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The PERFECT JUICY CRISPY PORK BELLY with ULTRA CRISPY SKIN – I’ve perfected this recipe over the years and now you can make it at home for your friends & family! Make sure to check out my “INGREDIENT TIPS” section, as I have provided as much information as possible to help you successfully make this dish at home!
Watch the Crispy Pork Belly Recipe Video Below!
Getting the perfect Chinese pork belly is not as hard as it looks! I’ve made so many versions of this over the years and have learned a few KEY tips & techniques that will ensure your pork belly is JUICY & the skin is CRISPY!
Want the crispiest wings made in the air fryer? Try my Air Fryer Chicken Wings, which is the top recipe on my site! Or make my super easy Fried Chicken!
Ingredients for Crispy Pork Belly
You only need a few ingredients to make this delicious Crispy Pork Belly. Next, you’ll find all the ingredients you’ll need to make it!
- pork belly, skin-on – see note below on how to select the best piece of pork belly
- kosher salt
- white pepper
- five spice powder
- sugar
- shaoxing wine
- kosher salt
- egg (white only)
- white vinegar
Top Tips for Making the Best Crispy Roast Pork
Here are a few of my top tips for making sure your Crispy Pork Belly comes out delicious every time!
- PORK BELLY SELECTION:
- Go to your butcher and ask for a boneless, center cut, skin-on pork belly.
- A center cut pork belly will be the most even and symmetrical piece – this will allow for an even proportion of skin and meat.
- If possible, ask your butcher to select a pork belly with a thin layer of white fat in between the meat sections. I have found that these pieces results in the most optimal end result. The pork belly will be not as fatty and have plenty of lean meat.
- 24-48 HOURS BEFORE COOKING:
- There is no way around this – this is going to be a multi day process. You MUST DRY the pork belly with the skin EXPOSED in the fridge for at least 24 hours (48 hours is better). This will reduce the moisture and result in a super crispy skin.
- DISTILLED WHITE VINEGAR – MY SECRET INGREDIENT:
- Do NOT SKIP the vinegar before the salt crust! The vinegar will further soften the skin when baking, as well as remove any odor from the skin. I have seen other recipes call for baking soda but I have found that vinegar works best for me!
- INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTIONS:
- I will always let you know if a substitution is okay, as I know some ingredients are harder to find than others. However, for this dish, I do NOT recommend using anything other than what I have listed. It has taken me many tries to perfect this recipe over the years. If you DO use a substitution to good results, please let me know – I would love to hear from you!!
If you liked this Crispy Pork Belly recipe, check out some of my other popular meat and side dish recipes, including the Air Fryer Crispy Pork Belly recipe that has over 20 million views on social media!
Love pork? Try my Sweet and Sour Pork recipe!
If you tried this Crispy Pork Belly or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!
Crispy Pork Belly
Ingredients
- 2.5 lb pork belly, skin-on
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tbsp white pepper
- 1/2 tbsp five spice powder
- 1/2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp shaoxing wine, plus 2 tsp as needed to form a paste
- 1 cup kosher salt
- 1 egg white, beaten
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
Instructions
- Pat your skin on pork belly dry and poke holes all across the skin of the pork. Ensure that the holes only puncture the skin and do not go all the way through the meat.
- To the meat side, use a knife to make 1/2" cuts lengthwise across the pork belly. In a small bowl, combine salt, white pepper, five spice powder, sugar, and shaoxing wine to make a paste. Evenly spread the paste on the meat side of the pork and crevices ensuring not to touch the skin.
- Place the punctured and marinated pork on a piece of foil and create a foil boat wrapping the pork, leaving the skin exposed. Place in the fridge for 24 hours (48 hours for best results) to help the skin further dry out.
- Once the skin is dry, mix together salt and a beaten egg white. Brush the skin with a layer of white vinegar, then evenly layer the salt/egg mixture directly on the skin.
- Bake at 300F for 30 minutes, then remove the salt from the skin and brush off any excess salt. At this point the skin should be softened. Poke more holes throughout the skin.
- Bake at 450F for 30-45 minutes or until the skin has puffed up. If any edges are starting to burn, place a small piece of foil to cover to get the skin as evenly crisp as possible. If needed, place pork under broiler for a few minutes to speed up the blistering process (watch carefully to ensure skin does not burn). Enjoy!
Notes
- Go to your butcher and ask for a boneless, center cut, skin-on pork belly.
- A center cut pork belly will be the most even and symmetrical piece – this will allow for an even proportion of skin and meat.
- If possible, ask your butcher to select a pork belly with a thin layer of white fat in between the meat sections. I have found that these pieces results in the most optimal end result. The pork belly will be not as fatty and have plenty of lean meat.
- There is no way around this – this is going to be a multi day process. You MUST DRY the pork belly with the skin EXPOSED in the fridge for at least 24 hours (48 hours is better). This will reduce the moisture and result in a super crispy skin.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’ve seen some recipes mention boiling the meat for 5 minutes to “remove impurities” (I assume to get rid of that pork smell?). I’m just not sure whether or not I should try it as sometimes there is that signature pork smell after the meat is cooked. Thoughts?
Thanks!
Hi Bob – thanks for the question! You can do this is if you prefer, but I find that the vinegar that’s added to the pork skin helps mitigate any odors that often times come from the skin. If you do boil, just be sure that the pork is completely dry before moving onto the subsequent steps! Enjoy!
Made this according to the instruction and it turned out perfectly. Everyone loved it! Delicious, flavourful and tender!! Will cut back on the salt but I will make it again.
I made this with Aldi pork belly. Def less meat than other places. I had about 2.2 lbs and followed the directions exactly except I used Chardonnay because I didn’t have the right wine. I would say if you have less than 2.5lbs, the salt in the marinade is gonna be too much. May seem obvious but, just saying, I would have scaled back the marinade salt by half. I also would have cooked it at a lower temp for longer. Probably an additional 10 to 15 minutes. I cooked it at 450 for around 40 minutes and the tip wasn’t crispy and the meat wasn’t tender. I poured off the excess grease, which was significant, and put it back in on broil for about 2 minutes on high. The skin did crisp but as I said, I really should have scaled back the salt on the marinade as it was salty! Base recipe is good, great even but, I would make my tweets when doing again.
This recipe is our go to for crispy pork belly! It comes out with crispy skin.
Incredibly crispy and tasty!
IG: pastor.danielseo
Bought pork belly and will be trying this!
Love this recipe!!
Love this recipe! We always pair it with jasmine rice, fried sunny side egg and bok choy (or fresh green beans). Everything is then topped off with some scallions and served with a sauce. Its our guilty pleasure!!
Loved this recipe!
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