Chicharron

A crispy baked pork belly snack with only 3 ingredients!

Course Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine Spain

Keyword chicharron

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1 30

Total Time 1 40

Servings

Calories 473kcal

Author Emma Chapman

Ingredients

3 pounds pork belly
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 limes
2 teaspoons seasoning salt

Instructions

Cut the pork belly into roughly 1/2-inch (1.3 cm) strips. Try to keep them relatively uniform, but it’s OK if they aren’t all exactly the same thickness. Then cut notches along the bottom.
Season the pork belly pieces with salt and pepper or whatever seasoning you are using on both sides.
Whisk or stir together the baking soda and juice from one lime. This will bubble and fizz (a normal chemical reaction).
Brush the mixture on each of the pieces, front and back.
Place on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil, making sure the baking sheet has a lip or raised edge as quite a bit of fat/grease will cook off during the baking. These are essentially going to fry in the oven.
Bake at 300°F (149°C) for 90 minutes, flipping halfway through the baking time.
Move to a cooling rack to let any excess grease drip off. Serve warm with fresh lime wedges.

Notes

Pork belly is also sometimes called or labeled "side meat" and you could also use pork skin.

Alternatively to the notches/chain style of cutting, you could cut into strips and then score the skin on top. The goal here is to give the heat and hot oil spaces to move around as these cook, creating lots of crispy edges.

If you feel the chicharrón is not crispy enough by the end of baking, broil for 1-2 minutes on each side as needed.

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. I feel chicharrones are best the day they are made, but we will use the leftovers much like you would leftover bacon: chopped up in salads, soups or other dishes.

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