Not going to lie, pork belly is one of my FAVOURITE cuts of pork – it’s delicious and super versatile for family cooking. Plus a little bit goes a long way when you’re just adding it to a salad or bao buns – so for that reason, it’s also a great bang for buck dinner option.
This air fryer pork belly roast recipe is THAT EASY, you’ll be kicking yourself for not trying it earlier! Be it a roast, Vietnamese salad, bao buns or even ramen – whichever way you like to devour pork belly, we’ll show you the secret ail how to cook it to perfection in the air fryer.
It MUST be said that if you have the time, leaving the pork rind to dry out in the fridge before cooking, really is key to nailing this recipe. In my opinion, it makes for a more evenly cooked crackling, preventing the meat underneath from drying out.
Air fryer pork belly roast tips:
- When buying your piece of pork, look for a nice even thickness. A pink Australian Pork sticker is a bonus!
- For awesome crackling, take the time to let the rind of your pork dry out before cooking. Take it out of its packaging and leave it uncovered on a plate in the fridge the night before (or up to two days before) cooking.
- Make sure the roast will fit in your air fryer basket. You can cut it down to size if you need to!
- Place your air fryer in a well-ventilated area just in case it smokes a little with the high-fat meat.
- To cut a cooked pork belly into neat slices or cubes, turn it over so the rind is on the bottom and use a large and very sharp knife to slice all the way through.
Air Fryer Pork Belly Roast
Ingredients
- 1kg piece of boneless pork belly
- 3 – 4 teaspoons of sea salt flakes
- Olive oil (in a spray bottle helps!)
Method
1. Preheat the air fryer to 200°C for five minutes. Even if you don’t normally have to preheat with your model of air fryer, it’s super important that the pork goes into a very hot environment from the very beginning to give your crackling the best chance.
2. Take your piece of meat from the fridge and score the rind by slicing it across the width with a very sharp knife. If your rind was already scored when you purchased it, that’s one less job for you!
3. Generously salt the rind, massaging the salt into the scores in the rind.
4. Spritz with olive oil!
5. To reduce the chances of burning yourself, take the drawer out of the air fryer and quickly place the roast directly into the basket. Return it to the air fryer and bake at 200°C for 25 minutes, or until the rind crackles all the way across.
6. Reduce the air fryer temperature to 160°C and bake for a further 30 minutes, cooking until tender and cooked through. If the meat starts to over-brown during the cooking time, you can cover it in alfoil to stop it from burning and drying out.
7. Let the meat rest uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing. Delicious!
How easy was that to make with perfect crackling in the air fryer?! We’d love to hear if you’ve roasted other meats in the air fryer – a roast chicken or a small lamb roast perhaps?
Don’t forget to clean your air fryer thoroughly after cooking roast meats to get rid of unwanted odours or it will REALLY start to smell!
Bon appetit!
