Sous Vide Pork Belly: Time and Temperature

Sous vide pork belly cooks at 150°F (65.6°C) for 24 to 48 hours. That gives soft fat and tender meat that still slices cleanly.

The bath does not crisp anything. After the cook, chill the belly, slice it, and brown the slices or crisp the skin with high heat.

What pork belly is

The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service lists four primal cuts of pork: shoulder, loin, side and leg. Pork belly comes from the side. The same page lists bacon and spareribs as cuts from the side.

Sold uncured, it is fresh pork, and that is what this guide covers. Cured belly is bacon, which the bacon guide covers.

As an example of the size and makeup, the America's Test Kitchen recipe for roasted pork belly calls for a center-cut, skin-on piece 1.5 in (3.8 cm) thick with roughly equal amounts of meat and fat.

Temperature options and textures

• 150°F (65.6°C), tender and sliceable. The default. Soft fat and tender meat that still slices cleanly. Choose it when you want slices that hold their shape in the pan.
• 165°F (73.9°C), soft. Very tender, with well rendered fat. It is starting to fall apart, so thin slices are harder to keep whole.
• 176°F (80°C), fall apart. Very soft, like a long braise, and done in half the time.

The differences follow from what heat does to meat. Douglas Baldwin's guide says collagen begins to dissolve into gelatin above 122°F to 131°F (50°C to 55°C). It also says muscle fibers shrink and lose a substantial amount of water above 140°F to 150°F (60°C to 66°C), more so as the temperature rises.

All three settings are hot enough to soften the connective tissue over a long cook. The hotter ones render more fat and loosen the meat further, and they push more liquid out of the lean layers.

The calculator also notes one tested recipe for a rolled pork belly at 155°F (68.3°C) for 36 hours. That is J. Kenji López-Alt's porchetta. It sits between the first two settings in temperature and inside their time window, but it is not one of the calculator's settings.

The pork temperature chart shows these settings beside the ones for chops, loin, shoulder and ribs.

Time and piece size

These are tenderizing times. Thickness changes them very little, so the calculator does not ask for it.

The times are for pieces up to 2.5 in (6.4 cm) thick, measured through the thickest part. Thicker pieces heat too slowly and are not covered. Cut a larger piece down. Measure a rolled belly across the roll. A roll thicker than 2.5 in (6.4 cm) is outside these times.

The maximum is 48 hours at 150°F (65.6°C) and 165°F (73.9°C). At 176°F (80°C) the window is 12 to 24 hours and the maximum is 24 hours.

Some published recipes are shorter. One on Anova's recipe site cooks brined belly at 158°F (70°C) for 12 hours. The calculator's times follow Jason Logsdon's pork chart, which gives 1 to 2 days at 150°F (65.6°C) and 165°F (73.9°C), and 12 to 24 hours at 176°F (80°C).

The time here is set by how long the connective tissue takes to soften, not by how long the center takes to heat. A shorter cook is a different recipe, and the textures in the table above do not apply to it.

How to sous vide pork belly

1. Cut to fit. Trim the belly into pieces that lie flat in the bag and are no more than 2.5 in (6.4 cm) thick.
2. Season. Salt the meat and add any dry spices you want.
3. Bag. Seal each piece flat. A zipper-lock bag sealed with the water displacement method is an option if you do not have a vacuum sealer.
4. Heat the bath to 150°F (65.6°C). Keep the bags in a single layer, fully under the water, and not overlapping. Crowded or overlapping bags heat more slowly, and the times shown will be too short for them.
5. Cook for 24 to 48 hours.
6. Chill. Chill the cooked belly before slicing and searing if you want neat pieces. Put the sealed bag in ice water until it is cold, then refrigerate it. The brined belly recipe on Anova's site refrigerates it for at least 4 hours before searing.
7. Slice and crisp. Cut the cold belly into slices or cubes, pat them dry, and finish them with one of the methods below.

The chilled belly can wait in the refrigerator until you are ready to crisp it. The meal prep guide covers chilling and storage.

Crisping the skin or fat

Skinless belly or slices. The brined belly recipe on Anova's site heats oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat and sears the pieces until golden brown on all sides, about 10 minutes in total.

Skin-on belly. Skin comes out of the bag wet and soft. It has to be dry before it will crisp.

• America's Test Kitchen's oven recipe shows the drying step: it refrigerates the belly uncovered for 12 to 24 hours and finishes by frying the skin until it puffs and turns golden.
• López-Alt's porchetta is chilled in ice water, dried carefully with paper towels, and deep-fried. The oil is heated to 400°F (204°C). The pork goes in under a lid for about 2 minutes, and the heat is then adjusted to hold 350°F (177°C) while hot oil is ladled over the roast, about 5 minutes for the first side before it is turned to crisp the second.

Skin on poultry needs the same treatment. The chicken wings guide covers drying wings after the bath and crisping them in hot oil, on a grill or under a broiler.

Cooking pork belly from frozen

At 150°F (65.6°C) the calculator adds 3 hours to allow the center to thaw and heat, which makes the window 27 to 51 hours. At 165°F (73.9°C) it adds 3 hours 15 minutes, for 27 hours 15 minutes to 51 hours 15 minutes. At 176°F (80°C) the window is 15 hours 15 minutes to 27 hours 15 minutes.

The 2.5 in (6.4 cm) limit also applies from frozen. Freeze belly in flat pieces that are already cut to size. The guide to cooking from frozen covers the method for other foods.

Safety

The USDA safe minimum internal temperature for pork is 145°F (62.8°C). The FSIS page linked above adds a rest of at least 3 minutes. All three pork belly settings are above that temperature, and the belly is pasteurized at the minimum time for each one.

That depends on the piece being 2.5 in (6.4 cm) thick or less and on the bags staying in a single layer under the water. The article on whether sous vide is safe explains pasteurization and why slow heating is limited.

Common problems

The skin is chewy instead of crisp. It was still wet, or the heat was too low. Dry it thoroughly, then fry it in hot fat or oil until it puffs.

The slices fall apart. The belly was sliced warm, or it was cooked at 165°F (73.9°C) or 176°F (80°C). Use 150°F (65.6°C) and chill the belly before slicing.

The fat is too firm. The 150°F (65.6°C) setting gives soft fat. The 165°F (73.9°C) setting is the one with well rendered fat.

The lean layers are dry. Water loss from muscle fibers rises with temperature, according to Baldwin's guide. Drop to 150°F (65.6°C).

Set the temperature you chose in the calculator to see the time from chilled or from frozen. For pork on the bone with a similar range of textures, the ribs guide uses 145°F (62.8°C) to 176°F (80°C).