Cooking help!

[ScottishStottie]

How do i make pork belly slices all tender so i can shred them for shredded pork...? Can i even do it with that cut?

Its been in the oven covered with foil on a low heat for about an hour now, its looking cooked, its not drying out or anything, but it still feels quite tough.

Is it just a case of leaving it in for hours?

I would guess, especially if it's on low

Its so stressful! Im usually a 'follow the recipe' type cook, but im trying to be more adventurous while not spending a fortune in the shop buying an ingredient I'll use once and never again....

All i can find online is recipes for pork belly, as in a big piece of it. So no idea if it will work on the slices...

I’m not sure it’ll work for pulled pork. You usually need a cut that is a bit more meaty, belly is a bit too fatty.
IMO belly is best roasted so the skin goes all crackly and the rest is soft and melty.

@EminyBOO

I’m not sure it’ll work for pulled pork. You usually need a cut that is a bit more meaty, belly is a bit too fatty. IMO belly is best roasted so the skin goes all crackly and the rest is soft and melty.

I agree!

Shoulder/leg is best for pulled pork.

Belly should be cooked low and slow (prefereably in liquid and wrapped in foil so only the skin is exposed) for a long time and then you whack the heat up to get crispy crackling and soft melt in the mouth meat with a lot of the fat rendered.

Im trying to cook it so i can shred it to then put through some egg fried rice. If i cook it for ages will it at least stay all moist so i can break it up a bit?

Im thinkig if it stays too fatty, to cut those bits off and crisp them up under the grill?

I dont really have any idea what im doing. ... 😂

I do pork belly in a Chinese style marinade...I do it for about three hours on a lowish heat and it would be suitable for pulled pork...an hour isn't enough

@formerbabe thats what im trying to do! I have it in with a teriyaki marinade, checking on it every half an hour, it slowy seems to be getting softer....

Pork belly is not the cut you need for shredded pork. It's going to be nothing but fat.

Once it’s cooked through you can grill it for a couple of minutes either side to crisp up the fat a little. Then you can just slice it thinly and add it to your fried rice, it will be absolutely delicious!

Try this but without leaving it overnight?

www.allrecipes.com/recipe/240136/crispy-pork-belly/

@aquamarine1029 thats what i was worried about :(

In the shop the other cuts were all way too big, or really expensive. I was hoping i would be able to do something with the cheaper cut and save money.

This won't be a million miles away from what you're looking for @ScottishStottie

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/sticky-pork-belly-bao-buns

I tend to do pork belly slices in the slow cooker with stock for 6 hours, then slice into squares, slather in a sauce then chuck in oven for 15 minutes.

You could chunk them and fry them off to crisp the edges. It may not be shredded but still delicious

So ive just checked on it therr (either 1.5 or 2 hours cooking, cant remember now....) And its starting to go nice and soft!

Will put it in for another 30 minutes and then cut off the meaty bits, and grill the fatty bits, which are still looking quite soft and mushy, so that they hopefuly crisp up a bit, the add the crispy fatty bits to the meaty bits that I've broken up a bit.

And next time i attempt this ill get a proper cut of pork 🙈

Yeah i dont actually need it to be 'shredded' i suppose, just small broken up pieces to mix nicely through rice

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/pulled-pork/amp

According to this recipe that has very good ratings, a shoulder joint should be used as pp said.

You could just have crispy pork belly tonight and try this another time?

Never go off piste with a recipe. It’s too risky.

When cooking belly pork slices (ie without the rind for crackling), I usually “twice cook” them by braising in stock with ginger, garlic and star anise for about 1.5-2 hours until tender. The slices can then be cooled or cooked again straight away by frying or roasting until crisp and golden.

So ot cooked for about 2.5/3 hours, meat was tender and fat was pretty much disintegrated. So took it out, broke it all up and it worked pretty well if i do say so myself!

Pictures attached, although pork fried rice is not the most photogenic 😂 it tasted way better than it looks i promise!

Looks nice, I'd happily eat that!

I cook pork belly in the pressure cooker in Chinese marinade. It takes about 30 mins to be really tender.

I’m glad it turned out great! Just so you know, you can fry it raw, just slice it and throw it straight into a pan on a good heat. Then add to your rice/broth/noodles/etc as usual. Pork belly is tasty and reasonably priced.

Looks good OP

@Lunaballoon I must try that, sounds fantastic!