Sous Vide Pork Belly Recipe | Tangled with Taste (2024)

by Tangled with Taste 2 Comments

This Sous Vide Pork Belly post is sponsoredbyFoodSaver®;however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you’ve never tried Sous Vide Pork Belly then you’re in for a real treat! Sous Vide Pork Belly is tender and packs an incredible flavor punch.

Sous Vide Pork Belly Recipe | Tangled with Taste (1)

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When you’re cooking with something that is as tough (yet so flavorful!) as pork belly: Sous Vide is the way to go!

A perfectly cooked pork belly can’t be beat and is amazing in Bahn mi sandwiches or Cole slaw sliders, in corn chowder or a thick stew, and chunked to top salads… Mmmmm!!! There are so many delicious ways to eat it.

Sous Vide Pork Belly Recipe | Tangled with Taste (2)

Sous Vide Pork

The meat needs to be broken down for a good pork belly recipe. Usually with a long baking or braising method in your oven or slow cooker. The end results are always tasty, but can be dry or have chewy fat.

However, by cooking the pork belly sous-vide in a vacuum sealed bag at the perfect temperature; the end results are tender, flavorful, not at all stringy or “chewy” and is overall amazing beautifully cooked pork belly that is soft as butter.

Sous Vide Pork Belly Recipe | Tangled with Taste (3)

Sous-vide: the name alone makes you feel fancy!

Sous- vide cooking is when you seal food in a vacuum sealed bag, and then cook that food in water that is temperature controlled. The sous-vide technique produces results that are impossible to achieve through any other cooking method. (ie: this pork belly is divine and couldn’t reach this level of perfection with any other cooking method!!! You should also definitely give Sous Vide Steak a try. So good!)

Sous Vide Pork Belly Recipe | Tangled with Taste (4)

For just about any protein you cook sous-vide, the steps are the same:

  1. Attach your sous-vide tool to a pot of water and set the temperature.
  2. Put your protein/ meat in a vacuum sealed bag and add it to the water (I often clip the bag to the side of the pot with a chip clip to keep it in place and make sure it stays submerged).
  3. Cook for however long your recipe is calling for.
  4. Grill, sear or finish the meat at a quick but super high temperature to add a crispy perfect exterior while keeping the interior at the exact doneness you wanted.

These are the steps we will follow today for our Sous Vide Pork belly as well.

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Vacuum Sealed Bags for Sous Vide cooking

When I first got my sous-vide tool I had seen that you could use vacuum sealed bags but really thought those were more for keeping foods fresh longer than for sous-vide cooking.

Then I got my first FoodSaver® Vacuum Sealing System. I could not believe the difference that vacuum sealing the foods made. Especially when it comes to flavor! Mind blown. Never going back.

The process is simple:

  1. Place theFoodSaver Bags in the Sealing System then pull a length of the roll out. Add an extra couple inches to the length you need for sealing purposes.
  2. Use the neat little cutting tool.
  3. Press the “seal” button on theFoodSaver® appliance and then slide one side of the cut sheet into the machine. The bag has been sealed on that side when the red light turns off.
  4. Next, fill your “bag” with the seasoned protein.
  5. This time you do not press seal, but instead press either dry or moist, then slide the unsealed section into the machine and it will automatically vacuum out all air then seal the package.

Sous Vide Pork Belly Recipe | Tangled with Taste (6)

Best Sous Vide foods

The Sous Vide cooking technique is a pillar of sophisticated culinary prowess and FoodSaver® Bags are the ultimate sidekick to Sous Vide success.

They make the Sous Vide technique more accessible and simple, streamline cooking with their versatility, and lock in flavor for a better dish.

Sous Vide Pork Belly Recipe | Tangled with Taste (7)

A couple quick notes before you cook your pork belly:

  1. Size doesn’t matter: only fully submerging it does. I typically purchase a 5lb pork belly, then I cut it in half. It can be sealed in two (or more) separate packages once you’ve seasoned all the meat. I cook one right away and save the other for later.
  2. This season pork belly freezes very well if vacuumed sealed. I usually freeze for up to 6 weeks.
  3. This recipe calls for quite a bit of salt. Think of it like a brine or marinade, the salt is what is going to flavor the meat but also break it down for an even better cooking process.
  4. The cooking time is the same whether you are cooking this from fresh or frozen.

Sous Vide Pork Belly Recipe

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Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 slab of Pork Belly (usually 2-5 pounds)
  • Your Favorite Sweet BBQ Sauce
  • 1/3 cup Salt
  • 1/4 cup Sugar
  • 1.5 TBS Paprika
  • 1.5 TBS Garlic Salt
  • 1-2 tsp Cayenne Pepper

Instructions

  1. Lightly brush Pork Belly with BBQ Sauce.
  2. Mix seasonings together, then generously coat the pork belly (note: depending on the size of your pork belly, you may not use all of the seasoning... just be sure to season it generously).
  3. Place Pork Belly in a Vacuum Sealable bag and Vacuum seal it.
  4. Now you can freeze if preferred (Note: Whether cooking from fresh or frozen the cooking time will be the same).
  5. When ready to cook

  6. In a large pot filled with water, set your Sous Vide tool to 68C degrees.
  7. When it comes to temperature, Place vacuum sealed bag of Pork Belly into the water bath.
  8. Cook at 68C degrees for 18 hours. Adding more hot water to the bath as needed to keep belly fully submerged)
  9. Turn sous vide temperature up to 78C degrees and continue cooking for an additional 4 hours.
  10. Heat oven broiler to high heat (usually 500F degrees).
  11. Remove pork belly from bag and transfer to an oven safe dish, fatty side up, adding some of the juices to coat the bottom of the pan.
  12. Sear under broiler for 7-10 minutes of until the top is a crispy dark golden brown.
  13. Serve!

7.8.1.2

176

https://tangledwithtaste.com/sous-vide-pork-belly-recipe/

FlirtingwithFlavor.com

Nutrition

Calories

216 cal

Fat

1 g

Carbs

54 g

Protein

1 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

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Comments

  1. Sous Vide Pork Belly Recipe | Tangled with Taste (12)Bonnie DP says

    Is the temperature in Celsius or Fahrenheit? Instruction 5 says Celsius and Inst 7 says F.

    Reply

    • Sous Vide Pork Belly Recipe | Tangled with Taste (13)Tangled with Taste says

      I'm so sorry! The recipe is cooked in Celsius.

      Reply

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Sous Vide Pork Belly Recipe | Tangled with Taste (2024)

FAQs

How long should I sous vide my pork belly? ›

You can do this in the pot of water as it heats. (Just be careful if the water is already steaming!) Set the pork belly aside on a kitchen towel until the water has finished heating. Cook for 12 hours.

Does pork belly get more tender the longer you cook it? ›

The secret to cooking pork belly is the combination of a gentle heat to tenderise the meat and short, high temperature blasts to crisp up the skin on the outside. Typically, recipes call for around 2 hrs at 180C/160C fan/gas 4, then a further 30 mins or so at 200C/180C fan/gas 6.

What is the best temp for pork belly? ›

When properly cooked, the internal temperature of the pork should be 160°F. Once the pork belly has reached 160°F, place the meat, fat side down, on an aluminum foil lined baking pan and add 1/2 cup of apple juice to the meat.

Why does pork belly taste different than bacon? ›

Although bacon may hail from the pork belly, the two are very different. Pork belly is not processed. Most people like to cook it slowly to melt down the fat content and create a richly flavored, tender protein.

How to crisp pork belly after sous vide? ›

The pork belly is technically ready to eat when the sous vide process is finished; however, the oven really takes every bite from good to great! If you don't want to use the oven, you can sear the pork in a hot, well-oiled pan, on a grill, or in a 400ºF air fryer until the skin is crispy.

How do you crisp up pork belly sous vide? ›

As simple as it would be to enjoy the pork belly right out of the sous vide bath, it's best to finish it to get some crisp on the outside. My favorite way to finish this pork belly is on my Green Mountain Grill smoker. 200 degrees F for 2 hours does the trick to impart smoky flavor and crisp up the fatty exterior.

Why won t my pork belly get crispy? ›

The skin wasn't dry enough. Make sure to pat the pork completely dry before rubbing in the salt and oil as excess moisture will stop it from crisping up. It's important to score the skin if you want it really crisp. You'll need a sharp knife for this, or ask your butcher to do it for you.

How to stop pork belly from being chewy? ›

Some people use meat tenderizer. Some people pound it with a hammer. Two popular ways is slow cooking by roasting in a oven, or simmering in a pot.

Do you eat the fat in pork belly? ›

Contrary to common belief, pork belly does contain omega-3 fatty acids, albeit in smaller quantities than fish or nuts. These healthy fats are well-known for their anti-inflammatory properties and are beneficial for heart health, brain function, and overall well-being.

Should pork belly be at room temperature before cooking? ›

Remember to remove your flat pork belly joint out of the packaging, pat dry and bring to room temperature. Pre heat your oven to 200°C temperature fan assisted or 215°C without a fan.

How long to cook pork belly at 225? ›

Instructions
  1. Get your fire going in your smoker and preheat to 225 degrees F.
  2. Using a sharp knife, score the top layer of fat on the pork belly in 1 inch squares. ...
  3. Place the seasoned pork belly on the grill and smoke until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F (about 6 hours).
Feb 28, 2020

How to tell when pork belly is done? ›

One way to determine your porks' doneness is by the color of the juices that come out of it when you poke a hole in it with a knife or fork. If the juices run clear or are very faintly pink, the pork is done cooking. If they're mostly or entirely pink or red, it's best to continue cooking.

How long and what temperature to sous vide pork belly? ›

What is the Best Sous Vide Belly Temperatures and Times?
  1. Chop-Like.
  2. Medium-Rare: 135°F for 2 to 3 Days (57.2ºC)
  3. Medium: 140°F for 2 to 3 Days (60.0ºC)
  4. Well Done: 145°F for 2 to 3 Days (62.8ºC)
  5. Tender Braise: 150°F for 1 to 2 Days (65.6ºC)
  6. Firm but Shreddable: 156°F for 1 to 2 Days (68.9ºC)

Can you sous vide pork too long? ›

And because your sous vide machine will be set to the exact temperature that you want the food to reach, you know it'll never go above this point and overcook. You just need to make sure that you're cooking your ingredients at the ideal temperature, which you can work out using our Sous Vide Cooking Time Calculator.

Can you sous vide pork for 8 hours? ›

At 185°F / 85°C pork will take about 8 hours (or even a little less) to tenderize. The texture is very similar to traditional carnitas. Easily shreddable and reasonably moist. (I used to think standard carnitas were incredibly moist until I tried sous vide carnitas).

How long must pork belly be cooked? ›

Preheat oven to 450°F. Roast pork belly for 30 minutes on the middle rack in a heavy, oven-safe pan or skillet, skin side up / fat side up. Reduce heat to 275°F and roast for an hour or more, until tender but not mushy. (Larger pieces of pork belly will take longer.

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