Roasted Pork Belly
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This slow roasted pork belly recipe makes for the perfect indulgent dinner. I marinate the rich pork in a variety of herbs and spices and then roast it in the oven for truly tender results!
Pork, and pork belly in particular, is one of my specialties! I can’t get enough of my honey glazed crispy pork belly recipe, and I also love preparing these Instant Pot pulled pork sliders. When the mood strikes, this grilled pork tenderloin dish is another favorite. As you can see…I’m a huge fan.
This slow roasted pork belly recipe is slightly adapted, at least in terms of the cooking technique, from Jamie Oliver’s Pork Belly Roast. I wanted to change it slightly so that it would have a more savory herbed marinade instead of Oliver’s sweet fennel-encrusted version.
INGREDIENT NOTES AND SUBSTITUTIONS
- Pork Belly – The cut of meat that you choose is the star of this recipe. Make sure that it has a healthy pink color and a thin (or thick — depending on your preferences) layer of white fat.
- Water – You’ll need to use some water as the base in your marinade.
- Olive Oil – This is included in the marinade as well as for the roasting process.
- Apple Cider Vinegar – I love using this variety of vinegar for this slow roasted pork belly recipe. It works wonders to bring out the flavor.
- Lemon Juice – This meshes perfectly with the other marinade ingredients and adds a slight citrus tang.
- Garlic – The best add-on for anything roasted. Use it in the marinade and with the meat as it bakes.
- Dijon Mustard – Slightly spicy as well as tangy and sharp, you’ll also need this for the marinade.
- Salt & Pepper – You’ll add both to the meat before marinating it, and you’ll need a bit of extra salt for the marinade itself.
- Red Pepper Flakes – For a bit subtle heat.
- Fresh Rosemary & Thyme – I like the addition of fresh herbs to the mix for a pop of greenery and flavor.
- Carrots & Celery – Rather than roasting the pork on its own, I like to lay it on a bed of vegetables in order to create a gravy.
- Onion – I like using yellow onion here.
- White Wine – You can replace the wine with a bit of stock, but I do like the flavor it brings to the mix.
- All-Purpose Flour – You’ll need this to create a gravy with the cooked vegetables.
HOW TO MAKE ROASTED PORK BELLY
1. Prepare The Meat. Score the skin of your pork belly with a crosshatch pattern and rub it with salt and pepper. Make sure to get into all of those nooks and crannies!
2. Make The Marinade. Add all of the marinade ingredients to a blender and purée. Pour the mixture over the meat and allow it to marinate for at least 12 hours (longer is always better) in an airtight container or plastic bag in the fridge. Be sure to take it out of the fridge 30 minutes prior to roasting.
3. Get The Veggies Ready. Preheat your oven to 525 degrees F. While you wait, wash, peel, and cut the celery, carrots, and onions into 2-inch pieces, then place them in the bottom of a roasting pan. Next, add the garlic and toss everything in olive oil.
4. Roast The Pork Belly. Remove the meat from the marinade (set the marinade aside) and place it with the scored side up in the roasting pan. Cook for 15 minutes, or until the skin turns a golden color. Lower the temperature to 325 degrees F and cook for about 1 and ½ hours. Add the white wine to the reserved marinade and pour it over the meat and vegetables. Allow to roast for 1 more hour, or until the meat is fork tender.
5. Make Your Gravy. Remove the slow roasted pork belly from the roasting pan and set it aside (keep it warm). Place the pan on your stovetop and turn it up to medium heat. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and mash in order to create a paste. Lower the heat to low and cook for 2-3 minutes. Season to taste, then strain in order to create a gravy. Serve and enjoy!
How Long Does It Take To Cook A Belly Pork?
As you can see on the recipe card, this recipe does take some time to prepare and bake. My version (without including the marinading time) takes just under 3 hours.
How Do You Make Pork Belly Crispy?
The secret is in allowing it to roast for about 15 minutes at very high heat. I like starting at 525 degrees F and then lowering it to 325 degrees F.
What Goes Well With Pork Belly?
There are so many possibilities! You may want to try serving my roasted pork belly with these sweet and spicy baked beans, roasted mashed potatoes, cornbread, or brussels sprouts — or a combination of them all!
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Roasted Pork Belly
Ingredients
- 2 lbs pork belly
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp ground black pepper
Marinade
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 8 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp fresh rosemary
- 2 tbsp fresh thyme
Roasting
- 5 carrots
- 5 celery stalks
- 2 yellow onion
- 20 cloves garlic skinless
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- reserved above marinade
- white wine
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Make a crosshatch score on the skin down to the meat, trying not to cut the meat, making the cuts close together. Rub the kosher salt and pepper all over, massaging well to get in the nooks and crannies.
- Mix the marinade ingredients in a blender to emulsify. Poor over the pork belly and marinate 12 hours or more in a sealable container or Zip Lock bag in the refrigerator. Take out 30 minutes prior to roasting to bring to room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 525°F.
- Wash, peel and cut the carrots, onions and celery into 2-inch pieces and place in bottom of roasting pan. Add the whole garlic cloves, tossing with the vegetables and olive oil.
- Place the marinated pork belly (save marinade), scored side up, on top and cook for 15 minutes until skin is bubbling and starts turning a golden color. Drop oven temperature to 325°F and cook for 1 1/2 hours.
- To the reserved marinade and enough white wine to make 3 cups total liquid. Pour marinade/wine mixture over pork belly and roasting vegetables. Cook for 1 hour, or until the pork belly is fork tender and can easily tear apart.
- Remove pork belly and keep warm (See Note 1). Place entire roasting pan on the stove top over medium heat. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and mash to create a thick paste. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes on a low heat (thin with chicken stock if needed), season to taste, then strain and press solids through a sieve into a gravy jug. Serve alongside roasted pork belly.
Notes
- At this point you can allow the pork belly to cool and wrap in foil. Refrigerate overnight. Slice and pan fry to get crispy and serve with warm gravy.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Great recipe, but kosher salt on pork is a crime 😂 thank you for helping me out!
Just tried the pork belly wow I don’t know how you do it but every time I have tried on either of your sites has been mind blowing, love your stuff
Gotta love that, thanks Dave!
I don’t like to eat pork,but when I saw this in my mind I want to try small bite
Wow, that’s big! It is DELISH! 🙂
Mmmm, your roasted pork belly looks great! My favorite is real smoked bacon! We Americans living in Thailand sure miss our big juicy ribeyes, so pork is where it’s at over here. Thanks and looking forward to more of your delicious hungry man pork meat creations.
Kind regards,
Doc
Awesome, thanks so much for following along from Thailand Doc! 🙂
Looks delicious but please write recipes consistently. Put spaces between paragraphs and, importantly, if you’re using numerals for oven times, USE NUMERAL ALL THE TIME, don’t hide a sentence that adds an hour to the cooking time and hugely messes up my evening and my expensive joint. So annoyed.
Really tried to understand your comment here Andrew. The total time is on the recipe card and each time that is mentioned is numeric. Everything is in a numbered list as well.