Crispy Roasted Pork Belly Recipe
Pork belly is easy to make at home? Yes it is! If you’re looking for restaurant-style pork belly with crazy crispy skin and the juiciest meat with tons and tons of flavor, my recipe will blow your mind.
Servings: 9 servings (1/3 pound each)
Equipment
- Aluminum foil
Ingredients
- 3 pound skin-on, boneless pork belly
- 1 tablespoon Chinese five spice powder
- ½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
- 2 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
Instructions
- Mix together five spice, 1 teaspoon salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and brown sugar.
- Place pork belly, meat-side up, on a working surface. Rub this spice blend evenly on the meat-side only, plus the sides of the pork belly.
- Flip the pork belly over to the skin-side. Try to not get spices on the skin! Use paper towels to pat dry the skin as best as possible.
- With a sharp knife, score (poke) the skin. Do NOT go too deep, into the meat. These poke marks should be about ½-inch apart.
- Rub ½ tablespoon salt evenly on the skin.
- Place a large piece of foil underneath the pork belly, meat-side down touching the foil. Wrap the foil up the sides of the pork belly, tightly wrapping around it like a foil boat. Foil should come up the sides without touching the top of the pork belly (the skin).
- Place pork belly in the foil boat, on a baking sheet. Let chill in the fridge, uncovered, for 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 375℉. Mix together oil and vinegar. Use a basting brush to brush the skin with this mixture. It will look like too much, but use it all!
- Roast pork in the foil boat on a baking sheet for 55-70 minutes. Foil boat will peel away from the pork belly as it roasts. The center of a meat layer (not fat layer) should register at least 165 degrees. It’s okay if the temperature is a bit over.
- Remove pork belly from the oven, turn oven off, and leave oven door open for 5 minutes to let oven cool. This ensures oven broiler will work correctly.
- Turn broiler on (I use low setting if you have one). Place pork belly back in the oven and let broil for 5-15 minutes until skin is crispy. Watch carefully! Pork belly skin will pop and crackle, crisping up. Rotate pork belly if needed, to ensure even crackling. If there’s a spot that’s burning, cover with a little piece of foil.
- Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving with hoisin or your favorite dipping sauce.
Video
Notes
- While you can use a different sized pork belly, finding pork belly as close to 3 pounds as possible will ensure the cook time and spice amounts are accurate. Otherwise, these will vary!
- Five Spice is a classic Chinese blend of typically clove, star anise, cinnamon, fennel, and peppercorn.
- You can use whatever spice blend you’d like, keeping the salt amount the same. Salt is key for flavor, the juiciness of the meat, and crispiness of the skin!
- I imagine you can chill the pork belly for longer than 2 hours in the fridge, but I have not tested this.
- It’s more accurate to insert thermometer into the side of the pork belly (through a meat not fat layer) instead of the top.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 797kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 81g | Saturated Fat: 29g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 38g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 109mg | Sodium: 695mg | Potassium: 301mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 0.5g | Vitamin A: 19IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg