Use your air fryer to make perfectly cooked pork belly, with ultra crispy crackling and tender, juicy meat. Simple seasonings, a little oil and your air fryer are all you need for this easy recipe.
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Why you’ll love this recipe
- Tender and crispy – super crispy skin and melt-in-your-mouth tender meat.
- So easy to make – the air fryer does most of the work in this mostly hands-off recipe.
- Versatile – My air fryer pork belly works well with anything! Try it thickly sliced in Vietnamese-style pork rolls, or serve it with homemade fried rice, roasted duck fat potatoes or vermicelli noodle salad.
- Easy to adapt – I’ve seasoned this pork belly with Chinese 5 spice, but you can easily adapt it with your own herbs and seasonings.
- Reduced cooking time – air fryers generally cook pork belly quicker than ovens, due to the smaller cooking space and high-speed convection. If you need an oven-roasted pork belly recipe as well, try this twice cooked pork belly.
Love your air fryer? Here are some tasty air fryer recipes that you can save for the future! Try this easy air fryer roast chicken, air fryer chicken thighs and crispy air fryer chips.
Air fryer pork belly ingredients
** This post contains tips and instructions to achieve the best possible results. The photo above is a great guide for when you are in the supermarket, but for full ingredient quantities and methods, please scroll down to the detailed recipe card below!
Skin-on pork belly – when shopping for quality pork belly, keep these tips in mind to ensure you’re choosing the best cut for cooking:
- Fat to meat ratio: look for a slab of pork belly that has a balance of pink meat and marbled fat. A good pork belly will have a thick layer of fat underneath the skin, to achieve that ultra-crispy crackling. An even balance of fat will also help to keep the meat juicy and tender.
- Uniform thickness – choose a cut with even thickness, to ensure it cooks evenly all the way through.
- Colour – the meat should be a fresh, pink colour with no discolouration.
Chinese 5 spice – a five-spice blend of ground star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns and fennel seeds. This spice combination works perfectly with the sweet pork belly meat and compliments the flavours of recipes like these pork rolls. But Chinese 5 spice can be swapped for a roast meat seasoning blend, rosemary, thyme or garlic, or any spice rub of choice.
Sea salt – salt is essential for crispy pork crackling. This recipe requires a thick layer of coarse sea salt to be placed over the skin of the pork belly. Coarse salt helps to draw out moisture from the skin and form a hardened crust, which is then removed. Use coarse sea salt, not regular table salt.
Oil – olive oil helps the seasoning stick to the pork and keep it tender. You can also use a neutral tasting oil like canola oil or vegetable oil if you prefer.
Step by step instructions
Full ingredient notes and quantities can be found in the detailed recipe card below. But here is a brief overview of what you can expect;
- Step 1: With a small, sharp knife, deeply score the pork belly skin at 1cm intervals, being careful to not cut into the meat layer.
- Step 2: Place the pork belly on a plate and pat the skin dry with paper towels. Leave the pork belly uncovered in the fridge overnight (minimum 4-6 hours) to dry out the skin.
- Step 3: On the meat side, rub the salt, pepper, Chinese 5 spice and 1 teaspoon of olive oil over the meat of the pork belly (bottom and sides), being careful not to touch the skin.
- Step 4: Place the pork belly on a piece of foil and use the foil to create a tray/boat by folding the foil up the sides of the meat.
- Step 5: Cover the skin completely with the coarse salt.
- Step 6: Air fry until the salt forms a dry, white crust (full method and cooking times below).
- Step 7: Carefully remove the salt from the pork belly skin, brushing off any excess. Pat the skin dry with a paper towel.
- Step 8: Brush the skin with the remaining olive oil.
- Step 9: Turn the heat up and air fry for a further 40 minutes, or until the skin is puffed, golden and crisp.
- Step 10: Rest the pork belly for 10 minutes, before slicing and serving.
Helpful tips
- Adjust to suit your air fryer. If your air fryer is on the smaller side, the pork belly can be cut into two pieces, with each piece being wrapped in a single foil tray.
- Dry the pork in the fridge overnight for extra-crispy skin. Place the pork on a plate, uncovered, in the fridge for 1-2 days to dry the skin out. Drying the skin helps the salt stick to the surface and gives you crispier results.
- Use a sharp knife to score the top layer of the skin. This helps the fat to render out while the skin is crisping. Be careful not to cut too far through the skin.
- The safe internal temperature of pork is 63°C/145 F. To check this, insert a meat thermometer into the thickest park of the meat.
- Let the pork belly rest before slicing. Resting allows the meat to relax and reabsorb some of the moisture.
- Use dried herbs. If you don’t have any Chinese 5 spice, you can use a mixture of different herbs and spices like rosemary, oregano, thyme or your favourite roast meat seasoning.
Air fryer pork belly FAQs
Cool any leftover pork belly and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
Yes. Scoring the skin helps to render the fat out, which creates crispier crackling. Use a sharp knife to gently score the skin. Be careful not to cut into the meat layer.
Pork belly can be frozen for up to 3 months. First, allow the pork belly to cool completely. Wrap in plastic wrap and place into an airtight container in the freezer. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
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Air Fryer Pork Belly
Ingredients
- 1.2 kilogram pork belly (skin on)
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Chinese five spice
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
Plus
- ⅓ cup coarse sea salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
Prepare the skin
- With a small, sharp knife, score the pork belly skin at 1cm intervals, being careful to not cut into the meat layer.
- Dry the skin overnight; Place the pork belly on a plate and pat the skin dry with paper towel. Leave the pork belly uncovered in the fridge overnight (or at least 4-6 hours), to dry out the skin.
To cook;
- Meat side; rub the salt (one teaspoon), pepper, Chinese 5 spice and 1 teaspoon of olive oil over the meat of the pork belly (bottom and sides), being careful not to touch the skin.
- Leave the pork belly slab whole, where possible. If it won't fit into your air fryer comfortably as a whole piece, cut the pork belly in half.
Make a foil "tray"
- Place the pork belly on a large piece of foil and use the foil to create a tray/boat by folding the foil up the sides of the meat. Make the sides of the tray extend 1 cm higher than the meat, to hold the salt and stop it from spilling over the sides. The skin should be left exposed and not covered by any foil. ** If you have cut the pork belly into two smaller pieces to fit your air fryer tray, wrap the pieces separately.
- Cover the skin completely with the coarse salt.
- Air fry at 120°C (248℉) for 30 minutes, or until the salt forms a dry, white crust.
- Carefully remove the salt from the pork belly skin, brushing off any excess. Pat the skin dry with a paper towel and brush with the olive oil.
- Turn the heat up to 200°C (392℉) and air fry for a further 40 minutes, or until the skin is puffed, golden and crisp.
- Place the pork belly on a cutting board and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve hot, with your choice of sides.
Notes
- Adjust to suit your air fryer. If your air fryer is on the smaller side, the pork belly can be cut into two pieces, with each piece being wrapped in a single foil tray.
- Dry the pork in the fridge overnight for extra-crispy skin. Place the pork on a plate, uncovered, in the fridge for 1-2 days to dry the skin out. Drying the skin helps the salt stick to the surface and gives you crispier results.
- Use a sharp knife to score the top layer of the skin. This helps the fat to render out while the skin is crisping. Be careful not to cut too far through the skin.
- The safe internal temperature of pork is 63°C/145 F. To check this, insert a meat thermometer into the thickest park of the meat.
- Let the pork belly rest before slicing. Resting allows the meat to relax and reabsorb some of the moisture.
- Use dried herbs. If you don’t have any Chinese 5 spice, you can use a mixture of different herbs and spices like rosemary, oregano, thyme or your favourite roast meat seasoning.
- Storage; Cool any leftover pork belly and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
- Freezing; Allow the pork belly to cool completely. Wrap in plastic wrap and place into an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
- Please note that the nutrition information is based on the pork belly being divided into six serves. The nutritional information is an estimate only and does not take into account any additional toppings or sides served with the pork belly.
- This recipe is made using Australian cups and spoon measurements. Due to cup sizes varying from country to country, I advise adjusting if necessary.
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