Chef John's Caramel Pork Belly

Most people dont understand what pork belly is! It is the slab of meat that butchers slice into bacon.

I've made this a couple times now, but am yet to get this to actually form a glaze. Next time I'm going to try a smaller pan, that should help significantly. Aside from not really being 'glazed' this pork belly is super tasty and incredibly tender. I definitely recommend it, just haven't been able to make it picture perfect in my own kitchen yet! If you have leftovers, be sure to remove the chilis before tossing it in the fridge. The boyfriend tossed them in with everything else last time I made it and I didn't realize he did that, it was much spicier the next day. I didn't mind it, but he would have, always remember that the longer you leave a chili in something, the spicier it will be.

I made it. His sauce was delicious. I wrapped it in foil. Soft succulent too. If you do not wrap in foil it burns. Brown sugar hardened in my baking pan on second one I did not wrap in foil.

No tips. Melts in your mouth as is. I’ve made it three times for various people and all agree that it’s worth the effort. Good work Chef John!

This tasted good - but I tell ya, it was a lot of work. Not worth it in my opinion. I love Chef John - but this flavor was teriyaki sauce that I could have poured on instead and saved soooooo much time.

I liked how the pork was cooked the night before, which is the reason I tried this. I found this recipe to be extremely easy, however the glaze fell short for me. I also made this into sandwiches and added some coleslaw on top. It was amazing.

Made it twice now - wow... first time by the recipe, no change , loved it! 2nd time, I added some Chinese 5 spice to the day-before bake, made two bricks 500 grams each. Made one in the oven at 500 degrees (very good) but the 2nd sat in the fridge a few days cause I was overwhelmed by events - then exactly as recipe directed, and perfection! Paired with a SA pinotage, the only wine that could stand up to it! cheers Mike

My husband and I lived in China for over a decade, and this is the real deal Hong Shao Rou! We both said it tasted just like what we had in China, only better! I'm having family over for a Chinese feast for Thanksgiving, and this will be featured. For those who said sauce was too runny- reduce the water, I only used a few tablespoons. And make sure you soak up some of the oil with a paper towel before adding sauce, as he does in the video. Enjoy!!!

Wonderful Meal. Straight forward and easy, just takes a lot of oven time.

Very good!

Very nice! I will definitely do it again!

This is seriously one of the best things I've ever eaten in my life! I made a few substitutions based on what I had on hand: apple cider vinegar for rice vinegar, grated ginger for ginger juice, and shallots for green onions. I also added all of the glaze at once instead of saving some for the end, which I did by mistake but I would do it exactly the same way next time! I plan on trying the glaze on lots of other things. Heck, I might just make some and eat it with a spoon.

Followed the directions except for the ginger juice. I used chopped ginger. Delicious!! My sauce was perfect.

I really liked this recipe. The meat was so tender and the glaze was perfect. I actually overcooked it in the oven by a couple of hours (I thought I'd turned it off), but it still turned out great. I'm making it again tonight.

I was asked to double the sauce next time but was definitely asked for a "next time"!

Awesome and delicious pork belly recipe