Whole Pork Belly


 

DuncanW

New member
Whole pork belly, bone in, skin on.
4FA976C1-24D9-47D3-B8E4-793000BD054D.jpeg

This is a cook I did for Christmas, but as I’m new here and it’s a pretty unique cook, I thought I’d share it with y’all.

My brother in-law is Norwegian and this is their traditional holiday roast. He did it for me 2 years ago; parboiled, then roasted under the broiler to make the crackling pop. This past Christmas I thought I’d try and do one for him using the BBQ’ing techniques I’ve learned over the years. When I first saw this roast, it was begging for some open flame and a low slow cook.
D28F8E8D-67CF-40C2-B18E-1831A7909348.jpeg

Before roasting you want to score the skin so the crackling will pop into nice little squares.

F99A32A4-EA88-4D87-A167-C0454780C138.jpeg

I could have used a knife sharpening before I tackled that! Anyway, I didn’t have my kettle yet so I fire up my gas grill for 2-zone cooking and ran it indirect at 325 for a couple of hours until IT was 160, then transferred it to the direct side and browned the roast until I hit 165. At that point it was straight to the oven broiler to finish up the crackling. Just a few minutes will do it and you have nice little crispy kernels of skin!

42D92B77-4F21-4B4D-84F8-43C91E42B4AD.jpeg

I got a little heavy with the bit on the left, but my brother in-law said it’s ok, that’s just “super cracking.” Anyway, this is a fantastic roast. It’s not a cut you find on the shelf normally, but it’s easy enough to get if you ask your butcher. Next year, now that I have a kettle in my kit, I think this is a perfect candidate to do with the Slow N Sear. The surface temperature over the coals maybe enough to get the crackling to pop. Not sure if I can wait til next Christmas to try!
 
Wow, Duncan, looks fabulous! A special occasion cook for sure, but you really nailed that one! Thanks for sharing your family tradition!

R
 
That looks like a really cool roast. I loved that cracklin on pork roasts I ate in Germany while visiting there.
 
That is cut I cook a lot here in the UK. I find the key to perfect crackling is to ensure that the skin is bone dry. Leaving it uncovered in the fridge overnight usually does the trick. Also, another tip to ensure that the skin is scored evenly is to use a dedicated Stanley Knife (a boxcutter I believe in the US). This enables you to control the depth of the cut and to ensure that the meat is not scored, only the skin and fat.

In fact, pork belly was my first ever cook in my Spirit S320 and to date remains my greatest ever greasefire! No vortex required.
 
try putting some vinegar over the skin when you broil it. It cracks the skin more. I do that when I make chinese roast pig.
 
Thanks for the tips guys! I had a woefully dull knife when I did the scoring, should have known better and gone for a fresh blade in my Stanley knife, I like the thought of being able to control the cut depth. Cheers!
 

 

Back
Top