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Mains · American

Roasted Pork Belly

Slab pork belly roasted to crispy crackling over meltingly tender meat.

Serves
6
Prep
10 min (plus drying)
Cook
2 hr
Storage
Freeze & reheat
Freezer
up to 3 months

Rich, crispy-skinned pork belly — decadent sliced on its own, in bao, or cubed into burnt ends. The dry skin is the secret to crackling.

Ingredients

  • 2 lb pork belly, skin on
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 1 tsp Smokehouse rub
  • Oil

Instructions

  1. Score the skin in a crosshatch, pat very dry, and salt the skin generously. For best crackling, leave uncovered in the fridge a few hours (or overnight).
  2. Rub the meat side with the Smokehouse rub and a little oil.
  3. Roast at 450°F for 30 minutes to blister the skin, then drop to 300°F and roast 1–1.5 hours until tender.
  4. Rest 15 minutes, then slice.

Make-Ahead & Storage

Freeze cooked up to 3 months; reheat in a hot oven. The crackling won't stay crisp through freezing, but a quick blast under the broiler helps.

Notes

Drying the skin is everything — moisture is the enemy of crackling. Cube the cooked belly and glaze it to make pork belly burnt ends.

Equipment
roasting panoven
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