Crispy Pork Belly

Name: Crispy Pork Belly
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 6 h 5 min
Total time: 14 h 15 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: ½ pound whole pork belly, skin removed; ½ teaspoon smoked paprika, or to taste; kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste; 1 tablespoon olive oil, or to taste

Rating: 4.48 stars

65 Ratings
48 Reviews
18 Photos

Thanks to social media, food bloggers, and celebrity chefs with too much time on their hands, pork belly was/is all the rage. It's a common sight on menus across the land, and you can't channel-surf past a food show without seeing it. It also helps that people are no longer terrified to eat a little fat.

By Chef John

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Recipe Summary

prep:

10 mins

cook:

6 hrs 5 mins

additional:

8 hrs

total:

14 hrs 15 mins

Servings:

Yield:

6 servings

Nutrition Info

Ingredients

Original recipe yields 6 servings

The ingredient list now reflects the servings specified

½ pound whole pork belly, skin removed
½ teaspoon smoked paprika, or to taste
kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil, or to taste

Directions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C).

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Step 2

Season pork belly all over with smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper. Wrap pork in parchment paper; wrap a second time in aluminum foil, and a third time in another sheet of aluminum foil. Place pork packet in a baking dish.
Step 3

Roast in the preheated oven until tender for 6 hours. Let cool in wrappings to room temperature; place cooled packet in refrigerator and chill for 8 hours or overnight.
Step 4

Unwrap chilled meat. Save any rendered fat that falls away when unwrapping pork.
Step 5

Cut meat into 6 equal-size portions. Cut 1/8-inch by 1/8-inch slashes in the fat-side of the pork. Season with salt.
Step 6

Heat 2 tablespoons reserved pork fat in a skillet over medium heat. Place pork belly, fat side down, in hot fat; cook until well-browned on all sides and heated through, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer pork belly to a plate, drizzle with olive oil and season with pepper.

Nutrition Facts

Per Serving:

87 calories; protein 4.6g; carbohydrates 0.3g; fat 7.4g; cholesterol 13.6mg; sodium 351.7mg. Full Nutrition

Reviews (48)

Most helpful positive review

Richard B

05/22/2015

Well received recipe. Read notes for helpful hints and to save a bit of time. Read More

Helpful

(29)

Most helpful critical review

Ron Edens

04/10/2019

Too much time invested for little reward. Would not make it again. Read More

Helpful

(1)

65 Ratings

5 star values: 46
4 star values: 12
3 star values: 1
2 star values: 4
1 star values: 2

Reviews: Most Helpful

Most Helpful Most Positive Least Positive Newest

Richard B

05/21/2015

Well received recipe. Read notes for helpful hints and to save a bit of time. Read More

Helpful

(29)

wondershea

02/23/2017

Delicious and exactly what I was looking for to replicate restaurant style pork belly apps I have tasted. I didn't have smoked paprika on hand so I combined a little bit of chipotle chili powder with regular paprika. Followed the rest of the instructions until the pan frying. The reserved pork fat didn't work out for me - too much liquid in the fat and a LOT of splattering. So I used refined coconut oil instead. Wowza! Amazing! Crispy outside and with that luscious melt-in-your-mouth fat inside. I served it on a simple arugula salad with drizzled olive oil, sea salt and cracked pepper. I just got another pork belly in my farm share and I can't wait to make this again! Read More

Helpful

(23)

B.Williams

12/18/2014

I tried this recipe, and it was awesome!! I am a big Pork belly fan while my family is not but the crispy Pork Belly makes the fat more tolerable than if is Braised or cooked differently and personally I love sweet pork especially bacon so I added cinnamon sugar to my seasoning and it turned out Great. Read More

Helpful

(12)

KarenWeber

06/08/2016

I made this for a gourmet dinner. Served it as the salad course with wilted romaine lettuce made with the fat from the pork belly and some bacon fat. It was fabulous Read More

Helpful

(8)

Jeff and JoAnn Bauer

06/19/2019

Great recipe, however it has one glaring error: the actual recipe from Chef John calls for a 1 1/2 pound skinless pork belly: NOT just 1/2 pound! Read More

Helpful

(4)

tkatsirochef

05/09/2019

Exceptional! So bad, but soooo good! Read More

Helpful

(4)

Heather Sue

11/06/2016

This was the first time I cooked pork belly. I followed the recipe exactly. The crispy parts were tasty but I didn't care for the rest. My husband loved it. Next time I will slice it thin before frying. Read More

Helpful

(4)

Shelly Tupper Huffman

04/04/2016

This was really good. It was something different for a dinner meat choice. I purchased a large chunk of pork belly that I make bacon with and I cut a piece from that to make this recipe. I will definitely make this again. Read More

Helpful

(3)

Janet Whitehouse Baptista

05/19/2016

We liked it. Very subtle smokiness from the paprika. Served it with Chef John's polenta. Good stuff. Read More

Helpful

(3)

Ron Edens

04/10/2019

Too much time invested for little reward. Would not make it again. Read More

Helpful

(1)

More Reviews

Back to Crispy Pork Belly

All Reviews for Crispy Pork Belly

- of Reviews

Crispy Pork Belly

Servings Per Recipe: 6
Calories: 87.1

% Daily Value *

protein: 9 %

carbohydrates:

fat: 11 %

saturated fat: 10 %

cholesterol: 5 %

vitamin a iu: 2 %

niacin equivalents: 16 %

vitamin c:

folate:

calcium:

iron: 1 %

magnesium: 2 %

potassium: 2 %

sodium: 14 %

thiamin: 9 %

calories from fat:

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

**Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.

(-)Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.

Reviews for: Photos of Crispy Pork Belly

1 of 48

All Reviews

Richard B

05/21/2015

Well received recipe. Read notes for helpful hints and to save a bit of time.

Helpful

(29)

wondershea

02/23/2017

Helpful

(23)

B.Williams

12/18/2014

Helpful

(12)

KarenWeber

06/08/2016

I made this for a gourmet dinner. Served it as the salad course with wilted romaine lettuce made with the fat from the pork belly and some bacon fat. It was fabulous

Helpful

(8)

Jeff and JoAnn Bauer