The Biggest Mistake You're Making When Braising Pork Belly

Like with so many recipes, braising a perfect, melt-in-your-mouth cut of pork belly comes down to timing. Each cut of meat acts a little differently in the braise. Pork belly comes from, you guessed it, the underside of a pig and is packed with delicious fat. However, if you don't braise your pork belly properly, the fat will either turn into a chewy mess or disintegrate too quickly, leaving you with a dried-out, tough puck of pig. We talked to Rich Parente, chef and owner of Clock Tower Grill in Brewster, New York, to get his insights into common braising mistakes and how to avoid them.

According to Parente, "A common mistake is not cooking it long enough. You should check if the meat is done throughout the cooking process, and you'll know the pork belly is finished when it's fork tender, which should feel like running a knife through warm butter." He went on to add, "Another mistake is braising it too fast at too high a temperature, which can make the meat tough." Low and slow has always been the key to braising — while you can remedy an under-cooked cut of meat with a little more heat, you can't fix something that's been braised to death.

Braising is a wonderful way to make the flavor and texture of your pork belly come alive with every bite as long as you know how to time things right. Chef Parente says that tracking temperature is the best way to know how your braise is going. "If you're braising pork belly in the oven, then cook it at 300 [degrees Fahrenheit] until the meat reaches 200 [degrees Fahrenheit] internally, or when it's fork tender." 

There's nothing worse than spending all day on a braise only to end up with an inedible cut of meat. That's why we've put together a list of 9 essential braising tips that will help ensure your meat will melt in your mouth. Braising pork belly is a special kind of alchemy that requires just as much patience as it does mastering the braise itself.