Roasted Pork Belly

Photo by Rob Robitaille

Growing up, I never really thought much about pork bellies, other than listening to the radio in the rural Midwest when you would hear about the price of corn, soybeans, and pork bellies.  I understood why people would care about corn and soybean prices. After all, those were, and still are, the main crops grown around where I lived. But the pork bellies baffled me. There were a lot of other animals raised on farms around us. Why didn't they talk about the price of pot roasts or chicken drumsticks?  Seemed like a conspiracy to me.  Still, we never ate pork bellies, despite their apparent importance to the economy. The only way we consumed pork bellies was in the form of bacon.  That was when Mom didn't make that insufferable Sizzlelean, but I am not even going to go down that road right now.

The first time I had pork bellies was when my Mom and Dad took me to Germany to visit Mom's family.  My uncle Bodo was a professional butcher, and an even better cook, which he also did professionally.  He would cook frequently for us during our three week visit, but I think our favorite meals were when he would fire up his homemade charcoal grill and load it up with anything he could think of.  There were sausages of every conceivable type, pork chops, spare ribs, chicken, trout, pork bellies, you name it.  If it could be grilled, it was on the menu.  But the pork bellies were special.  They were sliced just like bacon,seasoned with a dried bell pepper spice mixture, folded in half so the spices were on the inside, and then slowly grilled over indirect heat until the outsides were crispy.  That was the best thing I ate in Germany, period.  It was upon returning home that we started to by pork bellies because my dad was equally impressed with them.  I still grill them, roast them, fry them, and even smoke them with the same spice mixture my uncle Bodo used.  But, it wasn't until much later in my life that things got even better.  Pork belly roasts.

When roasted whole, a pork belly will transform into arguably one of the most unctuous, succulent roasts you can ever hope for.  Since it is essentially uncured bacon, you have some idea of the amount of fat it has, but that is also what makes it so good.  One of my favorite ways to roast it is to season the lean side with salt and 5 spices powder, then flip it over and season the fat cap with salt and rice wine vinegar.  Then I roast it for about an hour at 375 - 400, for a one pound roast.  When it feels done, I hit it with the broiler to crisp up the fat cap a bit.  It can be served along with some rice and stir fried vegetables, or simply sliced with a bit of hoisin.  You are only limited by your imagination.

Most super markets carry the sliced pork bellies, but rarely the whole side or even roast sizes.  However, they may be able to order it for you.  If they can't, fear not.  There are numerous meat markets in or near about every town and city.  Many of them have their own smoke house and if they do, they probably make their own bacon, which all starts with the belly.  In my experience, most of these markets are happy to accommodate you.  I would, however, recommend calling ahead for availability.  My favorite meat market is a few miles out of town, so I usually buy a whole side of pork belly, which is about ten pounds.  Then I cut it down into 1 pound roasts, vacuum seal it, and freeze it.  I usually have some on hand for when the urge hits me.

If you are a pork lover and haven't tried this, all I can say is, what are you waiting for?  Treat yourself.