Pork belly
This is a blimmin’ fantastic slow-cooked pork belly recipe. With very little effort, you end up with that wondrous contrast of meltingly delicious meat and salty crunchy crackling. I’ve tried loads of pork belly recipes using all manner of spices, brines, sauces and seasonings, but we’re going back to basics here. I just serve this chopped up on a board and people can pick at it – it’s heaven, although it doesn’t last long! Sometimes, I add a little homemade apple sauce to cut through the richness.
Ingredients
1-2kg pork belly (free range is best)
Olive oil
Salt
Note: If you’re buying pork belly from your local butcher, ask them to ‘score’ the skin for you so you don’t have to. Sometimes it’s already scored when you buy it – even then I usually add a few more cuts for good measure.
Method
Preheat the oven to 130c conventional bake.
Place the pork belly skin-side up on a clean chopping board and pat the skin very dry with paper towels. If the skin has not already been scored, carefully slice lines right across the belly using a sharp knife, about 1cm apart. You want to pierce through the tough skin and just go into the fat layer, not cut into the meat underneath. Scoring helps the crackling puff up later.
Place the pork belly skin side up in a roasting pan, preferably sitting on a wire rack if you have one. Drizzle and rub a good amount of olive oil all over the whole pork belly (including the underside) so it’s all coated. Sprinkle the skin side generously with salt and massage it in. I give it a hit of cracked pepper here too.
If there’s any meat poking out, try and tuck it under best you can so it’s not exposed.
Place the pork in the middle of the oven (skin side up) and cook in for 4 hours.
After 4 hours, increase the temperature to 150c and cook for another 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, change the oven setting to ‘grill’ on medium-high. Move the pork belly to the top of the oven and grill the skin until it goes puffy and golden all over (it might only take a minute – watch it closely or it will burn!).
Transfer to a chopping board and cut into pieces to serve. For a meal it’s delicious with a nice zesty salad or a slaw and pumpkin or orange kumara mash.
Betcha there’s none left at the end…
Hi Chelsea. Although I love many of the recipes in your vegan cooking book “Supergood” I’m not a real vegan. More a foodie. Anyway for the record I’m making this slow pork belly again. I hate to think how many times over the years. Plenty. Thanks for them all.
Rainy day in Naseby, happened to have a lovely piece of pork belly. Thanks for the recipe, kids loved it.
This has been my goto recipe for years! Simple and fail proof. I have learned getting the most even flattest piece works the best to get the crackling even so that fat doesn’t pool on area etc. Thanks for sharing
Excellent, thanks! x
Crackling makes a great snack for a low carb, high fat or Carnivore diet. I buy frozen pork skin from my butcher. It is cheap but it goes too quick!
Should the roasting pan have the lid on or not, please?
Cheers,
no :)
Brilliant recipe. Simple but so much better than other pork belly recipes I’ve tried. Great detail and delicious
Hi could I roast Rolled pork scotch the same way as belly?
Haven’t made this for little while so just checking the times & temp. thought I would say this really is the best recipe for pork belly, second to none! Have made it at least 10 times. Have overcooked it before trying to use a fan setting best to stick to the recipe and use a straight oven no fan!! Thank you
Thanks! x
Oh My Goodness! I love simple, tasty, recipes.
And this here is next to heaven!
Thank you ever so much for sharing with such helpful detail.
Kia ora Chelsea,
I just followed your recipe and my wife and I enjoyed a superbly cooked pork belly with perfect crackling and moist pork. Thank you very much for an easy method.
Best pork belly recipe. I have used this recipe 7 or 8 times. Awesome
Love this recipe, so easy and so delicious!
Hi there. I have NEVER been confident cooking a roast.. however after trying some of your other recipes (and loving them!!), I figured this recipe would be similar in that it would be simple, understandable and totally beginner-proof. And so it was! I’m on to my 3rd roast using this method and can confidently (for the first time) share with my whanau lol thank you. Love your recipes!!
Best ever! I have dinner guests, also who have said best pork belly they have had.
Thanks Chelsealove what yo9u do
This is my go to roast pork belly recipe. I have been using it for years now. Easy Peasy and the crackle is devine!
Quoted the best Pork I have ever had. And hubby loves his meat! Thanks Chelsea x
Just love this recipe and wanted to share what it inspired me to do with Pork Chops. I cut the fat and crackling off the chops, score them, then oil and salt them put them in a small baking dish at the bottom of the oven. I cover the chops with blue cheese (or any topping) and bake them. When they are ready put the crackling higher in the oven and grill. Turns out perfect crackling just like on your Pork Belly.
Delicious! Thanks Chelsea. Will definitely be making this again :)
Going to make this tonight!
I made this twice a couple of weeks ago from your book, Everyday Delicious. Holy Hannah! I mean I love your recipes, Chelsea, but this one really takes the cake! It was my first time making pork belly and see no reason to ever do a different recipe. Had to do it a second time that week to show off to our oldest daughter how amazing it is. We had Parmesan mashed spud and favourite veges with it as well as a delicious gravy my husband made. Will never buy it at a restaurant again as I can feed the whole family the yummy goodness for the same as it would cost to just feed it to me lol.
This is my go to recipe, have just been told it’s the best thing I cook!
Would love to have it in a cook book on my shelf
Hi Chelsea, I ordered a piece of 2kg pork belly from my supermarket and it got delivered to me as 3 different pieces totalling that! So cooking time wise would I need to lessen it abit? I think they’re roughly 700-800g each piece and I’ll probably just chuck them all in together.
Have made this time and time again! It’s amazing and so simple! Fabulous as always ????
very easy recipe to follow and the end result is delicious.I use this recipe every time and get compliments from everyone.
I plan to make this tomorrow’s keto meal. I can’t wait! What temperatures for fahrenheit? I’m in the U.S. :)
Do you add water in the pan while it’s roasting to prevent it from drying out??
Nope! :)
If I only use 750gm of pork belly do I leave it for the same amount of time in the oven
Chelsea I have had on a couple of occasions a twice cooked pork belly. Crackle is taken off and cooked separately and the pork belly is cut and rolled and then cooked again. Absolutely delicious. Any ideas as to how to do it?
Cheers
Nanam4
Holy moly, this was amazing. I was convinced it would dry out cooking it for this long but it was so moist and tender and seriously the best crackling ever. When I got to the grill stage mine hadn’t started to crackle at all but once I turned the grill on it started to puff up straight away. Your recipes really are foolproof!
I’m making this for the second time because it’s soooo easy and soooo tasty! Mmmmm pork belly ❤
I do one very similar but put the pork belly on a wire rack and half fill the oven roasting dish with water….very moist and very yum
I too have used this recipe dozens of times it is the best way to cook a pork belly in my opinion. Thanks 10/10
I’ve used this recipe so many times now and it never fails. No faffing aroung with milk baths and having to blast it with heat first to get crackling. It is succulent and the crackiling is amazing. Just with all other Chelsea Winters recipes it is designed for the average home cook to succeed with. Love your work :-)
Thank you Chelsea.
I eat ketogenic and I was looking for a lovely sugar-free grain-free recipe that was very high natural fat, and this fits the bill perfectly!
I have been eating this way for almost 2 years and have completely reversed all my metabolic disorder conditions (including type 2 diabetes and have the perfect lipid panel of a healthy child!) and I’ve lost 57 kilos in the process!!..
All from eating unprocessed naturally fatty food. It’s definitely the best way to go!
Just finished eating the porkbelly you helped me make! It was devine! It’s definitely a winner! Anna M, no fat, no lard! You dont know what you are talking about! Juicy and flavourful! Winner recipe right there!! Thank you Chelsea!!
This was incredible (putting it lightly). Superior to any pork belly I have had or paid $40 for at a restaurant :P. Definitely making this again. Winner!!
Hi Chelsea, if my pork belly is only 750g how long should I cook it for? Thanks!