Crispy Pork Belly Roast

Quick answer

Total time: 135 min
Level: Medium
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients: 6

About this dish

The crackling on a pork belly roast begins long before the oven: the skin is scored at 1 cm intervals, coarse salt is pressed into every cut, and the uncovered joint dries in the refrigerator for 8 hours.

For 4 servings, use 1 kg skin-on pork belly, 3 teaspoons coarse salt, 4 garlic cloves, 2 rosemary sprigs, 2 teaspoons olive oil, and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Press paper towels repeatedly against the skin until no visible moisture remains. Score only the skin with a sharp knife, avoiding deep cuts into the meat underneath. Work the coarse salt into the grooves rather than leaving it only on the surface. Refrigerate the pork uncovered for 8 hours. Before roasting, wipe away any new droplets so the surface feels cold and dry. Place the garlic and rosemary in a roasting pan and set the pork belly over them. Rub the olive oil and black pepper mainly on the meat side, preserving the dryness of the skin. Roast at 220°C for 30 minutes and look for bubbles forming across the skin. Keep the oven door open only briefly, lower the temperature to 180°C, and roast for another 80 minutes so the fat renders slowly. If the crackling still needs crisping, broil for only 5 minutes while watching continuously. Remove the pork before dark spots burn and rest it for at least 10 minutes before slicing.

Ingredients

servings

IngredientAmountUnit

pork belly with skin1 kgkg

coarse salt3 tsts

garlic4 cloveclove

rosemary2 piecepiece

olive oil2 tsts

black pepper1 tsts

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Instructions

Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.

6 steps

1

Prep

Pat the pork belly skin very dry with paper towels before cutting.

Score only the skin at 1 cm intervals with a sharp knife, taking care not to cut deeply into the meat underneath.
2

Season

Press 3 teaspoons of coarse salt firmly into the scored lines.

Do not leave the salt only on the surface, because it needs to sit in the cuts to draw out moisture evenly.
3

Control

Refrigerate the pork belly uncovered for 8 hours so the skin can dry thoroughly.

Before roasting, the surface should feel cold and dry, and any visible droplets should be wiped away.
4

Step

Place 4 garlic cloves and 2 rosemary sprigs in the roasting pan, then set the pork belly on top.

Rub 2 teaspoons olive oil and 1 teaspoon black pepper mainly over the meat side, not the dried skin.
5

Control

Roast at 220C for 30 minutes and check that bubbles are forming across the skin.

Avoid leaving the oven door open, then reduce to 180C and roast for another 80 minutes to render the fat slowly.
6

Prep

If the crackling is still not crisp, broil it for only 5 more minutes while watching closely.

Remove it before dark patches burn, rest for at least 10 minutes, then slice so the juices stay in the meat.

Practical Cooking Checks

The cues that matter most while cooking.

Key technique: Refrigerator-dried skin blisters into crackling at 230 degrees Celsius for this Pork Belly Roast.
Finish cue: If the crackling is still not crisp, broil it for only 5 more minutes while watching closely.
Avoid this: Do not leave the salt only on the surface, because it needs to sit in the cuts to draw out moisture evenly.
Storage and reheating: The crackling on a pork belly roast begins long before the oven: the skin is scored at 1 cm intervals, coarse salt is pressed into every cut, and the uncovered joint dries in the refrigerator for 8 hours.