Safety Tips: We recommend doing this outside as the grease will pop as the skin turns to “cracklins”.
Be careful when frying (use tongs and a splash guard or lid on the pan).
Crispy Pork Belly Chicharrones
Ingredients
2 lbs pork belly, sliced into 3/4 Inch strips
8 cups water- enough water to cover the pork belly
2 cup of cooking oil
1 small yellow onion (remove skin and cut into quarters)
1 tablespoon of black pepper peppercorns
6 bay Leaves
8 cloves of fresh garlic
1 tablespoon of salt
Directions
Using a very sharp or serrated knife, score the top/fat side of the pork belly about a 1/4 inch deep every 1/4 inch (this allows the pork skin to get crispy).
Bring water to a boil in a large cooking pot. Add in the black pepper peppercorns, bay leaves, garlic, onion and salt.
Place strips of pork belly in the pot, cover and boil for 1 hour.
Remove pork belly from the pot. Place it on a sheet pan with paper towels and pat dry. Allow it to cool down.
Place in fridge overnight, uncovered, to allow it to air dry.
Heat oil in a deep frying pan to 350 degrees. Deep fry pork belly until crispy and golden brown on one side, then flip it over and fry other side (roughly 8-10 minutes per side). Remove from pot once both sides are crispy and place on paper lined sheet pan to absorb excess oil.
Sprinkle with salt or your favorite Cajun seasoning for extra flavor. Serve with Fresh Guacamole.