Roast Pork Belly (Air Fryer)

Roast Pork Belly (Air Fryer)

Roasted Pork Belly : 脆皮燒肉

Course Main Course
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 6

Equipment

  • Air Fryer

Ingredients
  

  • 8 x 8 inch pork belly about 2 pounds
  • 1 tablespoon white vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Seasoning mixture, use one of the below options:

  • 1 small package of Chinese 4 season powder and ½ teaspoon five spice powder OR
  • 2 tablespoons Chinese ginger power
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon chicken base
  • 2 tablespoons water

Instructions
 

  • After cleaning the pork belly, use a paper towel and pat the meat until completely dry.
  • Flip pork belly to skin side, use meat tenderizer or a sharp knife/fork to punch small holes all over the skin (this is a very important step to achieve a crispy skin)
  • With skin side down, soak in the white vinegar for 10 minutes or until most of the vinegar is absorbed. Meat side should face up.
  • Using a sharp knife, carefully make 3 scores on the meat side of pork belly. Do not cut through the meat.
  • Rub seasoning mixture over the meat side. Do not rub any on the skin side.
  • In a container, place the meat face down and skin face up to air dry pork belly in the refrigerator for 3 days.
  • After 3 days, pork belly should shrink to 8 x 6 inches.
  • Before cooking, bring the pork belly to room temperature for 1-2 hours.
  • Use meat tenderizer or a sharp fork to punch more holes on skin.
  • Brush red wine vinegar on top of skin and let it dry for 20 minutes.
  • Pre-heat air-fryer to 400 degrees for 5 minutes.
  • Reduce to 350 degrees and roast pork belly for 30 minutes.
  • Turn heat back up to 400 degrees and continue to cook pork belly for another 10 minutes or longer if you want it to have more golden brown color.
  • Rest the meat for 5-10 minutes before cutting.

Notes

You can marinade and freeze the pork belly for up to a month. Put the pork belly in the refrigerator to defrost it for a day with skin face up. Follow steps to roast pork belly. Here is a link to a demo on YouTube. The ingredients are slightly different.