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Air Fryer Pork Belly

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Crispy crackling skin and melt-in-your-mouth pork belly made in the air fryer using an overnight dry brine and a two-stage cook — low heat to render fat, high heat to blister the skin.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1.5–2 lbs pork belly, skin-on
  • 1.5 teaspoons coarse sea salt (for the skin)
  • 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder (or garlic powder + smoked paprika + black pepper)
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce or fish sauce
  • 1 teaspoon rice vinegar or white vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon honey, optional (for finishing glaze)

Instructions

  1. Score the skin in a diamond or cross-hatch pattern with cuts spaced about 1 cm apart, cutting through the skin into the fat layer but not into the meat. Rub coarse sea salt generously into all scoring channels and across the entire skin surface. Season the meat side with five-spice powder, black pepper, and soy sauce. Place skin-side up on a wire rack over a baking sheet and refrigerate uncovered overnight, or at least 4 hours.
  2. Remove pork belly from the refrigerator. Pat the skin completely dry with paper towels, then brush with rice vinegar. Preheat the air fryer to 320°F (160°C). Place the pork belly meat-side up (skin-side down) in the basket and cook for 25 minutes.
  3. Flip the pork belly so the skin faces up. Increase the temperature to 400°F (200°C) and cook for 20 minutes, checking at the 15-minute mark. The skin should blister, puff, and turn golden-brown. Continue in 5-minute increments if not yet blistered.
  4. Rest the cooked pork belly for 5 minutes before slicing. Slice using the scoring channels as a guide — the crackling should shatter audibly when cut.

Notes

An overnight dry brine (minimum 4 hours) is essential — skipping it is the leading cause of rubbery, non-crispy skin.

For pork belly bites: cut into 1.5-inch cubes, toss with five-spice, salt, pepper, and soy sauce, and air fry at 380°F for 25 minutes, flipping halfway.

Pork belly is safe at 145°F internal temperature (USDA), but for best texture cook to 160–185°F to fully render the fat.

Find it online: https://airfrycentral.com/air-fryer-pork-belly/