Juicy pork belly with a crispy crackling is an irresistible treat that every barbecue enthusiast should try cooking. While it requires some prep work and patience, the tender meat and crunchy skin you can achieve from pork belly is well worth the effort. With the right techniques and a Kamado Joe grill, you’ll be able to make restaurant-quality pork belly at home.
This step-by-step guide will teach you everything you need to know to cook delicious pork belly on your Kamado Joe. Let’s get started!
Ingredients
- 2-3 lb pork belly slab
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Optional: BBQ rub
Prep the Pork Belly
Proper preparation is key for great pork belly. Here are the steps:
- Remove the rib bones using a sharp knife. Keep the blade close to the bones to reduce meat loss.
- Thoroughly pat the skin dry with paper towels. Use a meat tenderizer to poke holes all over the skin. Avoid piercing the fat layer underneath.
- Lightly score the meat by making shallow horizontal slices 2-3 cm apart. Make a few vertical scores as well.
- Place the pork skin-side up on a rack and refrigerate uncovered for 24-48 hours. This dries out the skin for crispy crackling.
Set Up the Kamado Joe
You’ll need to configure your grill to cook the pork belly properly
- Place fuel in one side of the fire bowl and ignite it. Add the heat deflector on the empty side.
- Create a makeshift angled rack over the flame using grill grates and supports. This lets you position the pork belly at an angle later.
- Close the lid and preheat to around 250°C.
Cook the Pork Belly
Now it’s time to put that belly on the grill
- Place the pork meat-side down on the angled rack and close the lid fully. Cook for 10 minutes.
- Brush the skin with oil and sprinkle with salt. Flip skin-side down towards the fire. Partially close the lid.
- Rotate periodically to prevent burning. Cook until the skin is bubbly and golden brown.
- Reposition the belly over the deflector, skin-side up. Close the lid and cook until the internal temperature reaches 85°C.
Rest, Slice and Serve
Finish up your masterpiece:
- Let the pork rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing to allow juices to reabsorb.
- Carefully slice the belly and serve immediately with the crispy crackling intact.
- Enjoy the pork belly with your favorite sides and sauces!
Tips for Perfect Results
Follow these tips for the best pork belly every time:
- Dry the skin extremely well and score it for better crackling.
- Angle the pork towards the fire so fat can drip away from the meat.
- Partially close the lid to monitor crackling formation. Rotate as needed.
- Use a meat thermometer to check for 85°C internal temperature.
- Let pork rest before slicing so juices remain inside.
With the proper prep and Kamado Joe setup, you’ll be able to make restaurant-quality crispy pork belly at home. The keys are drying the skin thoroughly and then cooking over direct heat for irresistible crunchy crackling. Follow these steps for succulent meat and crispy skin perfection!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best wood for smoking pork belly?
Fruit woods like apple, cherry, and pecan pair wonderfully with pork belly. Hickory and maple also impart excellent flavor.
Should you brine pork belly before cooking?
Brining is optional since pork belly is well-marbled. If you do brine, only brine for 1-2 hours maximum to avoid overly salty meat. Rinse and pat very dry after brining.
What’s the best way to get crispy pork skin?
Thoroughly drying out the skin before cooking is crucial. Refrigerating uncovered for 24-48 hours works very well. Also score the skin. Then cook over direct heat.
How do you prevent flare-ups when cooking pork belly?
Flare-ups happen when pork fat drips on the hot coals. Angling the pork so fat can drip away and using indirect heat prevents this.
Can you reheat leftover pork belly?
Yes, leftover pork belly reheats very well! Gently reheat in a skillet to recrisp the skin. Or slice and reheat in the oven or microwave until warm.
Cooking pork belly on a Kamado Joe may take time, but the results are well worth it. With the right preparation and grill setup, you’ll get tender meat and irresistibly crispy skin. Follow these tips and enjoy this BBQ delicacy right in your backyard!
Delicious Pork Belly Kamado Joe Style
So who doesn’t love a good old roast pork belly. That succulent juicy goodness that a slow roast pork belly delivers….
Yesterday was my first crack at a pork belly on the Kamado Joe, gotta say I was a little hesitant as what is pork belly without a good crackle. Did the obligatory 99 thousand YouTube videos and read soo many posts on the subject. Decided to just give it a go on gut instinct. To my surprise, it worked pretty well.
- Morning of the cook (about 6 hrs before)
- Bathed the skin in Boiling water
- Dried with paper towels
- Lots of ground Himalayan pink sea salt and a little spicy garlic mix I found in the cabinet.
- Placed in the fridge uncovered.
- The skin was dried again right before cooking. I used a hair dryer for about 15 minutes to get it as dry as possible.
There’s nothing fancy about this; I just cleaned up the ash from the last cook, put the bigger coals on the bottom, and added a few more big pieces. A handful of hickory smoking chips added throughout the charcoal.
I set up the Divide and Conquer system with half of the deflector and half of the grill rack on the lower X-rack and the other grill rack on top of the deflector for the first part of the cook.
Was aiming for about 150C for the majority of the cook time.
Again subscribing to the KISS principle for the potatoes and pumpkin. For the spuds, it was a simple wash as I was leaving the skin on and whole. The pumpkin was just cut into largish chunks.
For the corn, wanted to experiment here a little. I chose to add garlic and butter and to wrap it in baking paper and foil while it cooks. I thought the garlic would give it a nice, mild flavor and the butter would keep it moist and add that fun corn and buttery flavor.
Put them all in a roasting pan with a little oil and lots of fresh cracked pepper and pink Himalayan sea salt.
Total Duration: 4hrs
Kamado up to temp – ~150 C and held there for around 30 minutes prior to cook.
Initial 30 minutes, Pork belly only on lower rack skin down @ ~150C After the initial 30 minutes, I moved the pork belly to the rack above the deflector Re-set the lower rack to the upper rack position and added the pan veggies.
I had read in a few posts that because the Joe is so good at cooking by keeping the moisture in, it might be good to have a bit more air moving through it without making it too hot. In order to get that crackle sound, this is done to push “dry” air over the skin. In the back of my mind, I played around with the vents to see what I could do. The best setting for the cook was with the top vent wide open and the bottom vent about 20 mm open. This made the food the most stable and the right temperature. After about three hours and fifteen minutes, I checked on the vegetables and they were done. I took them out and put them in the oven to keep them warm (the oven was already heated to about 100 C and was turned off). After taking the vegetables out, I put the rack back down and opened the bottom vent. I wanted to raise the temperature to about 200 to 225 C. While the oven heated up, I put the pork belly skin down on the lower rack and let it cook there for 5 to 10 minutes. Then I moved it to the upper rack and let it cook at the higher temperature for another 20 minutes.
After four hours, I pulled off the pork belly. I wasn’t satisfied with the crackle; there was some, and it looked good, but not as good as I had hoped. I took out the hair dryer and hit the skin hard for a few minutes. It got a little better, but it wasn’t what I was hoping for.
- Pork: 10/10
- Crackle: 6/10
- Veggies: 10/10