Sous Vide Pork Belly Recipe
An easy 10 hr sous vide recipe for tender pork belly with crispy skin. Drizzle in a sweet savory sauce and eat with steamed Asian buns and pickled vegetables.
Equipment
- Sous vide machine (Immersion circulator):
- A large container for a water bath.
- A vacuum sealer, Ziploc bag, or silicone resealable bag.
- A cast iron skillet or blowtorch
Ingredients
- 2 lbs slab of pork belly (without skin)
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup mirin
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 3 green onions (chopped)
- 4 garlic cloves (chopped)
- 1 teaspoon ginger (minced)
- 1 teaspoon avocado oil (or another similar oil with a high smoke point)
- 3 tablespoons mayonaise, optional
- 8 Asian bao buns (optional, steamed)
- 4 leaves lettuce (optional, torn)
- pickled daikon and carrots (optional)
- pickled cucumbers (optional)
Instructions
Prepare the sous vide bath
- Heat water to 165°F (74°C) with a sous vide machine.
- Combine the soy sauce, mirin, brown sugar, green onions, garlic and ginger into the bowl of a food processor and blend well into a marinade.
- Put the pork belly and marinade into your sous vide bag of choice and seal. Double bag if using Ziploc bags.
- Place the bag into the water bath and use a clip to keep the bag from moving around. I like using these binder clips for this purpose. You may also need to use some weights or magnets to keep the bag down. I've found these weights and magnets to be useful. Again, having a water bath with a lid is recommended.
- Cook for 10 hours.
Finish the pork belly
- After 10 hours, remove the bag from the water bath.Optional step: Immediately chill with cold water in an ice bath for just a couple minutes in lengthen searing time.
- Lay some paper towels on a cutting board. Remove the pork belly from the bag and transfer it onto the paper towels on the cutting board. Make sure to keep the juices for a sauce later. Pat the pork belly really well with additional paper towels to draw out any moisture. Set aside for a few minutes.
- While the pork belly is resting, strain the pork belly juices through a mesh strainer. Pour the liquid into a small saucepan and simmer on medium heat until reduced to a thicker syrupy consistency and set aside to drizzle on top of the pork belly.Optional step: mix in a few tablespoons of mayonnaise for a creamier sauce.
- Pour a teaspoon of avocado oil into a large skillet on medium-high heat.
- Once the skillet is hot enough that a drop of water sizzles and evaporates, place the pork belly with the fat side down for 45 seconds, and then flip onto the other side for another 45 seconds for a quick sear.
- Remove and cut the pork belly into smaller pork belly bites with a sharp knife.
- Drizzle the reduced pork belly sauce onto the seared pork belly and serve over rice or in bao buns with a little lettuce, and pickled carrots and daikon. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Serving: 8 buns | Calories: 642kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 61g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 28g | Cholesterol: 82mg | Sodium: 906mg | Potassium: 269mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 56IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg