Crispy Pork Belly with Salsa Verde
Recipe created by Chef Rusty Johnson of Rusty's BBQ (Instagram/Twitter: rustys_bbq)
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Johnston’s Pork Belly Slab skin-on
- ½ Tbsp fresh ground pepper
- 1 Tbsp toasted ground fennel seed
- ½ Tbsp ground red pepper flakes
- 1 Tbsp kosher salt
- 1 ½ Tbsp olive oil
- zest ¼ lemon
- 1 Tbsp flat leaf parsley
Salsa Verde
- ⅔ cup flat leaf parsley
- ¼ lemon juice and zest
- 2 cloves chopped fresh garlic
- 2 anchovies filets
- 1 ½ Tbsp capers
- 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- pinch salt & pepper
Instructions
- In a small food processor, add pepper, fennel, red pepper flakes, oil, lemon zest, parsley and pulse until all ingredients are fully mixed.
- Take your pork belly and score the skin, past the skin and into the meat. Score it so you can slice it easily after we crisp the skin. I like it in 2 cm x 10 cm long slices so score every 2 cm across the slab and one down the middle.
- Apply the wet mixture thoroughly to the top and bottom of the meat.
- Apply a little of kosher salt to the bottom side of pork and more to the top to help draw out the moisture for a very crispy top. Let meat sit for 1 hour to absorb the flavors.
- Preheat BBQ to 250°F. Place your pork on a rack above a pan and place on the indirect side of the BBQ for 3 hours. We want to start the pork off slow to render the fat.
- After 3 hours, turn the BBQ up to 350°F and continue to cook until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 185°F. This is the point where we need to begin crisping the skin.
- To finish it off, we need to jack the heat to 450°F and watch as the skin puffs. This process should take 20 minutes. After the skin expands and puffs, the meat should read 190°F internally. Let the slab rest 15 minutes then slice and serve with salsa verde.
Salsa Verde
- Put all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth.
- Place in fridge and let sit for minimum 1 hour.
