Roasted Pork Belly
roasted pork belly
The first time I made Momofuku roasted pork belly I was pretty happy with the results, aside from the fact that it got a little too crispy (ok, burnt) on top. I chalked it up to lack of air flow in the toaster oven compared to the oven-oven. The burntness aside, my other complaint was that the piece of meat that I started with was too thin to get a decent slice of belly featuring the gorgeous layering of meat and fat.
attempt 1: burnt pork belly
The problem with the too thin cut of meat was easily solved: I bought a thicker slice of meat and set out with high hopes. This time I would roast it the right way, in the oven, and my belly would be golden meltingly tender meat.
attempt 3: caramlized golden brown pork belly
There are two philosophies of meat roasting: 1. high heat to sear, then low and slow, or 2. low and slow, then high heat to finish. Chang’s belly follows the first philosophy, sear the meat so the outside is toasty and and then cook it low and slow so the meat is tender. The initial high heat renders out a bunch of fat so that when you get to the low and slow, you’re basically confiting the belly in it’s own pork fat bath.
roasted low and slow
In theory, this cooking method works. I’m sure Momofuku’s pork bellies come out great every time. Mine, on the other hand burn and shrink. Too much fat is rendered out and I’m left with tiny burnt remnants of what used to be luscious belly. Even using the oven to improve air circulation didn’t help. I started out with a piece of belly the size of, oh, let’s say a paper back novel and ended up with a charred piece of meat the size of a chocolate bar. Needless to say, I was sad.
thick, multi-layered pork belly
I was determined to roast a perfect piece of belly for my pork buns so I did what any obsessive-compulsive person would do: I bought another piece of belly to try again. This time I deliberated at the meat counter until I saw the thickest, meatiest piece of belly they had.
bird's eye view of pork belly
After two failed trials of meat roasting philosophy 1, I knew it was time to move on to meat roasting philosophy 2: low and slow with high heat to finish. To ensure my success, I also decided to cover the belly with parchment paper so there wouldn’t be excessive browning on top. I put the belly in a 250˚F toaster oven for over 3 hours and near the end removed the parchment paper, basted, and cranked the temperature up to 400˚F.
success!
Success, delicious success: golden brown, pillowy-soft, visible layers of meat and fat. It was the most beautiful pork belly I ever did see!
roasted pork belly with visible layers of meat and fat
golden brown and pillowy soft pork belly
sliced roasted pork belly
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As Samuel L. Jackson once said in a very popular movie, “I just don’t dig on swine”. This is usually my sentiment, but you are really making want to eat some pork!
Hi Cam,
Remember, pork is the other white meat! White meat is healthy!
Recently met David and purchased his book at a book-signing, started my way through the recipes and then found your blog. Followed (more or less) your method for cooking pork belly and very glad I did – close to perfect on the first try!!!
John,
I’m glad the cooking method worked out for you! Send some pictures my way, if you managed to take any!
My first attempt I ended up with the very same results, I had 3 pieces similar to what you photographed above. I think the initial cooktime is simply too hot and too long. While the end product was edible, there were some burnt bits and a texture similar to the “bark” on a piece of good bbq – only not in a good way. I’ll definitely be trying this recipe again with reduced high roast period and keeping a closer eye. Just found the blog, great stuff.
Cods,
You’re right, the initial cook time is too hot and long. In the Ko chapter of the book, he cooks pork belly at a lower heat then finishes it on the grill. I found that if you cook the belly at low heat and then switch to high while keeping an eye on it, you’ll end up with a much better end product. Let me know how it goes for you!
I cooked in 225 degree oven with foil over the pan. I left it in the oven overnight.
suecc
David uses a convectin/steam oven forhis pork, which helps hid cooking process. Drop ghe initial high heat time by 15 min or drop the temp 25 degrees. Then you can do it high heat first. But your way works well too. I have completed about 80% of the recipes in Momofuku, David Chang is amazing, love the blog. Happy Cooking
I have yet to try cooking in a steam oven, which I would love to do.
If he uses combi oven, do you know if he uses steam? What % humidity? The book text talks about 500 degrees but then the recipe says 450.
Perhaps the pork had burned too much because you didn’t rinse off the salt and sugar brine? The sugar will definitely burn quickly. Also did you use 3 pounds of Pork? Your pictures look like you cooked less then that.
I did cook less than 3 pounds of pork because there are only two of us. The beauty of cooking is that you can scale.
I do rinse off the salt sugar rub now, but the first time I made the pork I followed the recipe which did not call for the salt and sugar to be rinsed off.
I wonder if the reason the pork burned at the high heat is because you used much less then 3 pounds. It’s interesting that for the Ko recipe, he cooks the belly at low heat first. But notice he only uses ONE pound of pork belly. Perhaps he knows with one pound of pork belly, the belly will burn at the high heat?
It seems there must be some advantage of cooking high heat first. Otherwise he wouldn’t write a whole page about his accident.
I found a recipe for this that involved brining the pork with salt, sugar, and water in a large bag instead of the rub. It instructed to discard the brine, slow roast with a little low sodium chicken broth and water on low at 300°F covered with foil for 2.5 hrs, and then roast on high at 450°F uncovered for 20 minutes. (source: http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=4057636&page=1)
The results were excellent but I’m going to try this method tonight and see how it turns out.
Hope the pork worked out for you!
Hi Steph,
The different ways of cooking pork belly is confusing. When you started the low heat for 3 hours and then turned it up to 450, how long did you roast for 450? 5 min, 10 min. 20 min.?
Did you wait until the oven reached 450 and THEN put belly back into the oven, or did you never take the belly out of the oven and just crank it up to 450?
I’m worried about overcooking the belly at 450 and making the belly tough.
I roast all my pork belly in my toaster oven, so I don’t bother taking the belly out of the oven before turning up the heat. Generally, I keep an eye on the belly so that it doesn’t burn, I’d say I roast it at 450˚ for about 10-15 minutes. Roasting it at 450˚ is just to add an extra bit of char at the end.
daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang, that looks good! i wonder, did you roast the first belly when it was warm or cold from the fridge? lol, i don’t even know if that even matters but omg both of your pork bellies look good. lol, i love saying pork belly.
omg, i looooooooove me some pork belly! too bad pork belly isn’t good for my belly :(