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    Home > Blog > Pork > Crispy Grilled Pork Belly with a Sweet and Tangy Vinegar BBQ Sauce
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    Crispy Grilled Pork Belly with a Sweet and Tangy Vinegar BBQ Sauce

    by Teri Lyn Fisher · Published: Jul 22, 2015 · Modified: Oct 12, 2020

    Jump to Recipe

    Crispy grilled pork belly with sweet and tangy vinegar BBQ sauce on bread.

    With summer in full swing barbecue is always on our mind, and when we think about barbecue three things usually come to mind: rub, smoke and sauce. That pretty much brings us to today’s recipe. We have a very easy recipe for crispy grilled pork belly that is rubbed in a simple blend of spices and finished with a tangy vinegar-bbq sauce.

    When dealing with pork belly you want to make sure to leave the skin-side scored and then untouched. The rub is really meant to flavor the meaty-side so the skin/fat side can render out nicely and become crisp and delicious. Our dry rub is quite simple and no-fuss with the exception of ground ginger. We added ground ginger to this dry rub because it doesn’t impart an intense flavor like its fresh counterpart, but the combination of pork and ginger overall go really nicely together.

    The key with a fatty dish like pork belly is to start on super high heat to allow the skin to brown and crisp, and then to lower the heat significantly and allow the meat to cook low and slow. This way you’ll get soft, juicy, kissed by smoke meaty goodness with a crispy crackling surface, which is exactly what you want! The onions and beer also provide a nice bed for the pork belly to sit on to ensure the bottom doesn’t burn and that the meat slightly steams and stays moist.

    Finally we’ve finished our pork belly dish today with a vinegar based bbq sauce. Why vinegar based? We think it pairs nicely with the pork belly and the tang from the vinegar helps to cut through some of the richness from the meat. If you’re looking for something a little different but still 100% delicious to grill up this summer, you should try this pork belly with vinegar-bbq sauce. It’s easy to make and a total crowd pleaser!!

    A close up of raw pork belly with dry rub on a sheet pan.
    Crispy grilled pork belly in a roasting pan.
    Sliced crispy grilled pork belly with sweet and tangy vinegar BBQ sauce on the side.

    Here are some perfect sides to serve with this recipe:

    Classic caesar salad recipe in a blue serving dish.
    Classic Caesar Salad
    Homemade onion rings on a parchment with aioli and some glasses of beer.
    Homemade Onion Rings
    Homemade potato chips drizzled in gorgonzola cheese sauce on a wooden cutting board next to drinks.
    Homemade Potato Chips with a Gorgonzola Cheese Sauce
    Click here for our Pork Recipe Collection!
    A close up of grilled pork belly with sweet and tangy vinegar BBQ sauce on bread.

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    Crispy grilled pork belly with sweet and tangy vinegar BBQ sauce on bread.

    Crispy Grilled Pork Belly with a Sweet and Tangy Vinegar BBQ Sauce

    5 from 1 vote
    PRINT RECIPE Pin Recipe
    RECIPE BY Teri & Jenny
    Prep Time: 15 minutes mins
    Cook Time: 2 hours hrs 45 minutes mins
    cool time: 10 minutes mins
    Total Time: 3 hours hrs 10 minutes mins
    Servings: 8

      INGREDIENTS  

    vinegar bbq sauce

    • 1 cup apple cider vinegar
    • ¼ cup light brown sugar
    • 2 ½ tablespoons ketchup
    • 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
    • 1 tablespoon salt
    • 1 teaspoon ground mustard
    • 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper optional

    meat

    • 1 (2 1/2 lb.) slab pork belly with the skin on
    • 4 yellow onions, roughly quartered and chopped
    • 2 (12 fl. oz.) bottles beer of choice, divided can use broth as non-alcoholic option

    dry rub

    • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
    • 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
    • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper

      INSTRUCTIONS  

    • Preheat grill to 450˚F.
    • For vinegar bbq sauce: Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk together until smooth and completely blended. Set aside until ready to use.
    • Place pork belly on a clean cutting board, skin-side up and score the skin. Pat dry with a paper towel and flip over so the meat-side is up.
    • Place all dry rub ingredients into a small bowl and whisk together. Pour rub over meat-side of belly only and rub over entire surface.
    • Place onions and one bottle of beer into a roasting dish, in an even layer, and top with pork (meat/rub side down).
    • Place roasting dish into the hot grill and cover with the grill lid. Cook for about 45 minutes.
    • Lower heat to 250˚F and continue to cook for about 1 hour. Remove lid and add remaining beer. Re-cover and cook for an additional 2 hours.
    • At this point the fat should have rendered and the skin should be extra crispy.
    • Carefully remove the pork belly from the baking dish and transfer onto a cutting board. Allow the slab to rest for about 10 minutes.
    • Chop into pieces and serve atop sliced white bread with a generous drizzle of the vinegar bbq sauce.

      NOTES  

    • Makes 1 (2lb) pork belly
    Calories: 843kcal Carbohydrates: 19g Protein: 15g Fat: 76g Saturated Fat: 27g Cholesterol: 102mg Sodium: 1262mg Potassium: 470mg Fiber: 2g Sugar: 10g Vitamin A: 900IU Vitamin C: 5mg Calcium: 35mg Iron: 2mg
    CUISINE: American
    KEYWORD: pork
    COURSE: dinner

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    July 22, 2015 / 30 Comments

    About Teri Lyn Fisher

    Teri Lyn Fisher is half of Spoon Fork Bacon. She is also a food and cosmetics photographer. She is a big fan of hot dogs. #sfbTERI

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    Reader Interactions

    July 22, 2015 / 30 Comments

    Comments

      5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

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    1. Alexander Taylor

      August 29, 2019 at 9:04 am

      Hey Jenny. The recipe sounds delicious! This Saturday I’ll be cooking the pork belly above for the rest of my mates. I bout all the ingredients, however the pork belly I purchased is 5.67 lbs, not the 2 lbs. listed above. How would you adjust the cook time? And should I just double the recipe?

      Thanks Jenny!

      Reply
    2. Sabrina B

      June 04, 2017 at 3:39 pm

      great idea, great flavors, love the dry rub, thank you for this recipe!

      Reply
    3. tom

      June 10, 2016 at 9:22 pm

      Just bought my first pork belly
      I will be smoking it on my green egg tomorrow
      Will let you know how it turns out

      Reply
      • Diane W

        September 05, 2016 at 1:15 pm

        Tom: I’m going to try this on Big Green Egg this weekend. How did yours turn out?

        Reply
    4. schwabby

      October 17, 2015 at 12:04 pm

      Best part of this recipe was the BBQ sauce. Rest, shite. Pork belly turned to fatty mush. Waste of a good cut of meat. Please read the comments before trying this recipe.

      Reply
      • Jenny Park

        October 17, 2015 at 1:07 pm

        Did you make sure to dry out the pork belly uncovered in the refrigerator ahead of time? And did you buy it SKIN ON? the SKIN ON pork belly is key for a crispy crust. Also, if you went to a regular grocery store they usually don’t sell SKIN ON pork belly, butchers, some Asian markets and specialty store are the place to go. Also, if you did in fact get SKIN ON pork belly and didn’t get a crispy crust, it would turn rubbery NOT fatty…so I assume you got skinless pork belly…not the way to go with this recipe. You NEED the skin. So yes, please make sure to not only read the comments, but to also read the post and follow the exact instructions.

        Reply
    5. Claire

      August 02, 2015 at 9:18 pm

      In the last 12 minutes of the specified cooking time and the skin is completely mushy and not at all crispy. Could it be that there was a typo in the recipe and the cooking period at 450 was supposed to be uncovered? This recipe is so far not working out well :(

      Reply
      • Jenny Park

        August 03, 2015 at 9:29 am

        When I say cover, I mean the grill lid and not actually covering the baking dish with foil, etc. so the actual dish itself isn’t actually covered. If you did this in the oven, there’s also no need to “cover” the actual dish. Tightly covering the entire dish will definitely not produce crispy skin. Apologies if that was confusing!

        Reply
    6. Shaz

      July 28, 2015 at 8:37 pm

      And do you think this recipe would work with a pork loin, skin-on for crackling?

      Reply
    7. Shaz

      July 28, 2015 at 8:31 pm

      If I’m using a smaller bit of pork belly – say 600-800g, would the cooking time need adjusting and if so….by how much? Thanks Jenny!

      Reply
      • Jenny Park

        July 29, 2015 at 10:14 am

        I would reduce it by about 1/3 of the time

        Reply
    8. My Dish is Bomb

      July 22, 2015 at 2:10 pm

      Pork belly is one of those dishes where I really don’t mind eating all the fat because it’s basically a mound of bacon for dinner and that’s all I’ll ever need. ;)

      Reply
    9. Wei Kitchen

      July 22, 2015 at 10:30 am

      Totally agree that ginger and pork always pair nicely together and I love the addition of vinegar into the sauce! Will definitely try this one out.

      Reply
    10. Debi Crilly

      July 22, 2015 at 10:17 am

      Hello there, I would love to try the recipe for the pork belly, but I have not been able to find decent pork belly in my area. I live in Redondo Beach and I get the impression that you live in Manhattan Beach, correct? If that is right, I’m hoping you can tell me where to find pork belly here in the South Bay area!

      Love your blog and your recipes!

      Reply
      • Jenny Park

        July 22, 2015 at 11:38 am

        Hi Debi! I actually live in Redondo Beach too!! Unfortunately I got mine from Chinatown bc my Korean market no longer sells pork belly with the skin on. I think a few Chinese markets in the area like 99Ranch might carry it. If not, Manhattan Beach Meats will special order it for you and it only takes about a day or two!

        Reply
        • Debi

          July 27, 2015 at 12:13 pm

          Thank you so much, Jenny!

          Reply
    11. Sara Leigh Merrey

      July 22, 2015 at 10:15 am

      I live in a condo and don’t have a grill. Can I do this in my oven using the same temperature settings and times?

      Reply
      • Jenny Park

        July 22, 2015 at 11:37 am

        Absolutely!!!

        Reply
    12. Alison

      July 22, 2015 at 8:42 am

      This looks incredible! Pork belly is one of my favorites but I’ve never tried making it at home. Might have to give it a shot!

      Reply

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