larger piece is fine. Increase the salt cast recipe by a ratio of 1 to 1

Pork Belly Salt Cast

2 cups Sea Salt
2 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tablespoon Soy Sauce
2 Egg Whites Discard the yolks

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

How To Prepare Crispy Pork Belly

Start with the pork skin. The objective is to create a number of small holes in the skin, but not deep enough to do all the way through the skin to the meat. Very important.
If the hole breaks into the meat layer, the skin will not puff up and become crispy. The reason is the fat in the pork meat will rise up and be pushed through the small holes. This will saturate the pork skin with fat; puffing up happens by removing moisture.
Create between 100 and 150 holes. You can either use a small knife or a meat-needling device.
Next, using a sharp knife, make a number of thin cuts in the skin, making sure not to cut too deep or risk the fat bubbling up through the skin.
Make a boat around the pork belly using aluminum foil, then paint on rice wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar. Finish with a sprinkling of sea salt. This is the first stage of removing moisture from the skin. Very important.
Place into the refrigerator for 2 hours.
The Salt Cast Method:
You can skip this setup if you do not enjoy a moist, tender pork belly.
Preheat the oven to 325 F.
Use two oven racks, and place a casserole dish on the lower rack filled halfway with water.
In a bowl, mix 2 cups of sea salt, 2 egg whites, 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce.
Place the pork belly into an oven-safe roasting pan. Add the salt cast around the pork belly, Do Not add any underneath, only around the sides and top.
Bake for 1 hour.
Creating Crispy Pork Skin:
After the salt cast bake, place the pork on a wire rack. then back into the oven.
Roast until done. This will vary each time. The reason is that every piece of pork belly will have a different amount of fat in it, so the cook times will change.
Select pieces of pork with the most meat in them and less white (fat).
Finishing: For the last 5 to 10 minutes of the roasting, turn on the broiler. The intense heat will cause the pork skin to become very crispy. Do not walk away during this process, as things can go from perfect to burnt very quickly.

Notes

9 Facts About Pork Belly

Pork belly is a delicious and versatile cut of meat that can be cooked in many different ways. Here are 12 facts about pork belly that you may not know:

Pork belly is actually the fatty layer of meat that sits beneath the pig's skin.
Pork belly has a high-fat content, which makes it ideal for cooking methods that require rendering, such as braising or slow-cooking roasting.
The fatty nature of pork belly also means that it is highly susceptible to spoilage if not correctly stored.
Pork belly is a popular ingredient in many cuisines around the world, including Chinese, Korean, and Filipino dishes.
In the United States, pork belly is often used to make bacon.
Bacon is typically made by curing pork belly with salt, sugar, and spices, then smoking it.
Pork belly can also be cooked without curing or smoking, though it will not have the same flavor as bacon.
Pork belly is often used as a type of "fastback" in sausage making.
Fatback is the layer of fat that sits on the back of a pig, and it can also be used to make sausage.

Keyword Crispy Pork Belly