When you’re reheating pork belly you want it to be as deliciously tender, and equally as crispy as it was the night before! It doesn’t matter if you’re using an oven, air fryer, or microwave, the goal stays the same.

Preserve the texture.

These are the best and easiest ways to reheat pork belly, helping to maintain its deliciousness and avoid a rubbery bite and an overall sad time for your mouth.

How To Reheat Pork Belly

Pork belly can be both incredibly tender and exceptionally crispy. When you’re reheating pork belly, you want to preserve as much of these textures as much as possible. For best results always try to use a conventional oven or air fryer, but you’re able to use a microwave if you have to. Each way to reheat pork belly is perfectly viable and we’ve compiled the best ways to get the most out of each method.

Although these are the best ways to reheat pork belly, they can also be used for reheating pork tenderloin, roast pork, or pulled pork or other cuts of pork.

Reheating Pork Belly In The Oven

Reheating pork belly in the oven is one of the best ways to keep the skin crisp and the meat tender, without drying it out or making it rubbery. If you’re planning to cook it low and slow, it’s worthwhile removing pork belly skin.

Step 1:

Take your pork belly and place it skin-side up in the center of two layers of aluminum foil. Begin wrapping the pork, being extra careful not to pierce or puncture the foil. 

Step 2:

Before sealing it tightly, pour ¼ cup of stock, water, wine, or apple juice around the pork. You can also do one last lathering of barbecue or other sauce over the meat before completely sealing the pork belly in the foil.

Step 3:

Once the oven reaches 225°F, place the pork belly package on a tray and place it on the middle shelf of the oven and heat for 30 mins to an hour depending on how much pork belly you’ve got.

Step 4:

By now you’ve got a nice juicy and tender piece of meat. But to re-add the crispy crunchy texture of the skin and caramelize the edges, remove the pork belly from the foil and place skin-side up on the tray and set your oven to grill or broil. Watch closely for 5-10 minutes as the pork belly starts to dehydrate, caramelize, and crispen up.

If your pork belly was sous vide or cooked in the slow cooker and you want the meat to remain moist, you can skip the last step, or leave it only for half the time.

Reheating Pork Belly In The Airfryer

Reheating pork belly in the air fryer is the easiest and quickest way to fill your pork belly cravings. Due to the superheated dry air, this method can more easily lead to dry pork belly. But, if you don’t overdo it you can still get moist pork with crispier skin than the night before!

Step 1:

Preheat your air fryer, getting the temperature to between 350-400°F.

Step 2:

Place your pork belly skin up, or if it’s not standing straight, lean it on the side so it stays skin up the whole time.

Step 3:

Check on the pork belly after 6 minutes to see how she’s coming along, but depending on how much you’re reheating it can take up to 8-10 minutes or more.

Crispy. Crunchy. Delicious.

Can You Reheat Pork Belly In The Microwave

You absolutely can reheat pork belly in the microwave, but it’s best done in short bursts, and for no longer than absolutely needed. Although it’s the quickest, most convenient, and easiest way to reheat pork belly it’s also much easier to overdo it. This can make the meat chewy and rubbery, but there are a few things you can do to make it that much better.

If you’re in a hurry then the microwave will be your best friend when it comes to reheating your pork belly fast. Microwaves work by heating the water molecules in food by making them vibrate. Foods with higher moisture content tend to heat up faster, as there are more water molecules available.

Pork belly, and most meats in general, tend to heat up quite quickly in the microwave, but if overdone can become rubbery. As the water molecules heat they partially turn to steam, which turns crispy into chewy. 

If you don’t have access to an oven and you’ve got a hungering for left-over pork belly, then, of course, you can use your microwave. To keep it from going rubbery, be sure to put the pork belly in a microwave-safe dish with a few tablespoons of juice or water, and heat in 30 second bursts on medium until you’ve reached your desired temperature

How To Reheat Pork Belly Bites/Pork Belly Burnt Ends

Pork belly bites are so delectable and addictive there’s hardly ever any leftovers. But when there are leftovers you want them to taste just like when they were first cooked. The best way to keep them moist, caramelized, and crispy is by pouring them into a tray, lathering them with more barbecue sauce, and putting them into the oven to roast.

Step 1:

Pour your pork belly bites into a roasting tray and apply an even layer of sauce or stock and mix thoroughly so all sides of the pork are covered.

Step 2:

Place the roasting tray into your preheated oven at 250°F for ten minutes.

Step 3:

Take the tray out of the oven and mix the pork belly bites well. Place back into the oven for a further 10 minutes.

Step 4:

Repeat this until the sauce on the pork belly bites has caramelized and become sticky. 

Enjoy them with your friends and family or succumb to the ultimate indulgence by eating them all yourself.

How Many Times Can You Reheat Pork Belly?

Whether it’s coming from the fridge or the freezer, for best results it’s recommended to only reheat your pork belly once. Although it’s safe to reheat meat several times so long as the meat stays out of the temperature “danger zone” of 40°F-140°F, every time you do so you will be losing valuable moisture, texture, and flavor. 

For safety, the FSIS also recommends to always ensure your leftover meats reach 165°F internal temperature before consuming them.



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