Incredibly Crispy Air Fryer Pork Belly
My air fryer pork belly recipe is not only super tender and juicy, but the crackling is also amazingly crunchy and bursting with flavour. And it's easy to make!
Ingredients
- 1 kg pork belly
- 1 tsp chinese five spice
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp ginger powder
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- sea salt for the crackling
Instructions
Pork Belly Preparation
- Allow the pork belly to come up to room temperature for 1 hour. If your pork is vacuum-sealed pre-salt the rind and place it in the fridge uncovered overnight.
- Pat the rind dry with a paper towel and trim to fit in the air fryer if required. Cut off any excess meat so the pork belly sits as level as possible. Flip the meat over and make deep vertical slices 1inch apart and 3/4inch deep.
- In a small bowl, combine Chinese five-spice, onion powder, garlic powder, ginger powder, salt, and black pepper. Then evenly rub the seasoning over the meat getting in between the slits. Try not to get any seasoning onto the skin.
- Using a sheet of aluminium foil roughly twice the size of the pork, lay the pork belly onto the centre skin side up. Fold the edges inwards, making the height roughly the same or slightly under the skin. Pinch the corners in towards the pork, making it nice and snug
- Evenly spread 1 tbsp of fine (table) salt onto the skin and place the pork belly into the air fryer. Cook the pork belly at 120°C (250°F) for 40 minutes.
- After 40 minutes, remove the pork belly from the air fryer and scrape off the salt. Using a wooden skewer, poke holes all over the surface of the skin. Only poke deep enough to penetrate the skin and first layer of fat. Roughly 3-4mm deep. If the holes are too deep, juices will rise to the surface, inhibiting the crackling process.
- Tighten up the foil around the pork belly and cook for a further 20 minutes at 120°C (250°F). When the second cook is complete open your air fryer and pat down the surface of the skin with a paper towel
- To create the crackling, increase your air fryer's temperature to 200°C (400°F) for 20 to 30 minutes. Check the internal temperature of the pork belly using an instant-read meat thermometer. The pork belly should be 71°C (160°F) internally in the thickest part.
- Rest for 5 minutes to allow the juices to run back in before cutting, bringing the pork to a safe eating temperature of 74°C. Cut into bite-size pieces and serve with apple sauce.
