Crispy, fatty, and flavorful, these tasty strips are perfect as a first course, an indulgent main course, or for breakfast instead of bacon. Pork belly is one of the most indulgent meats you can enjoy. The combination of crispy fat and juicy meat is incredible. You can cook it whole, but I like to slice it before baking it in the oven. It’s like baking bacon in the oven, but these strips need to cook longer because they are much thicker than bacon.
Storing Leftovers
Recipe Card
Pork belly strips: I get them at Costco or Wild Fork Foods. They are about ½-inch thick. They will vary in shape and weight depending on where you get them, but they should be about the same thickness - ½ inch. Sometimes, I buy a whole belly at Whole Foods and slice it at home. To season: Kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and smoked paprika. If you get a skin-on belly, you’ll need to remove the skin first. That’s a bit more challenging, but I’ve done that and used the skin to make pork rinds. To remove the skin, place the pork belly on a sturdy cutting board. Pull back the skin at the edge, slide a sharp knife between the meat and the skin, and patiently slice the skin away from the meat until all the skin is removed. The image below demonstrates the process: A nice variation is brushing the slices with a mixture of soy sauce or a gluten-free alternative (2 tablespoons), honey (1 tablespoon), and garlic powder (1 teaspoon) before baking for an Asian-style dish. As shown in the photo below, a simpler variation is to season them with half a teaspoon of smoked salt and nothing else. I often do that, and it’s delicious. The detailed instructions for making this recipe are listed in the recipe card below. Here are the basic steps: Preheat your oven to 400°F and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange the pork belly slices on the baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle them with the seasonings. Bake until browned and crispy, for about 20 minutes on each side, then serve. Carefully drain the pan midway through baking. Here are the strips after 20 minutes on the first side: See how gorgeous they are in this close-up photo: When served as the main course, I like to add a light side dish such as arugula salad, steamed asparagus, microwave broccoli (as shown in the photo below), or sauteed spinach. These strips are also excellent for breakfast or brunch. I like to serve them with fried or soft scrambled eggs, fresh berries, and keto biscuits. Here’s a photo I took of a recent breakfast of pork belly slices and fried eggs. The plate is garnished with red pepper flakes and dried parsley. My favorite way to use the leftovers is to chop them and add them to a salad or a bowl. Take a look at this gorgeous bowl I made for lunch the other day: on a bed of cauliflower rice (sauteed in olive oil and seasoned with garlic powder and smoked paprika), I arranged chopped pork belly, a fried egg topped with chile crunch, steamed broccoli, and kimchi.
