Air Fryer Reference
Pork Belly
protein · fresh
- Temperature
- 400 °F
- 204 °C
- Total time
- 18 min
- 1 lb pork belly
- Shake at
- 9 min
- shake once
- Internal temp
- 145 °F
- 63 °C
Doneness
Cubes are deeply golden-brown on every face with crisp crackling edges; fat has rendered visibly into the basket; the cubes have shrunk by about a third.
Oil & seasoning
None — pork belly renders enormous amounts of fat. Toss the cubes with salt, sugar and five-spice for a Cantonese-style dry rub.
Season with: salt, white pepper, Chinese five-spice, brown sugar, garlic powder, soy sauce (light brush, optional).
Watch out for
- Pork belly fat splatters aggressively at 400 °F. Line the drip tray with parchment (NOT paper towels) or a heat-safe air-fryer liner to make cleanup tolerable. Empty the drip tray halfway through — pooled fat can smoke.
- Score the skin in a tight crosshatch pattern if the cubes have skin attached. The score lines turn into crackling; an unscored skin stays leathery.
- USDA-safe internal temperature for pork is 145 °F / 63 °C. Visual cues (rendered fat, deeply browned edges) are reliable but a thermometer in the largest cube is the safer call.
- Do not exceed 400 °F. At 410 °F+ the rendered pork fat smokes heavily and sets off kitchen smoke detectors.