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A side view of crispy pork belly slices
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Crispy Pork Belly Slices with Cider

A beautiful sweet and salty pork belly recipe that is perfect for a Sunday dinner
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours 40 minutes
Chilling time 2 hours
Total Time 5 hours
Servings 4 people
Calories 911kcal
Author Slow The Cook Down

Ingredients

  • 35 ounces pork belly (1kg)
  • ½ cup dry cider (110ml)
  • 4 tbsp honey
  • 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 red chilli - finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp Demerara sugar
  • 2 tbsp plain flour
  • Salt & pepper

Instructions

  • Pre-heat the oven to 160°c
  • Score the skin of the belly in a cross cross pattern (or get your butcher to do this for you, you need a super sharp knife), then pour boiling water over the top of the skin, this helps to open up the top layer so you can get the flavour in. Rub in a few pinches of salt and pepper into the skin. Pop into the oven in a small, lightly oiled, roasting tin for 2 hours (grab a glass of wine).
  • After 2 hours, take the belly out.  Keeping it in the tin, pop a smaller roasting tray (or anything flat) on top and weigh down with some cans/bag of sugar/something heavy and pop in the fridge.
  • Mix the cider, honey, soy sauce sauce, oyster sauce, chilli and sugar together in a bowl, slowly add the flour.
  • After one hour, take the belly out of the fridge, cut into slices, and pour over half of the dressing.  Make sure all the sides are covered. Pop back in the fridge.
  • After one more hour, pour the rest of the dressing over and pop in the oven for 30mins (still at 160°c).
  • Once the belly is ready, heat a glut of oil in a frying pan and pop each slice of belly, skin side down and fry for a couple of minutes to get the skin super crispy.
  • Let the pork belly rest before serving

Notes

  • Make sure the skin of the pork is scored. Ask your butcher to do this. If it's not scored, you will need a VERY sharp knife and take care not to cut into the meat.
  • Pour boiling water over the skin before you cook it. This helps to open it up so that they salt and pepper can get deep. This is key to the crispy skin!
  • Really weigh down the pork when you refrigerate it. This helps the layers to compress and get the meat nice and juicy.
  • Let the pork rest for at least 15 minutes before serving it. This helps the juices redistribute and it will be wonderfully tender and full of flavor.
  • Nutritional values are an approximation and are based on one of four large servings

Nutrition

Calories: 911kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 82g | Saturated Fat: 48g | Cholesterol: 179mg | Sodium: 716mg | Potassium: 525mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 130IU | Vitamin C: 16.9mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 1.9mg