Best Chef Johns Caramel Pork Belly Recipes

CARAMELIZED PORK BELLY (THIT KHO)

Steps:

• Slice pork belly into 1-inch pieces layered with skin, fat, and meat.
• Heat sugar in a large wok or pot over medium heat until it melts and caramelizes into a light brown syrup, about 5 minutes. Add pork and increase heat to high. Cook and stir to render some of the pork fat, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Stir shallots and garlic into the wok. Add fish sauce and black pepper; stir to evenly coat pork. Pour in coconut water and bring to a boil. Add eggs, reduce heat to low, and simmer, covered, until pork is tender, about 1 hour.
• Remove wok from the heat and let stand, about 10 minutes. Skim the fat from the surface of the dish.

CRISPY PORK BELLY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C).
• Season pork belly all over with smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper. Wrap pork in parchment paper; wrap a second time in aluminum foil, and a third time in another sheet of aluminum foil. Place pork packet in a baking dish.
• Roast in the preheated oven until tender for 6 hours. Let cool in wrappings to room temperature; place cooled packet in refrigerator and chill for 8 hours or overnight.
• Unwrap chilled meat. Save any rendered fat that falls away when unwrapping pork.
• Cut meat into 6 equal-size portions. Cut 1/8-inch by 1/8-inch slashes in the fat-side of the pork. Season with salt.
• Heat 2 tablespoons reserved pork fat in a skillet over medium heat. Place pork belly, fat side down, in hot fat; cook until well-browned on all sides and heated through, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer pork belly to a plate, drizzle with olive oil and season with pepper.

EASY SWEET AND SOUR PORK BELLY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).
• Use a sharp knife to make 1/8-inch deep cuts, spaced 1/2 inch apart, into the fatty side of the pork belly. Turn and repeat the cuts, crossing the first set at a 45-degree angle. Transfer into a shallow baking dish that's just large enough to fit the meat.
• Mix salt, brown sugar, cayenne, and black pepper for dry rub in a small bowl. Apply it generously to both sides of the meat, sprinkling it on and then pressing it in. Press the sides of the pork belly into the dish to pick up any additional dry rub. End with the fatty side of the pork facing up. Cover the baking dish with foil and place it onto a sheet pan.
• Bake in the center of the preheated oven until tender when tested with the tip of a knife, about 3 1/2 hours.
• Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Cover and place in the refrigerator to chill thoroughly, 8 hours to overnight.
• Remove from the refrigerator and transfer meat to a cutting board. Cut pork belly into ½-inch slices.
• Prepare glaze: Spoon 2 teaspoons rendered pork fat from the top of the drippings and heat it in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in pineapple juice, brown sugar, ketchup, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and chili paste and bring to a simmer. Cook until sauce reduces by about half, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• Cook pork belly slices in a dry, nonstick pan over medium-high heat until surface is browned a bit, about 2 minutes per side. Add a couple tablespoons of the pork belly "jelly" from the baking dish and the sweet and sour sauce. Cook until sauce reduces down to a glaze, 2 to 3 more minutes.
• Remove from the heat and serve.