Salt Crust Pork Belly

a piece of pork belly roasted crisp and sliced on a wooden cutting board.

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5 from 13 votes

Easy, oven roasted crispy pork belly recipe that yields a juicy, perfect pork belly with a crunchy top.

Prep Time5

Cook Time1 10

Rest Time15

Total Time1 30

Course: dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: dinner, oven recipe, pork

Servings: people

Calories: 940kcal

Author: Mikayla M.

Equipment

Broiler Pan OR
Baking Sheet with an oven safe cooling rack

Ingredients

2 lbs pork belly skin off, slab or slices, 2-3 inches thick ideally
1 1/2 cups Coarse salt
Rub or marinade of choice*

Instructions

If using a rub, apply to the bottom and sides of the pork belly. Do not rub the fat, and if possible let sit for an hour or two (optional).
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Cover your baking sheet or the bottom pan of your broiler pan with foil and pour in enough water to fill it by an inch or two. Then place the top rack on and the pork belly on that.
Score the pork belly by making diagonal slices about an inch apart across the fat. Try to score deeply into the fat without cutting the meat.
If your pork belly is thicker in some places, tuck small folded squares of foil under the bottom to create an even top surface. Apply a thick, even layer of salt to the top. try to cover all the fat and meat.
Carefully transfer to the oven on the middle rack and roast for 40 minutes.
Remove from oven and turn the temperature up to 450°F. Begin to flake off the salt crust. Remove as much salt as possible from the pork and the pan (if it's in the water, that's fine). Add more water if it's evaporated.
Return the pork to the 450°F oven and roast again for 20 to 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and crispy.*
Remove from oven and let rest on the pan for 10 to 15 minutes. Slice and serve!

Notes

*You don't need to apply a rub or marinade, but it's a fun way to change things up. I use a rub of 1 tsp each of paprika, garlic, and onion powder with 1/2 a tsp each of salt and pepper. OR marinade as you like, leaving the fat sitting above the marinade for 1 to 24 hours.

*If the edges appear to be browning too rapidly or deeply for your tastes, you can cover the edges of your pork belly with foil to stop that while the middle finishes getting crispy.

Nutritional Values and cook times are provided as a best estimate. These may vary based upon ingredients and equipment.

Nutrition