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Home » Recipes » Main Courses

Pork Belly Tacos - Easy to Make With Roasted Pork Belly

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Pork Belly Makes a Delicious Taco

Pork belly tacos are easy to make and are deliciously different from other tacos.

Let me begin by saying that I live in Austin, TX and tacos are huge here. Therefore, I eat a LOT of tacos. Pork belly tacos are great because they are so different every other taco that I have ever had. It's like really delicious seasoned thick cut bacon that melts in your mouth. That makes sense because pork belly is what is used to make bacon. One pork belly goes a long way and can easily make 100 tacos. But if you don't need that many tacos, cut the pork belly in half and make homemade smoked bacon out the other half. A link to that recipe is down below.

Pork Belly Tacos
Pork Belly Tacos

Prepare the Pork Belly

A pork belly does not need to be trimmed. In fact, the fat cap is essential to pork belly tacos. Score the fatty side of the pork belly with a knife, about ¼" deep in a crosshatch pattern 1" apart.

Score the Fat on the Pork Belly
Score the Fat on the Pork Belly

Rub a tablespoon of kosher salt onto the fat and turn the pork belly over. Rub another tablespoon of kosher salt on the other side. Place the pork belly in a non-reactive pan (like glass), and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Important: Do NOT use foil. The salt will eat right though the foil and will leave disgusting blotches of corroded aluminum goo all over your pork belly. I know this because I have made this mistake, more than once.

Season the Pork Belly with Kosher Salt
Season the Pork Belly with Kosher Salt

The next day, preheat the oven to 325°. Remove the pork belly from the refrigerator and allow it to warm up a bit.

Mix Up the Annotto Paste

This step is where a lot of flavor comes from. Grind the garlic, annotto paste, oregano and lime juice in a molcajete or food processor. Add more lime juice as necessary to form a paste. Place the pork belly in a large pan, preferably on a roasting rack. Rub the paste onto both side of the pork belly.

Spread the Annotto Paste Mixture Over the Meat Side of the Pork Belly
Spread the Annotto Paste Mixture Over the Meat Side of the Pork Belly

Bake the Pork Belly

Position the pork belly fat side up in the roasting pan. Add the minced onion and peppers to the pan, partially on top of the pork belly. Sprinkle cumin over the pork belly.

Add Sliced Jalapeno to the Pork Belly
Add Sliced Jalapeno to the Pork Belly

Cover with a piece of parchment paper and bake for four hours.

Pork Belly Roasting in the Oven
Pork Belly Roasting in the Oven

After four hours, remove the pork belly from the oven, allow it to cool, then wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it overnight. This step is important to help to the pork belly set before slicing.

Make Some Pork Belly Tacos

The next day, slice ¼" strips from the pork belly and cut each strip in half.

Slice the Pork Belly in ¼" Slices
Slice the Pork Belly in ¼" Slices

Pan fry the cut strips in a pan with olive oil until slightly crispy (about 10 minutes). Turn the pork belly slices over three times.

Fry the Sliced Pork Belly Until Crispy
Fry the Sliced Pork Belly Until Crispy

Heat canola oil in a large pot to 350°. Cook thin yellow corn tortillas in the hot oil (using taco tongs) until done (about 30-45 seconds).

Tortilla in Taco Tongs
Tortilla in Taco Tongs
Deep Fry the Taco Shell for About 30 Seconds
Deep Fry the Taco Shell for About 30 Seconds

Load crisp pork belly into the shells and add your favorite toppings. Enjoy!

Pork Belly Tacos
Pork Belly Tacos

Great Side Dishes to Serve With Pork Belly Tacos

  • Smoked Charro Beans
  • Kicked Up Refried Beans
  • Carnitas Empanadas
  • Texas Style Creamed Corn with Poblano Peppers
  • Easy Pork Recipes

If You Like Tacos, Try These

  • Shrimp Tacos in Adobo Marinade
  • Chicken Tacos with Salsa Verde

Click this link to watch how to make this dish on YouTube

Pork Belly Tacos

Pork Belly Tacos

Pork belly tacos are easy to make and are deliciously different from other tacos.
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 45 minutes mins
Cook Time 8 minutes mins
Time to marinade 2 days d
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 12 servings
Calories 638 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 3 lbs pork belly
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 3.5 oz annotto paste
  • 2 teaspoon Mexican oregano
  • ¼ cup lime juice
  • 1 medium yellow onion minced
  • 2 jalapeno peppers sliced
  • 2 serrano peppers sliced (optional)
  • 1 tbs cumin ground
  • 2 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
  • 12 oz braising liquid water or your favorite braising liquid
  • 2 cups Canola oil for frying

Instructions
 

  • Score the fatty side of the pork belly with a knife, about ¼" deep in a crosshatch pattern 1" apart.
  • Rub 1 tbs kosher salt onto the fat and turn over. Rub 1 tbs of kosher salt on the other side. Place in a non-reactive pan (like glass), cover with plastic wrap (NOT FOIL) and refrigerate overnight.
  • The next day, preheat the oven to 325°. Remove the pork belly from the refrigerator and allow to warm up a bit. Grind the garlic, annotto paste, oregano and lime juice in a molcajete or food processor. Add more lime juice as necessary to form a paste. Place the pork belly in a large pan, preferably on a roasting rack. Rub the paste onto both side of the pork belly.
  • Position the pork belly fat side up. Add minced onion, peppers to the pan, partially on top of the pork belly. Sprinkle cumin and black pepper over the pork belly. Cover with a piece of parchment paper or cover the pan with aluminum foil. IMPORTANT: Do not let the foil come in contact with the pork belly. The salt will corrode the aluminum and make a mess on the pork belly. Cook for 4 hours. Allow to cool, then wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
  • The next day, slice ¼" strips from the pork belly and cut each strip in half.
  • Pan fry the cut strips in a fry pan with olive oil until slightly crispy (about 10 minutes). Turn three times.
  • Heat canola oil in a large pot to 350°. Cook thin yellow corn tortillas in the hot oil (using taco tongs) until done (about 30-45 seconds).
  • Load crisp pork belly into the shells and add your favorite toppings. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

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Nutrition

Serving: 8ozCalories: 638kcalCarbohydrates: 2gProtein: 11gFat: 65gSaturated Fat: 22gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gMonounsaturated Fat: 31gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 82mgSodium: 1783mgPotassium: 251mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 57IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 19mgIron: 1mg
Keyword pork belly, pork belly tacos, tacos
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Dave

I'm Dave, just a guy who likes to cook for family and friends and take pictures of what I make. I am not a chef. While some of my recipes might look complicated and intimidating, I assure you that they are all really quite easy. If you can cut an onion, you can make any recipe on this website. Have some fun and make something new.

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