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    Home » Recipes » Pressure cooker

    Pressure Cooker Pork Belly Beer Braise

    Published: Sep 22, 2011 · Modified: Feb 13, 2023 by Mike Vrobel · This post may contain affiliate links · 13 Comments

    Pork belly. It sounds unappetizing. So, why is it on the menu of every single "modern American" restaurant? What if I called it fresh bacon - would that get your attention? If so, do I have the pressure cooker meal for you.

    Pork belly is the same cut of meat as bacon, but pork belly has not been cured. It has all the advantages of bacon - meat layered with thick veins of delicious pork fat.
    *The disadvantage is…all those delicious layers of pork fat. Let's just say this is not a low-cal recipe and leave it at that, shall we?

    How to cook it? In this recipe, I use the pressure cooker to braise it with beer. The result is tender pork, melting fat, and a delicious sauce to pour over the top. Looking for a luxurious meal that's a bit out of the ordinary? Try this recipe.
    *Don't have a pressure cooker? No worries. See the Variations section for cooking instructions with a standard dutch oven.
    **h/t Michael Symon for the phrase "fresh bacon".

    Recipe: Pressure Cooker Pork Belly Beer Braise

    Adapted From: Michael Symon's Live to Cook

    Cook time: 55 minutes

    Equipment:

    • Pressure cooker, at least 6 quarts (I love my giant Kuhn Rikon 12-quart pressure cooker, but it is larger than is absolutely necessary for this recipe.)

    Ingredients:

    • 2 quarts water
    • ½ cup table salt (1 cup Kosher salt)
    • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
    • 2 pounds pork belly, skin removed and cut into 2 inch strips
    • 1 large onion, diced
    • 1 carrot, peeled and diced
    • 1 bell pepper, diced
    • 2 cloves crushed garlic
    • 1 teaspoon coriander seed
    • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
    • ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
    • 1 cup beer
    • 1 cup chicken broth (preferably homemade)
    Removing the skin from the pork belly
    and cutting into 2 inch strips

    Directions:
    1. Brine the pork belly: In a container large enough to hold the pork belly, mix the water, ½ cup table salt, and brown sugar until the salt dissolves. Add the pork belly and refrigerate for 4 to 8 hours. Remove the pork from the brine and pat dry.

    Searing the belly

    2. Sear the pork belly: Pre-heat the pressure cooker pot over medium heat. Add the pork belly, fat side down, and sear for 5 minutes. Flip fat side up and sear for another 5 minutes, then remove to a bowl. Drain off all but 2 tablespoon of the pork fat.

    Sauteing the aromatics

    3. Saute the aromatics: Increase the heat to medium-high and add the onion, carrot, bell pepper, garlic, coriander seed, thyme, and salt to the pot. Saute, stirring, until the onion is starting to brown, about 8 minutes. Add the beer and scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.

    Ready to lock on the lid

    4. Pressure cook the pork belly: Add the pork belly (in a single layer if possible), then pour the chicken broth over everything. Lock the lid on the pressure cooker. Bring the pressure cooker up to high pressure, then lower the heat to maintain that pressure and cook for 40 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow the pressure to come down naturally, 15 to 20 minutes.

    Under pressure.
    Exciting, isn't it?

    5. Serve: Move the pork to a platter, pour the liquid from the pot into a serving boat, and serve. Top each serving of pork belly with a generous ladle of the sauce and aromatics.

    Variations:
    *To add more finesse to the sauce: Scoop the aromatics out of the liquid with a slotted spoon, then pour the sauce into a fat separator. Let the sauce rest for five minutes for the fat to separate, then pour back into the pot. Bring the de-fatted liquid to a boil, reducing by half. Serve as above, but top each serving of belly with a couple of tablespoons of sauce instead of a full ladle.

    *Don't have a pressure cooker? No problem. Use a heavy bottomed dutch oven with a lid, and increase the amount of stock to 2 cups. Follow the instructions right up until "lock the lid". Then, instead of pressure cooking, bring the pot to a boil, and cover with the lid. Move the pot to a preheated 350*F oven and bake for 3 hours, until the pork is tender. Continue with the serving step.

    Notes:
    *This recipe is even better the next day. Refrigerate overnight, scrape the fat cap off the top, bring to a simmer for ten minutes, then serve.

    *If you really want to be fancy, after pressure cooking, sear the pieces of pork belly. Remove them from the broth, pat dry, then sear in a fry pan for 3 to 6 minutes a side over medium-high heat. This gives them crisp "bacony" edges to go with the tender interior.
    *Bacony is a word, right? If not, it should be...

    What do you think? Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

    Related Posts:
    Instant Pot Red Braised Pork Belly
    Pressure Cooker Short Ribs with Mexican Flavors
    Pressure Cooker Pho Bo (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup)
    Pressure Cooker Cochinita Pibil ("Pit Cooked" pork)
    My Other Pressure Cooker Recipes

    Adapted from:
    Michael Symon's Live to Cook

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    Comments

    1. PH Lim says

      March 20, 2016 at 9:50 am

      Hi, would like to try your above pork belly recipe with my new Phillip electric pressure cooker (HD3129). I have not cooked any food with a pressure cooker before. Please advise how to Sear the pork belly (your step 2)using my Phillip electric pressure cooker. This pressure cooker has a "bake" button, do I use the "Bake" button to sear the pork? But how to do it.

      Reply
      • Mike V says

        March 20, 2016 at 12:55 pm

        Sorry - I've never used a Phillips pressure cooker, so I don't know what settings to use. You will have to check your manual. If it doesn't have a sauté or browning mode, you can brown the pork belly in a frypan in the stovetop before pressure cooking.

        Reply
        • PH Lim says

          March 21, 2016 at 8:48 am

          Thanks. Will try with my Roichem (Korea) semi pressure cooker instead of Phillip electric pressure cooker.

          Reply
    2. Steve says

      September 08, 2015 at 1:24 pm

      Hi Mike,
      Thanks for what looks like a lovely recipe I'll be trying tonight.
      One question I have however is, why do you remove the skin?
      Can you not cook it with skin on till half-time (or full-time?), then remove it to crisp it under a grill (or on a barbeque/broiler(?)) for some deelish crackling?
      Seems a waste of a delicacy!
      Thanks, Steve

      Reply
      • Mike V says

        September 08, 2015 at 5:20 pm

        Crackling is a great idea - but it doesn't work well in the pressure cooker. You'll get better results removing the skin and roasting it on its own to get cracklings. (Or, roast the pork belly instead of pressure cooking: https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/rotisserie-barbecued-pork-belly/)

        Reply
    3. ndbrian says

      June 19, 2013 at 12:15 am

      Was really easy and good. (I halfed the recipe) A bit salty, I think. Maybe 1 Cup of kosher salt is too much to brine it in? Still like it and can see how it would be really good without so much salt.

      Reply
    4. Mike V @ DadCooksDinner says

      December 08, 2012 at 7:24 pm

      The Cuisinart is about 20% less powerful than regular pressure cookers, so go 48 to 50 minutes under high pressure.

      Reply
    5. Yay Pork. says

      December 08, 2012 at 5:42 pm

      This looks awesome! I have the Cuisinart electric pressure cooker; can you estimate how long it takes in there versus the standard pressure cookers? I'm a little afraid of doing this without your advice on that step...thank you!

      Reply
    6. Mike V @ DadCooksDinner says

      August 10, 2012 at 5:56 pm

      Thanks, Nicole!

      Reply
    7. Nicole says

      August 10, 2012 at 4:29 pm

      looks amazing. Just got my first pressure cooker and first slab of pork belly. My neighbors always appreciate me testing out recipes! This one I am sure they will LOVE!

      I also have a blog with recipes: culinaryease.wordpress.com if you are interested.

      Thank you for this post.

      Reply
    8. JMom says

      October 14, 2011 at 6:41 pm

      Pork belly doesn't sound unappetizing at all! Actually, it's what attracted me and made me click on the link 🙂 I love the idea of braising it in beer. Will have to try that next time.

      Reply
    9. MikeV @ DadCooksDinner says

      September 25, 2011 at 5:31 pm

      @Debbie Fox:Thank you!I got the skin-on pork belly at my local Asian market, but it's also available at my local Whole Foods most of the time.

      Reply
    10. Debbie Fox says

      September 22, 2011 at 4:29 pm

      This looks delicious. I have a whole pork belly in the freezer, half of which will be used for this recipe, thanks. Where do you get pork belly with the skin on? And yes, bacony is a word, at least in my book. Here's to all things pork!

      Reply

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    Welcome to Dad Cooks Dinner!

    I'm Mike Vrobel, a dad who cooks dinner every night. I'm an enthusiastic home cook, and I write about pressure cooking, rotisserie grilling, and other food topics that grab my attention.

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