Crispy Roast Pork Belly

I'm actually genuinely chuffed about today's recipe because it's a really delicious one. This year has been all about pork belly for me, mainly because towards the beginning of quarantine, the grocery stores were completely cleaned out and the only protein we could get our hands on was a 5 lb. vacuum-sealed slab of pork belly and it provided a minimum of 5 meals featuring crispy carnitas.

Even though carnitas are delicious, it was getting a bit redundant. So when I found a second opportunity to pick up another big slab of pork belly, I decided to roast it and then crisp up the skin. This is a cooking technique v. similar to a Chinese one, except, I don't care for the flavors of the marinade (which usually involves warm spices like cinnamon and allspice). Instead, I went for a v. straightforward, simple recipe that was a huge success and really fit my palate, as I served it in the style of Korean bo ssam (pork belly wraps).

Ingredients [serves 4]:
1½ lbs. pork belly
1 teaspoon fine salt
¼ cup coarse rock salt
2" piece ginger

Start by seasoning the fleshy side with fine salt. I say "fine" because I'm trying to distinguish it from the coarse rock salt. It doesn't have to be like ultra powdery table salt. Whatever salt you typically use to season your food is what we're after here. Then, flip the whole thing over onto a foil-lined sheet pan and use something sharp - I found that the pointy tip of a vegetable peeler worked really well - to poke little holes all over the top of the fat cap. The point is to give that thicker, harder layer of fat some relief holes that will allow the fat to render out of the top, which is a crucial step for crisping the skin.

Generously cover the entire surface of the fat with a good amount of coarse salt. The coarse salt is important here because it acts as a protective layer that somehow seals in the fat in the meat while simultaneously drawing out some of the moisture in the fat cap which helps the skin get super crispy. It's important that the salt be coarse because it'll be much easier to scrape off later on. Plus, it won't end up injecting itself into the little relief holes; if that were to happen, you'd end up with an overly salty piece of pork.

Place a chunk of crushed ginger next onto the pan and roast the pork in a 375F oven for about an hour. Then, scrape off the salt (you can just leave it off to the side on the sheet pan) and roast in a 425F oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until the skin is bubbly and crispy. The ginger doesn't necessarily impart a lot of flavor to the pork but it just helps prevent it from tasting gamey, which can happen with such a thick cut of meat.

Allow the meat to rest briefly, for about 15 minutes, before cutting it into bite-sized pieces.

The meat is super tender and delicious and because it cooks fat-side-up, the fat renders down into the meat and makes it super juicy and awesome. The skin itself gets so crispy and just adds a great crunchy texture to the otherwise v. soft and tender meat.

I garnished the plate with some sliced scallions for a bit of color and flavor.

And as I mentioned above, I served it in the style of Korean bo ssam. So we had tender Napa cabbage leaves, julienned radish kimchi, sesame oil with fresh cracked pepper and flaky salt for dipping, salted & fermented baby shrimp, sliced hot peppers, and some cucumber spears. And of course, a big bowl of rice to accompany this whole shebang.

Here's the recipe page: