Filipino-Style Roast Pork Belly with Chile Vinegar
A succulent roasted pork belly dish featuring crispy skin and served with a punchy chile-infused vinegar sauce. The meat is slowly roasted until tender and finished with a sweet hard cider reduction, creating a perfect balance of flavors.
Ingredients
- •1 piece (4-5-pound) skin-on, boneless pork belly
- •2 tablespoons Kosher salt
- •1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- •1 bottle (12-ounce) bottle unseasoned rice vinegar
- •12 cloves garlic cloves, chopped
- •9 pieces green Thai chiles, lightly crushed but left whole
- •2 pieces serrano chiles, torn into small pieces
- •4 bottles (12-oz.) bottles hard apple cider
- •2 tablespoons honey
Cooking Instructions
- 1.
Season pork generously with salt. Set, skin side up, on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet. Chill at least 12 hours and up to 2 days.
720 min
- 2.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour 4 cups water into baking sheet with pork. Rub pork skin with oil; season with more salt. Roast, adding more water to pan as needed, until skin is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of pork registers 195°F-200°F, 1 1/2-1 3/4 hours.
105 min
- 3.
Meanwhile, pour out 1/2 cup vinegar from bottle (save for another use). Remove pouring spout from bottle and add garlic, chiles, and a large pinch of salt. Cover and shake to distribute; let sit until ready to serve. (Or, combine in a glass jar or bowl).
5 min
- 4.
Bring hard cider and honey to a boil in a large saucepan; cook until thickened and very syrupy, 30-45 minutes.
45 min
- 5.
Increase oven temperature to 450°F. Continue to roast pork until skin is browned and puffed, 15-20 minutes (add a few more splashes of water to baking sheet if juices are scorching). Transfer rack with pork to a cutting board; let rest 20 minutes.
40 min
- 6.
Pour off fat from baking sheet and add 1/2 cup water, scraping up browned bits. Return baking sheet to oven for a few minutes if needed to help loosen browned bits. Stir into reduced cider mixture.
5 min
- 7.
Remove skin from pork, using the tip of a knife to get it started (it should come off in 1 large piece with a little help). Slice pork lengthwise into 2"-wide strips, then crosswise into 1/2"-thick pieces. Transfer to a platter and drizzle with reduced cider mixture. Break skin into large pieces and arrange on top; place a few chiles from vinegar around. Serve with chile vinegar.
15 min
- 8.
Chile vinegar can be made 1 week ahead. Store at room temperature.
