Crispy Pork Belly Tricks No One Knows About | Perfect Crackling 

Steak Secrets | Turn Cheap & Tough Into Juicy & Tender - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-KgnZp1wijgc.html

Hi Ben! I am Origamicrane off egullet! My friend was watching your video and spotted my username. Thanks for referencing my 15 year old post! One additional step I have added since that post is to insert some metal skewers through the meat to keep it straight and stop it from curling whilst cooking. Enjoy!

Wow... This vodka method REALLY WORKS!! Just tried it last night in comparison to a salt/vinegar traditional Chinese method and the Vodka prepared skin puffed up beautifully while the vinegar skin turned dark and hard with pockets of hard leather. This vodka method will forever be our fool proof way to get great skin!! Thank you for your video.

tried yesterday and it was perfection. This was the first time that came perfect. Leveled skin, the cooking temperatures and the "VODKA" made all the difference. Thank you!

I can validate the recipe, just finished it and it came out near perfect! Good luck to the rest of you! Cheers!

I just LOVE finding gems of channels like this! brilliant video

Thank you so much for this video..I did exactly what you suggested and my pork belly turned out amazing!

This is christmas dish in norway another way to get amazing crackling is to first brine it in a prine with sugar salt spices and baking soda for three days. After that let the porkbelly airdry with only rhe oven fan running or in the fridge. Then low cook it on 90c for 10 hours. Take out the pork belly and heat the oven up to 250C. Watch it slowly so the cracking doesnt burn. Brown puffed up skin tastes bad. This has made the best pork belly me and my mom have ever tried and we eat it everychristmas you should try it

Lovely! I gave it a try, and it came out exactly like in the vid. Delicious. Thanks!

All my pork belly trials and tribulations summed up in one video. Thank you for this, superb insight and delivery. Can’t wait to try it out

Essentially you've stumbled upon the traditional way to make Chinese Crispy Pork belly, minus a few steps, especially seasoning. You've got most of the basics down, so following any traditional recipe will yield great results I'm sure.

Chinese Hong Kong chef taught me to steam for 10mins, pad skin dry, salt place in hot oven mine is 250 F till crackling formed 45min, perfect every time.

You can also put it on it’s head, pour water into the tray so it just covers the skin, give it 25 minutes at 150-170 celcius take it out, turn it around and do the same thing and it’s fool proof every single time. Perfectly cooled meat and a perfectly crisp skin every time. I will try the vodka thing though to take the skin to the next level. Great video!

Great video, well presented. I subbed and liked. I love cooking videos that are teaching the "whys". Too many are just copying someone else's videos they have watched and are repeating foolish ideas.

excellent video. you definitely deserve more subs!

Great video! I will try it out

great video - thank you!!

thank u ive been cooking since mid 70s im since retired from that field. i do miss it. but i must say u may have taught me a trick or two w ur video. i cant wait to try this out. i also am looking foward to seeing more of ur videos. cheers

Mine turned out amazing with this method. Thank you‼️

Wonderful video. I’m cooking it as I type.

Looks great. When I'm cooking it. I score the skin with a Stanley knife. Then apply Rock salt. Cook in the oven in some water and season with various herds and veg. Turns out great. I am happy to your vodka on the skin.

This is amazing. In sweden this cut is about 7-9$/kg, so very cheap. Followed your steps live while cooking. Turned out great! Made about 1kg so it lasted for two days making sandwiches and pasta dishes from the left overs. This is truly bang for the buck. Only thing is the grease in the oven from grease pops. 10/10

Very clever, I like my roast pork! Thanks for sharing

Excellent 👌Subscribed! I'll definitely try this

Good tips sir, Thank you.

Thanks for the tips

I find a similar method, meat tenderiser works instead of tooth picks, the boat method is what i use, but also add a layer of rock salt on top and brush on some white vinegar (as opposed to vodka). Then about 45mins at 180, then remove rock salt, and 30mins at 250.

Thank you. I recommend using an air fryer which gives much better results than an oven. Also, the Chinese/Vietnamese spray vinegar on the skin but vodka looks to work well too

This really looks like a labour of love...hah...thankU. I am definitely gonna give it a try. It's too good to miss. 😊

This works a treat, never cooked crackling properly and this worked first time, even without the overnight in the fridge. I used a rolled pork loin instead of a belly also. Cheers

I love the thoughtful approach to trying to figure out a method that works. I've seen a few methods that use vinegar instead of vodka but I think the vodka makes sense. It will encourage moisture to evaporate and it's water in the skin that prevents it crisping up. I am personally fine with leaving the meat open in the fridge but I wonder if for those who aren't whether some paper towel or some very dry rice (maybe that's been baked) in the container could make sure all the condensation stays away from the pork skin once it evaporates. I sometimes put paper towel in a tub of overnight rice to absorb condensation so it fries better when making egg fried rice.

Well done bruva!!!!!!

This worked. I used crown royal instead. Turned out amazing!

Fabulous 👏👏👏

You can use corn on cob holders vs toothpicks

I need to try this immediately - a few times everything works and you get decent crackling on pork belly, but it's a rare thing. I think the hot water, then pricking all over technique is seen in either Thai or Korean methods, although they tend to put the whole piece into the water - with perhaps more cooking in the water/aromatics than our traditional roasting. I think you've got the best of both worlds with this technique.

Wow, I think I joined Joshua Weissman when he had about the same number of subscribers you now have. I'm feeling you could grow as he did with this kind of A1 content. Thanks!

Great video. If you try to cook that uncracked skin in a hot oil, it will crackle like crazy. Also, white vinegar can replace the vodka

Great video, explanatory, well edited - Nice work 😊

i just smoke my pork belly for a few hours until it hits 180f and then put it in the oven on low broil to crackle the skin. works every time

Amazing quality video mate

you are Golden, NEW SUB

If you're going to do one thing do the foil boat. Absolute game changer and the rendered fat ends up cooking the meat like confit. Then you can also make a sauce from it afterwards too. I usually just pour a kettle-full of hot water over the skin, dry off as best I can (pretty sure overnight uncovered would be king) and oil/salt before putting into the oven. I read that scoring or peircing is counter productive and so far I've found that to be true. I tend to do a low and slow for two hours and then blast it to get the crackling done at the end. It works and I'm pretty happy with my results but I'd like to do better with a *really* light crackle. I will try the skin-side shallow boil method next time to really pre-render the skin as much as possible.

love the tips (Vodka and levelling). Is there a lazier method with the air fryer?

The toothpick method is the chinese traditional method. Chinese already have a specialised tool for doing that. There are already many chinese videos making crispy pork belly with methods including vinegar, salt, covering the sides with foil and pricking the skin as well.

instead of using a knife in the traditional method, i tend to use a dispoable scalpel blade for easy scoring. But gonna try your method tomorrow! Cheers

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for covering your raw meat in the fridge. First online cook I've seen do this.

I just discovered your channel, its amazing! Insta suscribed & best regards from México.

if you want it puffier, when you apply the salt on the skin, you'll draw out the moisture in a few minutes. When it draws out, wipe it off. You essentially want the moisture out. The drier the skin, the better (some leave it overnight or longer to let the skin dry). Aside of vodka, rice wine or white vinegar can do the trick as well.

A box cutter with the knife tip sticking out. Works great for cutting skin

Best roast pork with crackling reciepe ever and absolutely works every time, I've been trying and failing for 45yrs to get it right and now Eurika 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

I have cooked this many times.occasionally spot on but more fails.I’ll give this a go.let you know.Aussie in Australia 😎👍🏻

Awesome video. FYI tomatoes are best stored outside the fridge :)

Nice one mate. Vodka can be subbed with Vinegar. Made With Lau does this method. Works 100%.❤

i think asian cuisine does similar, cooking and blanching then wok frying, what do you think about sous vide and then little cuttings onto the skin and slow slow pan heat. i done in michelin star restaurant with milk pork, like 65 C 15 h in goose or duck fat, then slowly pan roasting, was pretty good.

Out of this World, I have tried every method imaginable ...Unbelievable, Best Belly that I have ever roasted. 1 Hour at 225 degrees ,,,crank it up to 475 ..12 minutes...Perfect crackling , meat succulent and tender as you said..Thank You. Wow.....Any idea how you can warm a left over piece the next and retain the Crisp ????

Holes poked ✅ Salted ✅ Vodka splash ✅ Dry brine time✅ Level ✅ Foil open casket ✅ It’s in the oven now at 325 my PB is large so going cook slow and low for one hour. Then hit it with the higher temp. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

leaving uncovered wont effect other things in your fridge. similair to how i do mine. great vid

I definitely might have to give this a try. A lot of the other ways I've seen this done have used fruit juices like pineapple, which I'm allergic to 😅

Really nice step by step. Just a few points I'd make. You video should be comparable, so the meat should be similar in side and surface area. As you are keeping the oven at a specific temperature and putting the meat in at a certain height for a certain time, the this higher pork will have more heat exposure. The side piece is only crispy around the edges. Once reason also why the Chinese boil the skin is to tenderise it. Because it can be crackling but still a hard thin layer type of crackling rather than puffed up. It is possible to separate the entirre fat from the meat to cook it. You can get pieces like that in Morissons. But the flavour is different if you do so.

Just put in air fryer for 100c 30 min to dry the skin and rub some oil on top and put another 200c for 40 Min ....... its work everytime... no need pocking , no need boiling and its less mess...

Can you explain that you bake it or broil it?

New Subscriber 🎉🎉🎉🎉

White vinegar works great, too.

Grab a bunch of toothpicks and run some tape around it. Brilliant video Ty 👍

I’m glad you wandered into my recommendations! Do you think this could be adapted to a pork shoulder roast with skin? In the US these are called picnic shoulders and can often dislocate your jaw.

This makes sense as the alcohol would evaporate much quicker leaving little pockets in the crackling to make it airier and not hard and rubbery

Very cool video! I have noticed that you have a lot of Mexican items on your fridge, LOL

If you have time, rub the meat including the skin with some steak rub, and leave the pork with skin side up inside a refrigerator for 48 hours (72 hours is even better) to dry out the skin. After that, it will be crackling while well-seasoned and taste much better.

I've been using vinegar and a cap of rock salt for the first 10 min, remove the cap and return to air fryer. Saw it in an air fryer video. Time actually gets cut even less then 45 min! Amazing results.

I’ll try this although I love my very hard crackling, although as you say I am frightened of losing a tooth 😂

I allways use my airfryer for porkbelly. Super easy and the same result every time. It takes 1h 10mins to cook without fridge time etc. With preparation maybe 1h 30mins

did u try skipping the acupunture if yes was there a significant difference

This is the Chinese/Cantonese method

You can find Chinese BBQ roasted pork belly with incredibly crispy skins, probably in a Chinatown near you. People have done this for years.

The method in this video with the toothpick is what we have always been doing here in asia. But instead of vodka, we use any vinegar. Important thing is that its acid. The sale draws out the moisture, and the vinegar helps the skin to dry up.

I have found that the best way to make crackling is to lightly score the skin, poor boiling water over the skin to open it up& then dry the skin, make a brine of Japanese rice wine vinegar & warm it through for a couple of moments in a microwave to help dissolve the salt, brush the skin with the brine & then leave to stand in a fridge or cook area, 6-8-10 hours or so depending on the size of the joint & pop it up n the oven uncovered for the set time, I use 20mins per lb, once done move the Pork to the bottom of the oven & turn the grill on full but you have to watch it because the skin blisters very quickly, keep turning it until it’s how you like it, bloody wonderful 😊

Great video man , new sub

Would have been good to use 2 cuts of meat that were more even in size for a better and more accurate comparison.

We call it lechon kawali (literally roast pork by deep frying). Boil the pork belly about 1 to 1 1/2 hour in soup stock. Set it aside to cool. Sprinkle it with salt and leave it to cool. Pat it dry make sure all the water and moisture are gone. Cut it into 1 inch cube then simply fry all side in a shallow pan and little oil, about 5-8 minutes each side. Or you can fry it whole for 10 minutes each side.

You brine it uncovered as it lower humidity and will dry it out better.

Chinese / cantonese way is the best ....

Wow... I'll have to give this a shot. Wouldn't the traditional use of vinegar work rather than the vodka? BTW, how does anyone ever have that much free space in their refrigerator? 😅

What you are doing with the pork belly skin in hot water is what I also do, but do not leave it in, I pull it out and scrape the skin with a very sharp cleaver to remove the impurities usually repeating a couple of times after rinsing, if there is a lot of hair you can singe them off in a hot wok before water treatment, I never apply salt to the meat, yes you can help to dy out the skin using vinegar's or any alcohol as both will repel moisture. as for leveling out I usually insert skewers beneath the skin line along the length and breadth of the belly you do need to have 2 different sizes of skewers for the oven, we do have a difference in preperation as you have seasoned the belly with salt some will use a dry spice rub, I marinate in a paste for an intense flavour, what I have noticed with the majority of youtube video makers is that they never seem to hang the belly on hooks to drain off the excess fats and they always cut into the belly through the crackling 1st! these are the 2 biggest mistakes we all make, I was 1st allowed to take park in cooking belly pork in 1966 when I had turned 8 years old, never allow your butcher to bone or score the skin as they usually remove too much meat that you want to keep from the ribs and score too deep through the skin.

You can sear it on the 3 sides(the ones without the skin) or just one side till it is done 50% to 75%(don't burn it) then boil it for 1,5 hours then bake it till you get the crakling. Bulletproof method.

IF you want to score your pork skin, use a box cutter/craft kniife. You can set the depth the knife blade. Quick and efficient

This channel will be 50k in 6 months with videos at this level, if I could invest in your channel I would!

Ben, thanks for sharing. Would substituting vodka with other liquor, like rum or other white wine, left in the pantry be ok?

I just poke a lot of holes in it, maybe 100-200 small toothpick size holes (5 minutes of poking). Then I make a little foil boat, place the pork belly in the boat, and add a layer of salt on top of the skin and throw in the oven (no overnight salting needed). Then once the prok is cooked and tender, I take off the salt which just peels off as it hardens from absorbing moisture from the skin. Then turn up the heat, usually turn on the broiler and cook while watching it constantly for the last 10 mintues until everything is completely popped up and crispy. Works every time. Minimal prep work, no need to dry the skin out like many say, it's super easy!! No hard skin, all is very crispy and airy.. Just put in the time to poke holes, as many as you possibly can.

lol! I got so excited about the possibility of a new way to make the pork to perfection the way you do, but as a recovered alcoholic, I can’t do this. Is there something else you can recommend instead of the alcohol?

Any liquor of sufficient alcohol content will work. But I'm sure vodka is used because it's flavor-neutral, and pretty robust under heat. But, if you want it to add flavor anyway, you can use whatever hard liquor you prefer. If you tend to like BBQ, I'm pretty sure almost any kind of whiskey would do well. Just remember to use only barely enough to coat the whole skin, and only the skin. No matter what you use, the alcohol content has to be high enough to achieve the desired result, and it needs to be something distilled, not fermented or brewed.. If the drink has too much sugar in it, it may burn.

Curious about the vodka i was taught to use rice wine on the flesh and the skin while living in Singapore.

Ok couple of things can you use an air fryer do you have to use vodka I have no alcohol at home

Hi Ben, I wish to brag about my phenomenal outcome of my pork belly tonight using your method a la Origamicrane. I do not have vodka but accessed Origamicrane's video and viewed with interest the myriad mediums he used and his hits and misses. I did a little pondering and decided I would attempt this recipe with cider vinegar but using the vinegar with the Mother. I cannot express enough at how amazing this turned out and yes, I took photos, if you are interested. I can stuff up pork beautifully and frequently but now I have in my hot little hands a recipe that will blow the smithereens out of any other cookbook's claims of the perfect way to cook this sublime piece of meat. I have a question, do you think that this recipe would also apply to a rolled pork shoulder? If I were to unroll and treat in the same fashion, would a similar outcome apply to this cut of meat?

Do you think the Vodka is better than the vinegar as often used in other recipes?

This is a phenomenal video, Ben. You really nailed it.

For the second one, you can cover the meat side in stock all the to the skin but not touching the skin and braise it in the oven

A simple white vinegar instead of a pricey vodka would do. If you'll going to deep fat fry it, splash a little vinegar as well right after you submerged the pork.

Where do u get ur pork belly ? Like do u need to go to specialty butcher place ?

How would this work without the foil? Guess I’ll have to find out