This page may contain affiliate links. Any commissions earned means I can continue providing you free recipes. You can see the full disclaimer here. https://wp.me/Par0A1-uK
I make pork belly a LOT and people always ask me how I make it and how I get my crackling so good. There are a few different ways I make pork belly but this Air Fryer Pork Belly is by far the quickest and easiest method there is, with gorgeous crispy crackling every single time.
One of the best things about this Air Fryer Pork Belly is there is almost no prep required and you can make it whenever you feel like it immediately. No drying out the skin, pouring boiling water, needing days of prep time, you will get great pork belly without all that prep with this Air Fryer Pork Belly. We also have a new video to show you just how easy this Air Fryer Pork Belly is with a bit of air fryer 101 for those who don’t know much about them or are interested in buying one!
With the air fryer you also have the advantage of setting it and walking away to relax while your air fryer does the work and then come back to some of the best pork belly ever! And for those that don’t have an air fryer, don’t worry, you can make pork belly as good as this Air Fryer Pork Belly in the oven with my Crispy Pork Belly recipe.
I highly recommend when scoring the pork belly for this Air Fryer Pork Belly that you score in the places you intend to slice it, to make it easier to cut and eat once it’s ready. This little tip has served me so well in slicing, cutting and most importantly eating the pork belly. I know more than one person who has come close to chipping a tooth on a hard pork crackling crust!
For those that are concerned about the fat content and calories in pork belly, which a lot are even on a keto diet, remember that a 1kg piece of pork belly will lose about a third of its size once cooked. It will also lose a great deal of the fat which is rendered off, making a 1kg piece of raw pork belly much higher in calories and fat than that same piece of pork belly once cooked. Always take this into account when thinking about macros and also remember that a few slices is really all that most people need to satisfy themselves!
Quick Air Fryer Pork Belly
Ingredients
- 1 kg piece of pork belly
- olive oil spray
- salt
Instructions
- Remove the pork belly, if you’re using a packaged piece of pork belly there is no need to dry the skin.With a sharp knife, score the skin by slicing the rind and taking care not to cut through to the meat underneath. I highly recommend you score in the places you intend to slice the pork belly once it’s done.
- Place on the rack inside your air fryer, rind side up. Spray evenly with olive oil. Cover evenly and thickly with a layer of freshly cracked salt. You can knock most of this salt off once the pork belly is done so don’t worry too much about it being salty.
- Set your air fryer to 180C for 45 minutes, then check the pork belly, if you notice one side cooking faster than the other it can be a good idea to rotate the rack 180 degrees.
- Turn the air fryer up to full (230C) and set another 15 minutes. Some pieces of pork belly will be ready after this, others might need another 15 minutes. Your pork belly is done when the crackling is hard and crispy. If you prefer you can brush or knock the salt off the pork belly before slicing and eating.
- Different air fryers can have different cooking times so be aware of this when making your pork belly. Some air fryers may require more or less cooking time.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
I’m just cooking the AIR FRYER PORK BELLY following your recipe and smoke is billowing all over my kitchen stetting the fire alarm off! From googling it, is]t says it is because of the fat burning, so already I have cleaned out the fat collected at the bottom of the tray. But you didn’t mention any such problems in your recipe, have I done something wrong?!
Thank you
Hi Anna, thank you for commenting here and letting me know, if you’re cooking the pork belly in an air fryer that DEFINITELY should not be happening. One of the main advantages to an air fryer is eliminating the problems associated with the fat and smoke. However, if you’re continuing to get this problem, I would suggest pouring some water in your bottom tray similarly to an oven tray, before starting to cook the pork belly to catch the fat and keep it from burning and smoking. I’ve had a google myself and seen that some brands of air fryer can have the smoking problem, but the water should resolve that. Hope this helps Anna, let me know if you need anything else!