Don't Pierce holes in the skin! It crisps up more evenly.. when you pierce the skin it allows fat to come up through it which actually stop it from going as crispy.. ☺️ since I stopped scoring/piercing the skin I have consistently made really crispy pork belly with no chewy sections. The whole skin comes out like chicharonne skin rather than little blisters of crispy.
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!
@@jeepld I don't know how they found out, but it makes perfect sense! Alcohol pulls water out of things, similar to what salt does. Alcohol is used to dry dishes faster, for instance. But it is sometimes hard to connect the dots, right?
@@jeepld They tried all known methods of denaturing the pork skin (denaturing protein, notably the collagen found in the skin). These are pH (vinegar), natural chemicals/enzymes (kiwi, pineapple), heat (blowtorching the skin prior) or chemicals (baking soda, lye water, alcohol, salt) and mechanical (puncturing holes). The rationale for denaturing the skin is to break down the collagen. This prevents chewiness. Theoretically, it also allows more fat to be rendered between the spaces.
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.
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
@@ninja.saywhat we do it usually on weekends. Its not as bad as it sounds because the temperature is so low you just put it in then forget it. Come back in the evening
Your desire to find a way that was less messy (not frying in oil etc) is exactly the way I think too. I’m not always looking solely on the outcome, but the mess too. I hate the clean up! This method looks brilliant!
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.
Disculpa me interesa tu metodo cuando dices al vapor se tapa la pieza, y luego solo se pone sal y al horno!!!! Hay necesidad de guardar en el refrigerador o no es necesario, agradecería mucho tu respuesta 😃
I really liked how you showed the comparison between the normal way and your new way. It shows how much of a difference it makes. The whole video is very high quality too. Good job! I subscribed.
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!
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!
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.
You can also use diluted apple cider vinegar (puréed pineapple also works), I use it to melt away skins on chicken hearts (some kind of chewy very thin protective layer), to turn hard steak into fillet, it’s very potent tenderiser. Use it as a brine for half an hour, or to your desired consistency. If brined for too long, it will turn into spongy mush. I also know Chinese restaurants apparently use bicarbonate soda to ‘velvet’ their meat, but that’s gross, I think.
Organic chemist here... The vodka has a lot of alcohol, which is both a polar solvent, and can also bind with fats via its hydroxyl group (something water or acid cannot typically do). It could very well be that the alcohol helps to denature the fat in this way, and why it would chemically work better than vinegar in doing so. This likely also means that you don't need to use vodka; any ethanol will do.
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.
@@loungelizard3922 I have a bad memory... But something like 140c. It's not what BBQ people would call low and slow, but for an oven it kinda is. You might find that you prefer more "bite" to the meat rather than being super soft like mine tend to be. So a bit hotter and a bit shorter is better if you don't want it too soft.
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
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
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 ????
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.
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.
It's not a 7 minute video, but ideally you would have several, identical cuts of meat. Some would have the aluminum skirting, some have proper scoring vs. pricking, vodka vs. vinegar. This is nothing more than showing that if you cook a sirloin and a ribeye the same way, you get different results. Well, OK, maybe not that extreme, but if you are going to showcase a certain technique, you have to be consistent in your approach.
yep - agree the poor old, sad-arsed second belly never stood a chance when he cuts it, the reveal is that the two bellies are not even close not saying the method isn't good - but in terms of a scientific experiment, it's a massive fail (as SoWhoDecidedThat rightly pointed out)
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.
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.
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
Just made this today, 11/11/24. Mistakenly scored the fat but not deeply. With the toothpick holes, scores, vodka and salt the result is perfect. Prior to poking, scoring and salting it, the pork sat uncovered in the fridge for about 24 hrs. Only at cooking time did I follow the steps here, but I didn't let the pork rest again--it went into the oven. I would caution using any more salt that what is called for. For whatever reason the salt really penetrates--and again, my pork didn't sit with salt pre cooking--requiring no extra salt at first bite. I think I'll add BBQ sauce to the cut up cubes of the belly and let it them now cook for 2 hours at a low temp. Definitely don't skip the vodka: he's right that it leads to the right kind of crackle!
Hi Ben, I have just made a crispy pork belly for the second time and with a 11/2 kg piece with the added steel skewers and I must say it was sensational , just added extra cooking time and a little more Vodka because of the size of pork. Can’t thank you enough! Geoff in Oz
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.
Yes I got a bit angry about his "new method" being essentially the way it's cooked in China/Vietnam. Most importantly for me is boiling the belly for 3 to 5 minutes.
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.
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
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.
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.
I just watch a couple do basically the same thing except they sous vide the pork belly first then they poked the holes and dry brined it before placing it in the oven to heat up and crackle. I wonder which is more tender. I will have to try both.
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.
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 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
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!
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.
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. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
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.
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
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?
Im glad to hear it worked well for you. As for a rolled shoulder it should also work well, I haven't tried it as most of the shoulders I cook don't still have the skin on. As long as there's some fat between the skin and meat (which there will be) then all should be good 👍
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.
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
I tried jabbing with toothpicks, but went through 42 of them as they bounced off the pork skin then splintered. I then went through a couple of glasses (small) of Pino Gris to recover.
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?
So very similar to how I cook my pork belly. Just a few comments: totally agree with leveling up the belly, and with using teh vodka, but honestly when done well all that poking is a waster of time. I agree with making the nice foil bath lining up to the fat. But I use a double layer to make it stronger and then use it to create a marinade bath. My last belly, I used a marinade of organic apple cider vinegar, crushed pink peppercorns, a little salt, sliced garlic salt and mirin. I then do a long slow bake for about 2hrs at 140c. I bake in a pan with slightly higher sides, and help prop the walls up with a couple of whole unpeeled green apples, a few whole peeled onions, and a bunch of whole garlic cloves. While it's baking i quarter and pan fry brown some root vegitables, potatoes, pumpkin, carrots, swedes, what ever is at hand Once the initial bake is done, I pull out the pork while heat the oven up to 220-240 depending on your oven. I pull the pork out of the foil bath, drain out the yummy marinade juices keeping just a little at the bottom. Put the pork back in the foil and tighten it up then put it back in the oven along with the root vegitables for 15-20minutes to make the crackling. While the pork is crackling up, I squish all the now mushy apple and mushy garlic and onion out of their skins into the salvaged marinade, and add that along with some white wine to a blender, then back to a pot to boil off the alcohol, while I prepare my greens etc I rest the pork, then serve
for a porchetta or roast- after the water part, could you roll the belly with the herb mixture and then proceed with the recipe? I am looking for a foolproof, consistent pork roast recipe with crispy crackling outside. recommendations?
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 😊
I have a small countertop appliance with many different settings. Do you recommend I use bake, convection bake, air fry, or roast? I would still use the same temperatures.
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.
Hard chewy because : - You don't boil the skin long enough. Boil until the skin is easy to be poked with a fork. If difficult to poke, you'd need to boil more. Usually 20 minutes. - You don't broil long enough. Usually bake at 300F for 40 minutes, then broil at 500F for 30 minutes. All on medium rack. Put some aluminium foil under the meat to level the height of the skin.
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.
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.
Yes any alcohol will work, spirits (vodka, gin, rum, etc) will work the best. I haven't tried wine but they should work, also vinegars work as well but they leave a slight after taste.
Skip the vodka. I used AUSSIEQ BBQ method 1. Air dry the fridge uncovered (doesnt effect anything in the fridge) in thr fridge for 72 hours 2. Jaccard the skin 3. Place on angle rack or alfoil underneath to make it angled 4. 160C until meat is probe tender (should have little resistance) approx 95C 5. Then crank heat to 250C to set the crackle. Use foil to cover hot spots 6. Rest for 20-30 mins
I just got back from Malaysia and Taiwan where I discovered crispy pork. First thing I did when I got back to US is buy a 10lb pork belly at the butcher. I'm gonna whack it into 3 parts and start mastering this.
for beginners: The crust must remain dry; do not pour its own juice over it, and put the belly meat back in the oven without juice for an additional 15 minutes, with some extra salt. The crust will rise and crack. However, if you keep pouring the roast with juice and the crust stays moist, it will never get crispy. PS.: You also better slice it before going into the oven.
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 tried enclosing the meat in a foil container with only the skin on top uncovered exactly like you did. There’s a lot of liquid that collected in the foil container, meat juices and melted fat. So is that what we want, let the bottom meaty part soak while cooking in the oven?
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Porchetta Tricks No One Thinks About - ruclips.net/video/o1QYQq7g1Nw/видео.htmlsi=ZOROCxIyV_9ElOGD
Don't Pierce holes in the skin! It crisps up more evenly.. when you pierce the skin it allows fat to come up through it which actually stop it from going as crispy.. ☺️ since I stopped scoring/piercing the skin I have consistently made really crispy pork belly with no chewy sections. The whole skin comes out like chicharonne skin rather than little blisters of crispy.
I guess the chinese and japanese are no one because the have been doing this for thousands years
You lost me with the heirloom tomatoes in the fridge
The chinese have been doing this forever 😂
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!
Congrats :) How did you discover the vodka trick on the pork skin ?
Cool synchonicities like these remind me how good the internet can be.
@@jeepld I don't know how they found out, but it makes perfect sense! Alcohol pulls water out of things, similar to what salt does. Alcohol is used to dry dishes faster, for instance. But it is sometimes hard to connect the dots, right?
Thankyou for your services to humanity ❤🙏🏼
@@jeepld They tried all known methods of denaturing the pork skin (denaturing protein, notably the collagen found in the skin). These are pH (vinegar), natural chemicals/enzymes (kiwi, pineapple), heat (blowtorching the skin prior) or chemicals (baking soda, lye water, alcohol, salt) and mechanical (puncturing holes).
The rationale for denaturing the skin is to break down the collagen. This prevents chewiness. Theoretically, it also allows more fat to be rendered between the spaces.
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.
This method was discovered by the chinese. In fact the chinese way has a few more steps that will crack the skin to another level
I'm intrigued - has anyone just tried rubbing water on the skin? In bread baking, that's all you need to get crispy blistering
@@Alex-ck4in yeah, wheat is not what Pork belly is made of.
@@Alex-ck4in Well, I have to hide that Vodka inside my cabinet after using it. 😂🤣😂
Cheers
I used just a splash of Vodka as you suggested but I drank the rest of the bottle and forgot about the pork! Nice try!
Wkwkwk 😂
😂
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
It's called siu yuk in Asia. Pailin on RUclips has a great recipe that takes about 1 hour
Holy shit, that sounds really good. Gonna try it next time I make pork belly
low cook it for nearly half a day, not counting the brining and drying? that just takes too long. definitely reserved for holidays.
@@ninja.saywhat we do it usually on weekends. Its not as bad as it sounds because the temperature is so low you just put it in then forget it. Come back in the evening
im gonna try ur meathod as well as his. cheers
You can use corn on cob holders vs toothpicks
I can validate the recipe, just finished it and it came out near perfect! Good luck to the rest of you! Cheers!
Your desire to find a way that was less messy (not frying in oil etc) is exactly the way I think too. I’m not always looking solely on the outcome, but the mess too. I hate the clean up! This method looks brilliant!
People fry pork belly in oil ? Whaaaat
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.
Disculpa me interesa tu metodo cuando dices al vapor se tapa la pieza, y luego solo se pone sal y al horno!!!! Hay necesidad de guardar en el refrigerador o no es necesario, agradecería mucho tu respuesta 😃
@@raulgarcia5435no creo que es necesario eso nomas es para hacer “brine” o “dry brine”
Gracias
250f is a joke.
Spread venegar over the skin
I really liked how you showed the comparison between the normal way and your new way. It shows how much of a difference it makes.
The whole video is very high quality too. Good job! I subscribed.
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!
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!
Can you elaborate? I don't quite understand. I don't have vodka and am interested in other ways to do this.
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.
You can also use diluted apple cider vinegar (puréed pineapple also works), I use it to melt away skins on chicken hearts (some kind of chewy very thin protective layer), to turn hard steak into fillet, it’s very potent tenderiser. Use it as a brine for half an hour, or to your desired consistency. If brined for too long, it will turn into spongy mush. I also know Chinese restaurants apparently use bicarbonate soda to ‘velvet’ their meat, but that’s gross, I think.
@Ida-Adriana the velveting does work and just tastes normal (good).
Yeh I also brine chicken in buttermilk with salt. Works really well.
Organic chemist here...
The vodka has a lot of alcohol, which is both a polar solvent, and can also bind with fats via its hydroxyl group (something water or acid cannot typically do). It could very well be that the alcohol helps to denature the fat in this way, and why it would chemically work better than vinegar in doing so. This likely also means that you don't need to use vodka; any ethanol will do.
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.
Disculpa porque es contraproducente agujerear la piel de cerdo? Quisiera saber, gracias 👍
What temp is low and slow?
@@loungelizard3922 I have a bad memory... But something like 140c. It's not what BBQ people would call low and slow, but for an oven it kinda is.
You might find that you prefer more "bite" to the meat rather than being super soft like mine tend to be. So a bit hotter and a bit shorter is better if you don't want it too soft.
@@harambeexpress I've using 160C, I'll have a play around and see what's good. Thanks for the tip.
Lovely! I gave it a try, and it came out exactly like in the vid. Delicious. Thanks!
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
Använde du rimmat sidfläsk? Varmluftsugn eller över/undervärme? Min blev inte alls bra, ingen crackling alls :/
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
Thanks! Plenty more to come
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
Glad it was helpful!
I just LOVE finding gems of channels like this! brilliant video
Thanks!
Mine turned out amazing with this method. Thank you‼️
You’re welcome
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 ????
Amazing! To reheat I would try protect the meat with foil I'm the same way and re roasting at a lower temp, maybe 140-160c 👍
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.
I have had the same frustrations with consistent pork belly.
I tried this today and it came out almost as good as yours. Fantasic!
Amazing!
@@BenGoshawk Add some fennel seeds for some extra flavour!
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.
It's not a 7 minute video, but ideally you would have several, identical cuts of meat. Some would have the aluminum skirting, some have proper scoring vs. pricking, vodka vs. vinegar. This is nothing more than showing that if you cook a sirloin and a ribeye the same way, you get different results. Well, OK, maybe not that extreme, but if you are going to showcase a certain technique, you have to be consistent in your approach.
yep - agree
the poor old, sad-arsed second belly never stood a chance
when he cuts it, the reveal is that the two bellies are not even close
not saying the method isn't good - but in terms of a scientific experiment, it's a massive fail (as SoWhoDecidedThat rightly pointed out)
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.
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.
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
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
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
Are the cooking times the same in the air fryer though? I feel it would be easy to overcook
Just made this today, 11/11/24. Mistakenly scored the fat but not deeply. With the toothpick holes, scores, vodka and salt the result is perfect. Prior to poking, scoring and salting it, the pork sat uncovered in the fridge for about 24 hrs. Only at cooking time did I follow the steps here, but I didn't let the pork rest again--it went into the oven. I would caution using any more salt that what is called for. For whatever reason the salt really penetrates--and again, my pork didn't sit with salt pre cooking--requiring no extra salt at first bite. I think I'll add BBQ sauce to the cut up cubes of the belly and let it them now cook for 2 hours at a low temp. Definitely don't skip the vodka: he's right that it leads to the right kind of crackle!
Hi Ben,
I have just made a crispy pork belly for the second time and with a 11/2 kg piece with the added steel skewers and I must say it was sensational , just added extra cooking time and a little more Vodka because of the size of pork. Can’t thank you enough! Geoff in Oz
This worked. I used crown royal instead. Turned out amazing!
I'm gonna try this now. One with Vodka and one with Crown ^^
@@MrBarbarian01 did you notice a difference? I have bourbon and don't want to necessarily by vodka just to do this.
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.
Yes I got a bit angry about his "new method" being essentially the way it's cooked in China/Vietnam. Most importantly for me is boiling the belly for 3 to 5 minutes.
@@Antoum77😂😂😂😂 Be mad bro. 😂😂
@@WinstonSmithGPT No one is mad. Grow up.
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.
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
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.
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.
It's not Chinese it's actually a Mongolian method.
I just watch a couple do basically the same thing except they sous vide the pork belly first then they poked the holes and dry brined it before placing it in the oven to heat up and crackle. I wonder which is more tender. I will have to try both.
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.
Yeah it should work in the same way, let me know if you try it!
Definitely will try. I love roast pork belly. Thanks
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 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Thank you so much for this video..I did exactly what you suggested and my pork belly turned out amazing!
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!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for covering your raw meat in the fridge. First online cook I've seen do this.
Thanks Ben! This is my son's favourite meal, so I'll be trying this for him. Much appreciated 🙏
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.
Sounds great!
Very clever, I like my roast pork! Thanks for sharing
A box cutter with the knife tip sticking out. Works great for cutting skin
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. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Nice one mate. Vodka can be subbed with Vinegar. Made With Lau does this method. Works 100%.❤
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.
Here in the Southern U.S. we just fry in lard. Lol. Always crispy and delicious. But just an occasional treat. Looks great.
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
Happy to help!
When i make Puerto Rican pernil i use a brand new razor blade to score the skin! Perfect cuts
This really looks like a labour of love...hah...thankU. I am definitely gonna give it a try. It's too good to miss. 😊
You brine it uncovered as it lower humidity and will dry it out better.
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 😅
Definitely might? HAHAHA!
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?
Im glad to hear it worked well for you. As for a rolled shoulder it should also work well, I haven't tried it as most of the shoulders I cook don't still have the skin on. As long as there's some fat between the skin and meat (which there will be) then all should be good 👍
😁@@BenGoshawk
I have cooked this many times.occasionally spot on but more fails.I’ll give this a go.let you know.Aussie in Australia 😎👍🏻
Thank you for this video it explains it well and clearly
Wonderful video. I’m cooking it as I type.
i think you can use vinegar instead of vodka as long as you don’t score the skin and level it.
In a lot of Hispanic countries we use vinegar too
@@nomanejane5766 yeah, he made it look like vinegar doesn’t work
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.
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
Curious about the vodka i was taught to use rice wine on the flesh and the skin while living in Singapore.
The vodka does the same thing as vinegars, the vodka leaves no aftertaste
I tried jabbing with toothpicks, but went through 42 of them as they bounced off the pork skin then splintered. I then went through a couple of glasses (small) of Pino Gris to recover.
😂.... A fork also works, might save you some trauma. Next time try boiling the skin a little longer, it'll soften it more
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?
White vinegar works well as a substitute, it leaves a slight aftertaste but it's pretty subtle
@@BenGoshawk thanks a lot, brother I will definitely give them a shot…..I meant try!😂
So very similar to how I cook my pork belly. Just a few comments: totally agree with leveling up the belly, and with using teh vodka, but honestly when done well all that poking is a waster of time.
I agree with making the nice foil bath lining up to the fat. But I use a double layer to make it stronger and then use it to create a marinade bath. My last belly, I used a marinade of organic apple cider vinegar, crushed pink peppercorns, a little salt, sliced garlic salt and mirin. I then do a long slow bake for about 2hrs at 140c. I bake in a pan with slightly higher sides, and help prop the walls up with a couple of whole unpeeled green apples, a few whole peeled onions, and a bunch of whole garlic cloves. While it's baking i quarter and pan fry brown some root vegitables, potatoes, pumpkin, carrots, swedes, what ever is at hand
Once the initial bake is done, I pull out the pork while heat the oven up to 220-240 depending on your oven.
I pull the pork out of the foil bath, drain out the yummy marinade juices keeping just a little at the bottom. Put the pork back in the foil and tighten it up then put it back in the oven along with the root vegitables for 15-20minutes to make the crackling. While the pork is crackling up, I squish all the now mushy apple and mushy garlic and onion out of their skins into the salvaged marinade, and add that along with some white wine to a blender, then back to a pot to boil off the alcohol, while I prepare my greens etc
I rest the pork, then serve
for a porchetta or roast- after the water part, could you roll the belly with the herb mixture and then proceed with the recipe? I am looking for a foolproof, consistent pork roast recipe with crispy crackling outside. recommendations?
Im developing a Porchetta recipe as we speak, coming in the next few weeks hopefully!
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 😊
leaving uncovered wont effect other things in your fridge. similair to how i do mine. great vid
Grab a bunch of toothpicks and run some tape around it. Brilliant video Ty 👍
Thanks for a great video. Since alcohol is 100% banned to the guests I did get on visit, did I try normal cooking oil, it delivered an equal result.
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
love the tips (Vodka and levelling). Is there a lazier method with the air fryer?
Would have been good to use 2 cuts of meat that were more even in size for a better and more accurate comparison.
Maybe next time
@@BenGoshawk Good technique and tips btw though. I think it would be interesting to see it sous vide and finished in the oven.
I have a small countertop appliance with many different settings. Do you recommend I use bake, convection bake, air fry, or roast? I would still use the same temperatures.
I'd probably start with the roast setting, and experiment with the others later
This channel will be 50k in 6 months with videos at this level, if I could invest in your channel I would!
You can
Very informative ! Thank you ! 🙂
What about using a microneedling roller for the skin? I had the thought to use one just for the kitchen of course
Give it a go, it should work in theory
Gotta try this, will it work in an air fryer ?
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.
Hard chewy because :
- You don't boil the skin long enough. Boil until the skin is easy to be poked with a fork. If difficult to poke, you'd need to boil more. Usually 20 minutes.
- You don't broil long enough. Usually bake at 300F for 40 minutes, then broil at 500F for 30 minutes. All on medium rack. Put some aluminium foil under the meat to level the height of the skin.
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.
Is it safe to dry brine the pork even after its been brought up to temp from the original boiling of the skin?
Yes because the ice bath brings it down to a safe temp in no time
@BenGoshawk I tried this last night. It was perfect! It works in the airfryer as well.
White vinegar works great, too.
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.
Ben, thanks for sharing. Would substituting vodka with other liquor, like rum or other white wine, left in the pantry be ok?
Yes any alcohol will work, spirits (vodka, gin, rum, etc) will work the best. I haven't tried wine but they should work, also vinegars work as well but they leave a slight after taste.
Skip the vodka. I used AUSSIEQ BBQ method 1. Air dry the fridge uncovered (doesnt effect anything in the fridge) in thr fridge for 72 hours 2. Jaccard the skin 3. Place on angle rack or alfoil underneath to make it angled 4. 160C until meat is probe tender (should have little resistance) approx 95C 5. Then crank heat to 250C to set the crackle. Use foil to cover hot spots 6. Rest for 20-30 mins
I just got back from Malaysia and Taiwan where I discovered crispy pork. First thing I did when I got back to US is buy a 10lb pork belly at the butcher. I'm gonna whack it into 3 parts and start mastering this.
Awesome video, thanks ❤️❤️👍👍👍
for beginners:
The crust must remain dry; do not pour its own juice over it, and put the belly meat back in the oven without juice for an additional 15 minutes, with some extra salt. The crust will rise and crack. However, if you keep pouring the roast with juice and the crust stays moist, it will never get crispy.
PS.: You also better slice it before going into the oven.
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.
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
Great video! I will try it out
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
Excellent 👌Subscribed! I'll definitely try this
I tried enclosing the meat in a foil container with only the skin on top uncovered exactly like you did. There’s a lot of liquid that collected in the foil container, meat juices and melted fat. So is that what we want, let the bottom meaty part soak while cooking in the oven?
Yes, its basically cooking confit style for the meat, this will help to keep it tender whilst the skin gets exposed to high heat
you are Golden, NEW SUB
Good tips sir, Thank you.