Air Fryer Pork Belly (The CRISPIEST Version)
This Air Fryer Pork Belly is super juicy with extra crispy skin. It's the best version of crispy pork belly I have ever made. It takes less than 40 minutes to cook in the air fryer and comes out perfect, every time!
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 64kcal
Equipment
- 1 Ninja Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 800g pork belly joint
- 1 tablespoon Chinese 5 spice
- ½ tablespoon garlic granules
- 1 tablespoon malden salt
For the sauce
- 2 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- ½ tablespoon rice wine vinegar
Instructions
- Turn the pork belly meat-side facing up. Score the meat every inch, going in about ½cm deep diagonally both ways, creating criss-cross lines (there are step by step photos further up this blog for your help!).
- Sprinkle the Chinese 5 spice and garlic granule powder over the meat and then rub the powders into the crevices of the scored areas.
- Flip the pork belly over and score the skin in the same way. Break the surface of the skin and slice delicately through to the fat. You'll need a sharp knife. Make sure to not cut through to the meat.
- Sprinkle a generous layer of salt all over the skin and rub it in with your fingers. Leave uncovered for 10 minutes. This is to remove any excess moisture, to ensure the skin is as crispy as possible.
- After 10 minutes, rub the salt off the skin, patting the skin dry using a paper towel.
- Get a large sheet of tinned foil and place the pork belly joint meat facing down into the centre of the foil. Then, gently fold up the sides of the foil to cover the sides of the pork belly, leaving the skin uncovered. This is to ensure the meat stays juicy and the skin gets cooked to crisp!
- Get your air fryer, I use a Ninja air fryer (they're the best in my opinion). Place in your pork belly, click the air fryer setting and then set the temperature to 160C/320F and cook for 30 minutes.
- Once the pork belly has cooked for 30 minutes, turn on the Max Crispy setting (or the air fryer setting ensuring it's on the highest temperature), and cook at 240C/465F for 10 minutes. Before doing this, double check that the sides of the meat are still covered by the foil.
- Meanwhile, make your 4 ingredient sauce by combining the hoisin, soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice wine vinegar in a small bowl. Taste and season according to your preferences.
- Take your pork belly carefully out of the air fryer and it should be super golden and crispy on the skin side and really juicy on the meat side. To slice it, turn it upside down so that the meat is facing upwards, and slice into ½ inch strips. You can then optionally slice those into three or four to make pork belly bites. Serve up with rice or whatever you fancy, and enjoy!
Notes
Step-by-Step Photos: My blog post includes helpful step-by-step photos to help guide you through making this recipe (simply scroll up to see them!).
Storage: If you have any leftover air fryer belly pork, let it cool, then place it in an airtight container and into the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freezing: To freeze your cooked air fryer pork belly, I'd recommend slicing it up and then placing it into an airtight container (you could also divide it into portions and place them in freezer bags). Freeze for up to 3 months. Then leave to thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Reheating: To reheat your pork belly, you could either place it back in the air fryer at 160C/320F for 7 minutes until hot. Or you could place it in the microwave with the lid slightly ajar until piping hot.
Nutrition
Calories: 64kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 0.2mg | Sodium: 633mg | Potassium: 66mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 6IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 1mg