How to Make the Crispiest Pork Belly Ever

Summary by Krater

America's Test Kitchen demonstrates how to make crispy slow-roasted pork belly with center-cut pork belly, salt, brown sugar, and a tangy mustard sauce, concluding that shallow frying the scored skin in hot oil is essential for ultimate crispiness.

From the video

Answers: How do you make crispy slow-roasted pork belly?

• Pork belly preparation
• Pork skin scoring
• Dry-brining pork belly
• Low and slow oven roasting
• Shallow frying pork skin
• South Carolina mustard barbecue sauce

Ingredients

• 3 lbs center-cut pork belly
• 2 tbsp plus 1/2 tsp per strip kosher salt
• 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
• 2/3 cup dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 tbsp hot sauce
• 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil

What it concludes

• Scoring the skin about 1/4 inch deep every 1/2 inch helps the fat render out and makes slicing easier.
• Refrigerating the seasoned pork belly uncovered for 12 to 24 hours dries out the skin and helps create a crispy crust.
• Roasting the pork belly at 250 degrees for 3 to 3 and a half hours tenderizes the meat and fat without turning the collagen to gelatin too quickly.
• Shallow frying the cooked pork skin in hot oil is necessary to rapidly heat the remaining moisture, causing it to steam and pop into a crispy crust.
• Frying all pork belly pieces skin-side down at the same time ensures even cooking and puffing of the skin.