How do you cook pork belly in the oven

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
361 Calories
28g Fat
0g Carbs
26g Protein

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Nutrition FactsServings: 6 to 8
Amount per serving
Calories 361
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 28g 36%
Saturated Fat 9g 47%
Cholesterol 95mg 32%
Sodium 225mg 10%
Total Carbohydrate 0g 0%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 26g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 53mg 4%
Iron 1mg 6%
Potassium 274mg 6%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Pork belly is a fatty piece of meat that is often used to make bacon and pancetta. However, it can also be roasted, resulting in flavorful and tender pork covered with delicious crackling. It's that dual texture (often in a single bite) that makes it irresistible and guaranteed to please everyone at the dinner table.

This roasted pork belly recipe is simple, using nothing more than basic seasonings and extra-virgin olive oil. The long, slow roasting makes for tender meat, and the increased oven temperature near the end of the cooking time helps create a crispy skin.

Serve this pork belly with beans, black-eyed peas, scalloped potatoes, or mac and cheese.

Click Play to See This Crispy Slow-Roasted Pork Belly Recipe Come Together

"This slow-roasted pork belly recipe delivers the ultimate combination of rich, meltingly tender meat and crisp crackled skin in every bite." —Diana Andrews

  • 2 pounds pork belly with skin

  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 to 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

  1. Gather the ingredients.

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  2. Heat the oven to 350 F/180 C. Place a rack (such as a cooling rack) on a rimmed baking sheet. With a sharp knife, make several parallel cuts across the skin of the pork belly, 1/4 to 1/2-inch apart. Cut through the skin and fat but not into the meat.

    The Spruce Eats

  3. Sprinkle the pork all over with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and rub it all into the pork.

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  4. Place the pork on the rack, skin-side up.

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  5. Roast for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until the meat is very tender and falling apart. Increase the heat to 425 F and roast for 20 to 25 minutes longer to crisp the skin even more.

    The Spruce Eats

  6. Remove the pork from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Slice thinly, using the cuts in the skin as guides.

    The Spruce Eats

Tips

  • Allow the pork belly to rest in the fridge, uncovered, for about 4 hours before you plan to cook it, after you rub it with oil and season it with salt and pepper. The skin will dry out and result in a crispier crackling.
  • Make sure the pork is cold when you score it so it's easier to cut.
  • Placing the belly skin-side up is essential to tender meat because the fat renders while it cooks.
  • Adjust the cooking time for pork belly that weighs significantly more or less than 2 pounds or if your oven tends to run hot. The USDA's food safety guidelines state that the minimum safe internal temperature for whole pork cuts is 145 F.
  • You can strain the rendered pork fat in the baking sheet through a fine mesh strainer and save it for future use. Keep it in the refrigerator or freezer and use it the same way you would use bacon fat: toss with potatoes to roast in the oven, baste turkey or chicken, add to hot vinaigrettes, or use for general frying and sauteing.

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What temperature should pork belly be cooked at?

Pre-heat oven to 250F (121C). Roast pork belly in the oven for approximately 2-5 HOURS. Or until internal temperature reaches 155F (68C), rested to a final 160F (71C).

How long does belly of pork take to cook?

How long do you cook pork belly for? The secret to cooking pork belly is the combination of a gentle heat to tenderise the meat and short, high temperature blasts to crisp up the skin on the outside. Typically, recipes call for around 2 hrs at 180C/160C fan/gas 4, then a further 30 mins or so at 200C/180C fan/gas 6.

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

Traditionally pork belly has always favoured slow-cooking methods – this allows the fat to render into the meat over time, leaving the resulting flesh moist and tender.

What are 3 ways that pork belly can be cooked?

How to Cook Pork Belly.
Oven Roasting..
Slow Cooking..
Pan Frying..

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