How to Make the Best Smoked Crispy Pork Belly EVER!
This dish is really the best of both worlds. Tender, smoky pork belly, topped with crispy crackling. The mixture of those two textures and flavors are simply amazing!
Ingredients
1 skin-on pork belly
2 T (+ more for the skin) salt, divided
2 T brown sugar
vegetable oil as needed (see step 9)
NOTE: A day before you serve this magnificent dish, recipe requires seasoning and refrigerating the pork belly for at least 12 hours before cooking. Be sure to ask for a flat, rectangular center-cut section of skin-on pork belly that’s 1 1/2 inches thick with roughly equal amounts of meat and fat. Serve the meat in small portions with Spicy Mustard Sauce, Sweet and Sour Chile Sauce, or Tangy Hoisin Sauce, plus white rice and steamed greens or boiled potatoes and salad.
1. If using a wide cut of pork belly, using sharp chef’s knife, slice pork belly lengthwise into 2 inches wide strips.
2. Make 1/4-inch-deep crosswise cuts through skin and into fat spaced 1/2 inch apart.
3. Combine the 2 T of salt and the brown sugar in small bowl. Rub salt/brown sugar mixture into bottom and sides of pork belly (do not rub into skin, the sugar will burn during the crisping step).
4. Season skin of each strip evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Place pork belly, skin side up, in 13 by 9-inch baking dish and refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 12 hours or up to 24 hours.
5. The following day, adjust your smoker for indirect cooking and set to 250F.
6. Transfer pork belly, skin side up, to lightly greased wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet. (This will keep the meat out of the rendered fat and supply us with some flavorful liquid for the crisping step.)
7. Smoke pork belly until meat registers 195 degrees and paring knife inserted in meat meets little resistance, 3 to 3 1/2 hours, rotating sheet halfway through smoking.
8. Transfer pork belly, skin side up, to large plate. (Pork belly can be held at room temperature for up to 1 hour.)
9. Pour fat from sheet into 1-cup liquid measuring cup. Add vegetable oil as needed to equal 1 cup and transfer to 12-inch skillet. Arrange pork belly, skin side down, in skillet (strips can be sliced in half crosswise if skillet won’t fit strips whole) and place over medium heat until bubbles form around pork belly. Continue to fry, tilting skillet occasionally to even out hot spots, until skin puffs, crisps, and turns golden, 6 to 10 minutes.
10. Transfer pork belly, skin side up, to carving board and let rest for 5 minutes.
11. Flip pork belly on its side and slice 1/2 inch thick (being sure to slice through original score marks).
12. Serve with there Spicy Mustard Sauce (recipe below), or the sauce of your choice, rice and steamed, smoked, or grilled veggies or perhaps a salad. ENJOY!
Spicy Mustard Sauce:
⅔ cup Dijon mustard
⅓ cup cider vinegar
¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
1 T hot sauce
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
Equipment used: Yoder YS640 Smoker
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