You haven’t had the best crackling until you try this Easy Air Fryer Pork Belly. The crackling will surprise you if you’ve only ever cooked pork belly in the oven.
Minimal effort for maximum results with the perfect pork crackling every time!
We’ve always loved our Crispy Crackling Pork Belly (Oven Roast with vegetables) and it will remain on rotate because it’s not only delicious its familiar and dependable.
This air fryer crispy pork belly however, is a game changer in terms of convenience, time and yes you guessed it, PORK CRACKLING!
Pork Belly In Air Fryer
This is the best pork belly in air fryer recipe that you will ever find! With the most juicy tender meat! The results are always the same – DELICIOUS!
Feedback: “I followed the recipe exactly as it’s written and I couldn’t believe how good it came out. That it was me that made it. The next day we bought another pork belly”
Here, we made 2 pork bellies, each approxiamately 1kg to 1.2 kg each in a double basket air fryer, it couldn’t be more convenient. It doesn’t matter whether you use a single or double basket, or whether you are making for 1, 2, 3 people or a crowd, this recipe works.
This is what I want to say about buying pork belly, make sure that you choose a good pork belly because trust me when I tell you, they are not all the same. Just remember, happy cow = tasty meat.
Pork Belly Air Fryer
Pork is a very forgiving type of meat whether you are making it in the oven or the air fryer. This pork belly is an easy to cook recipe with minimum hands on time, the appliance does the best part for you, which is getting the skin all crackling! However, there are a few things you need to do to help make that happen.
As this is not an oven bake pork belly, make sure that your Pork belly fits into your air fryer. Either the basket or racks depending on which air fryer you are using.
Buying Pork Belly
Wondering which pork belly to buy?
Choose a slab with a good ratio of meat to fat and not just fat. These pork bellies weigh roughly 1.2kg each. One of these may not be enough to feed a family of 4 to 6 people unless you are serving it with a side like rice or potato wedges that’s filling and a salad.
Pork Belly In Air Fryer Ingredients
Pork belly: The standard size for pork bellies (at least in South Africa) are around 1.2 to 2kg. You may have to do this in two batches if your air fryer is a single basket. Will talk more on drying pork belly meat down below because that’s very important.
Fennel: Fennel is a wonderful pairing for pork belly. In this recipe, we use both fennel seeds and fennel spice powder. However, you can make pork belly with a simple salt & pepper seasoning.
Salt: Salt on pork is like fennel on pork, the perfect marriage because they are both key ingredients. Salt for flavor, balance and crunchy crackling.
Olive Oil: Crispiness and flavor. You can use a light olive oil or another oil with a high smoke point but this recipe starts the pork belly on a very low temperature so I am using this extra virgin olive oil. There was no smoking at all in my air fryer.
Vinegar: Yes I know, strange but true, white vinegar helps to dry the pork belly especially if you have the time to dry the pork belly overnight. White Vinegar: Vinegar definitely helps to dry out the skin and make it extra crunchy. (Chef’s tip!)
The seasoning used in this recipe besides fennel is Involtini: It’s a meaty, smoky blend of herbs and spices from Smell and Taste.
How To Make Pork Belly In Air Fryer
If you haven’t made pork belly in the air fryer before, I’m here to say you’re going to love it!
Start Here: Dry the pork belly. If the belly has any packaging over it, remove it, use kitchen tissue or towel to dry it. Place the belly on a rack skin side up and leave it in the fridge overnight. This helps the pork belly skin dry out.
If you have a 2nd fridge this works well but since majority of household’s have 1 fridge, it’s best to do the following:
a) cover all open foods to help control “cross contamination” and avoid foods spoiling.
b) place the belly in a large container with a lid. The lid should not touch the skin of the pork belly.
The image below was only to show you both sides of the pork belly but when you leave it in the fridge overnight, it must be skin side up!
Pork Belly Prep: Place the pork belly skin side down on a board so that you can score the fat (rind) if you want to. You don’t have to score the skin to get crackling, it’s a preference and sometimes I score, other times not. How to score pork belly is below this post.
If you want the spices to properly penetrate into the belly and meld into your roast as it cooks with the drippings from the skin dripping into the meat below, then score your pork belly.
Spice & Seasoning: Gently spread the spices all over the flesh. If there are cuts in the flesh, it’s best not to rub the spices over as that can cause the meat to tear. Gentle dabs and spread it over.
Olive Oil: Add roughly a tablespoon of olive oil to help blend the spices into porkbelly flesh.
Cook / Air Fry: We start on a very low air fryer temperature for 30 minutes before cranking it up to 200°C/400°F. Air frying on a very low heat gives the meat time to cook through evenly without putting it under stress at a high temperature.
Why Use Foil For Pork Belly
Prep The Foil: Cut a large sheet of foil to create an oven tray for the pork belly. The foil will act as an oven tray that will hold the pork belly and all the drippings as it cooks.
TIP! My suggestion would be to use heavy duty foil or double the foil. The pork belly will leave quite a bit of “pan juices” behind and you want to keep it all! For a delicious gravy later or you can simply pour the juices over the sliced belly before serving.
Double the foil, create a square or rectangular box to fit your pork belly and simply fold the sides. Sometimes folding the sides can be tricky, but don’t over-think it, you just want to prevent the juices from spilling over.
How To Score Pork Belly
If your butcher has not scored the belly for you, then find yourself a sharp small knife. The rind of pork is very tough and if the knife is not sharp, it won’t work. Another reason to keep the pork in the fridge overnight, the colder the skin is, the easier it is to score.
You need to make parallel lines or even easier, simple squares. The trick is to cut through the rind down into the layer of fat but not into the meat.
The reason I always get my butcher to do it for me is because there is absolutely no gurantee that I wont cut right through the meat at least I’m one area.
A Quick Guide To Cooking Pork Belly In The Air Fryer
- Dry the meat overnight completely free of any packaging.
- Season well on the flesh so skin side down and season the meat.
- Vinegar for the 1st air fry time.
- Air fry x 2 olive oil and salt for the 2nd air fryer time.
Rest The Pork Belly
Rest the pork belly before cutting into it. I know you might think this is not important so let me explain what happens. Resting is a very important step of the belly cooking process just as getting crackling skin and tender meat.
Resting the meat allows the juice to re-distribute throughout the meat. If you don’t rest the meat, when you cut it, the juices will run everywhere onto the plate. If you see pork belly juices on the plate afer resting it, don’t worry because pork belly has a lot of juices so there bound to be some on the plate.
More Air Fryer Recipes
Cooks Tip! Whether you are drying it out for 30 minutes or an hour, remove any packaging that it may have. Pork belly needs to be uncovered to air dry.
Frequently Asked Questions Air Fryer Pork Belly Recipe
How to get crispy pork belly fat?
Remove the pork belly from the fridge at least 30 minutes before cooking. If you want to be guaranteed of a popping crispy skin, leave it unwrapped in the fridge on a rack overnight. That’s my suggestion but you can cook it 30 minutes after removing it from the fridge.
How long is it safe to keep raw pork belly?
As long as your pork belly is wrapped (This is when you should leave the packing on) or in a sealed container in the fridge, its good for 3 to 5 days. The temperature in the fridge should be roughly below 4°C (40°F) to keep your food safe and that’s another reason why you should not overload the fridge. Another post for another day!
Freezing raw pork belly?
Up to 6 months properly wrapped.
Why is it better to dry pork belly in the fridge overnight?
To reduce the moisture that you cannot get out by drying it with tissue paper. When the skin is exposed to ‘air-dry’ you are guaranteed a crackling skin. The higher shelves in the fridge are colder than the lower ones, so if you can, put it higher up.
What spices go with pork?
Sea salt and fennel. A combination of smoky, nutty, warm and earthy like this Involtini spice used here is also very suitable. Use your favorite spice rub combination.
Can I put foil in an air fryer?
Yes you can safely use foil in the air fryer and the same for baking paper (parchment paper)
What’s The Internal Temperature For Pork Belly?
If you have an instant read kitchen thermometer use it. Meat like pork, beef and lamb are safe to eat at 62/63°C / 145°F whereas fish is safe to eat at 74°C / 165°F.
Does the air fryer dry the meat out?
The air fryer is very convenient but it does not create oil so you need to use anything from a teaspoon to a tablespoon of oil to prevent your food drying out. Whether you are making a simple recipe like Air Fryer Salmon you still need to add some oil even in the form of cooking spray is still better than nothing at all.
Serving Suggestions
Salad: Pork belly has a high fat content so you may prefer to serve it with a light salad like this Tomato Cumber Salad or a Cucumber and Onion Salad. In saying that however, pork belly is great with Pesto Pasta Salad too!
Potatoes: The most popular way to serve pork belly os with potatoes! Try these Hasselback Potatoes or a side of Crispy Spicy Baked Potato Wedges
Vegetables: Roasted cauliflower, broccoli, mixed veggies, roasted fennel carrots and more!
Storing Left Over Pork Belly
Store any leftover pork belly in an air-tight container in the refrigerator and use within 3 days for it to be still safe to eat.
Reheating Air Fryer Pork Belly
You can reheat pork belly in air fryer for roughly 3 to 4 minutes depending on quantity.
More Pork Recipes
- Pork Roast With Crackling & Gravy
- Oven Baked Pork Ribs With A Homemade Balsamic Sauce
- Pork Belly, Crispy Crackling
Recipe
Easy Air Fryer Pork Belly
Equipment
- Air fryer
- Drying Rack (also an oven rack)
- board
- Small sharp knife
- 2 large forks to lift the pork belly
Ingredients
- 2 kg pork belly this recipes uses two 1kg each pork belly. Check the size so it fits in the air fryer basket
- 1 tbsp. salt
- 1 tbsp. fennel spice
- 1 tsp fennel seeds optional, see notes below
- 1 tbsp. white vinegar
- olive oil
Instructions
- Pork Belly Prep: Remove the pork belly from the fridge at least 30 minutes before cooking. Dry the skin really well with kitchen paper towel.
- Spices: Add the fennel spice and salt into a small bowl.
- Prep the flesh side of the belly: Add the fennel spice, salt and oil onto the flesh (meat side) and pat everything into the meat. Or this….. Both work just fine. Optional: Place the belly skin side down on a board. Score the flesh by making small random cuts into the meat. The cuts should be deep enough for the spices to go in but not too deep, so don't cut through to the skin layer.
- Make a foil tray/box: Use a large enough sheet of foil to make a foil box for the pork belly. It's more like an oven tray so make sure that you double the base on which the belly will sit and fold up the sides. The foil will collect the fat and juices from the belly when cooking in the air fryer.
- Place the pork belly flesh side down, skin side up. Fold the four sides of the foil up so that the fat doesn't spill over.
- Dry the skin: Dry the top side (skin) of the belly one more time with paper towel. Brush the skin with vinegar this will help with start the crackling process.
- 1st Air Fry: Place in the air fryer on 100°C /212°F for 30 minutes for the skin to crisp up. Check it at 20 minutes and then add 5 minutes and 5 minutes more depending on how brown and crisp you want it.
- 2nd Air Fry: Remove the belly from the air fryer, add the olive oil and salt onto the skin. Don't turn it! Back in the air fryer for 45 minutes on 200°C / 392° F. Again, peep in on 30 minutes it will probably need another 5 to 10 minutes for the perfect crackling.
- Rest the pork belly: Let the belly rest for 10 minutes before cutting into it.
- Carve and Serve: Slice into approxiamately 2cm or (1/4 to 1-inch) slices cutting against the grain which means cutting along the width not the length, to ensure a tender flavorful meat.
mary-lyn Kelly
Hi there, was wondering whether you cut the skin before cooking? Thanks
Miranda's Anosmic Kitchen
Hi there, if the skin is not already scored when you buy it then yes, carefully do it yourself with a sharp knife. The drier (I’ve shared how to dry) the skin and the sharper the knife the easier it is to do. Let me know how it goes and if you have any other questions, Im here to help! (Remember that scoring the fat helps the fat render but you can still get crispy skin without scoring the fat).