Pork Belly Smoked and Finished in Air Fryer for Crispy Puffy Skin

I like the smokiness of a crispy puffy pork belly skin when smoked.  This can also be done in an oven.  The key for the skin is finishing in an air fryer for 10 minutes for the prized crispy skin crunch.  This simple to make just plan 2 days to dry out the skin in the refrigerator.

If there is space in the smoker, I try to fill it with other proteins that cook at similar temperature, like chicken hind quarters.

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Split whole pork belly in half (to fit in 2 pans for air fryer) or leave whole if cooking in an oven or smoker. Costco has a nice supply of flat whole bellies.          

Ingredients                                                            

  • 10 lb pork belly skin-on
  • 4.5 T kosher salt
  • 2 T white pepper
  • 2.5 T five spice powder
  • 2.5 T sugar monk fruit
  • 4 T Shaoxing wine plus 2 tsp as needed to form a paste
  • 3 C rock salt
  • 3 egg white beaten
  • 3 T white vinegar

Directions

  1.  Pat skin on pork belly dry and poke holes all across the skin of the pork. Ensure that the holes only puncture the skin and do not go all the way through the meat using a sharp meat tenderizer or fork tines.
  2. To the meat side, cut 1” squares using a sharp without going through the fat (you want to keep it whole, like a mat). 
  3. In a small bowl, combine salt, white pepper, five spice powder, sugar, and Shaoxing wine to make a paste. Evenly spread the paste on the meat side of the pork and crevices ensuring not to touch the skin, use a butter knife to get in the crevices.
  4. Refrigerate 24 - 48 hours for best results to dry the skin for crispy skin.
  5. Once the skin is dry, mix together salt and a beaten egg white. Brush the skin with a layer of white vinegar, then evenly layer the salt/egg mixture directly on the skin.
  6. Smoke at 350 F (or Oven at 300F) for 30 minutes,
  7. Remove the salt from the skin and brush off any excess salt. The skin should be softened. 
  8. Finish in an air fryer set to 450 F for the crispy bubbly skin about 10 minutes and golden color (or under an oven broiler.)

 

 

 

Leftover pork belly can be turned into other meals like ramen noodles, Poached Bok Choy (with Pork Belly) / Pork / Recipes | Cooking with Aloha, Texas Style (cooking-with-aloha-texas-style.com) pan fried slices rendering the fat over hot rice and furikake or tacos with napa cabbage and daikon tossed with shoyu, mirin, sriracha and fresh lime.