Pork belly is one of our favorite dishes, so I purchase a big one, cook it up, portion it out, vacuum seal it and put it in the freezer; I’m all about easy meal prep. As far as the cooking, I use one of two methods. We have a Traeger smoker, and I like to use that to give the pork belly a nice smokey flavor, then finish it up in the oven; other times I don’t want to go to the extra trouble and just do the whole process in the oven.

• Prep time: 30 minutes, overnight in refrigerator.
• Cook time 6 hours
• Smoker temp: 225°F
• Oven temp: 250°F

THE INGREDIENTS ARE SIMPLE:

12 pound pork belly
1/3 cup salt
2 tablespoons black pepper
2 tablespoons smoked paprika

Mix seasonings together, I keep an empty shaker bottle on the spice rack for just this purpose.

With the pork belly laying flat, fat side up, use a very sharp knife to make cross cuts about 1/4 inch deep, but not into the meat, and about 1 inch apart. Season pork belly, let the seasoning get down into the cuts as much as possible; flip and season the meaty side. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil; refrigerate overnight.

COOKING DIRECTIONS:

First, the Traeger method:

• Preheat Traeger to 225°F
• Place pork belly on grill, fat side up. Close lid and smoke for four hours until it’s somewhere in the neighborhood of 160°F.

The next step can be done in the smoker, but I prefer to do it in the oven.

• Line a roasting pan with foil, or use a foil pan.
• Place pork belly into pan, fat side up, and cover tightly with foil.
• Put in preheated 250°F oven for 1.5 to 2 hours, until temp reaches 195°F to 200°F
• Remove foil, raise oven temp to 500°F and continue cooking until the skin is golden brown, bubbling and crispy, about 8 to 10 minutes.
• Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes.
• Slice and serve; cover and refrigerate remaining belly. Once it’s thoroughly chilled slice it into portions and vacuum seal for freezer.

The Oven Method:

• Preheat oven to 275°F
• Line a roasting pan with foil, or use a foil pan. Place pork belly into pan, fat side up, and cover pan tightly with foil. Put in preheated 275°F oven for 6 hours, until temp reaches 195°F to 200°F
• Remove foil, raise oven temp to 500°F and continue cooking until the skin is golden brown, bubbling and crispy, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes.
• Slice and serve; cover and refrigerate remaining belly. Once it’s thoroughly chilled slice it into portions and vacuum seal for freezer.