Gochujang Pork Belly

How many of you eat pork belly on a regular basis?  I'm not talking about bacon but fresh pork belly.  To my mind it is one of the best things around and can be used in many ways.

Gochujang rubbed pork belly ready for smoke

As you may have noticed, I like Korean food and Korean flavors.  This pork belly is skin on and was given a thick coating of Gochujang, fermented pepper paste.  I don't think the Gochujang penetrates like a marinade but it makes me feel good to see it on the counter.

Ready to come off the smoke

Pork belly comes eight with the skin on or skin off.  Personally, I like getting skin on.  There are a couple of reasons for this.  In applications like this, you get small bits of cooked skin to give a crispy chewy bit of texture to the pork belly slices.  The other reason is pork rinds.  When I make bacon I skin the belly.  The skin then gets converted to pork rinds.  Homemade pork rinds means you can season however you wish and they are so much better.

Beautiful sliced pork belly

I took this pork belly to an internal temp of about 165F since I wanted nice slices.  If I'd wanted it more fall/pull apart I'd let it go to around 205F.  It is still plenty tender at 165F and slices without tearing.

Gochujang Pork Belly

1 2-3 lb pork belly

Gochujang

If pork belly has the skin on, score skin and fat in diamond pattern.  Rub Gochujang heavily over the entire surface of the pork belly.  Get smoker going, or set up grill for indirect heat.  When temp is up to 225-250 put the pork belly on, skin side up, and insert temperature probe if you have one.  Close lid and relax until the internal temperature hits 150F.  If the skin side is not crispy then move the pork belly closer to the heat to finish the skin side.  Once the skin is dark and crispy remove the pork belly from the heat.  Let rest 10 - 20 minutes then slice in 1/4 inch slices.  Enjoy

A filling flavorful meat featuring pork belly

Since I was wanting the flavor of Korea we had rice and kimchi with the pork belly.  I think it would pair well with most anything.

Get some Gochujang for your pantry and see how it can boost the flavor of pork, seafood, and soups.  Let me know what you think.

Uncle T