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This crispy grilled pork belly sandwich is as delicious as it is easy to make. The hardest part will be finding the pork belly, which we season and grill till crispy while brushing on a honey glaze before assembling an epic sandwich with toasted hamburger buns. All on a gas grill, but this would work on a charcoal grill or a kamado too. Indeed, who doesn’t love toasty buns?!? Additionally, we will show a pro-tip on how to toast the perfect bun.
Most of the time when we do pork belly on this site it’s in the form of the ever popular pork belly burnt ends that are positively addicting. Pro tip: always make twice the amount of pork belly burnt ends that you think you need, such as with these Pork Belly Pig Shots. But this pork belly sandwich is more akin to these Pork Belly Hot Dogs which are absolutely sublime. And this crispy grilled pork belly sandwich recipe is so good, we have a similar version of this sandwich right here.
Let me know which one you like better in the comments below.
Crispy Grilled Pork Belly Sandwich Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic, we used jarred garlic
- 2 stalks of thyme leaves (substitute a pinch of dried thyme)
- 1/3 cup of honey
- 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
- 3 pounds pork belly cut into four inch strips, 1/3-1/2 inch thick
- Salt to taste
- Your favorite burger buns (We used a sesame seed bun)
- Spray oil
- Shredded cabbage
- Fresh cilantro (skip this or substitute flat leaf parsley)
The hardest part of this is finding pork belly. We aren’t looking for bacon. Bacon is cured. We want uncured pork belly. I found this at my local Costco.
What is the difference between pork belly and bacon
We get bacon from pork belly by salt or smoke curing the belly which is why it is hard to distinguish between pork belly and bacon. Pork belly is simply uncured bacon. Fun fact, bacon, since it has been cured, can be eaten raw. I’m not saying it won’t be a gummy mess, but it won’t kill you.
First, crank up the grill to medium high heat (375F-425F) and while the grill comes up to temp, let’s make up the glaze.
Second, combine all the ingredients above the pork belly in a bowl and whisk together. Additionally, if you want to cook the glaze down in a pan a bit you can.
The sauce will thicken on the pork belly so it’s not a necessity.
Third, let’s carve that pork belly into four inch strips about 1/3″-1/2″ thick:
Then, season with salt, remember pork belly has no salt like cured bacon:
Now time to make grilled pork belly.
How to Make Crispy Grilled Pork Belly Sandwich
We season the pork belly with salt and then place them on a 375F-425F grill (this will work on charcoal or gas – we used a gas grill). We use the “Just Keep Flipping Method” by getting some nice browning/char on one side and flip over and repeat on the other side until the pork belly is browned all the way through and a little crispy. Once the grilled pork belly is browned, glaze with the honey, sesame, balsamic sauce and flip over. Keep glazing and flipping rather quickly until the sauce is thick and gooey. Toast the buns. Lay down a layer of cabbage and cilantro, the crispy grilled pork belly and enjoy.
Time to make Grilled Pork Belly
I am cooking on a gas grill, because you can cook more than burgers and dogs on a gasser:
Despite the pork belly being fairly thin, this is not a super fast cook. We are not getting a quick char and making our sando. So when the pork belly has some char on it, we aren’t quite done.
As we are doing the “Just-Keep-Flipping” method here, get some char like this and flip and keep doing so until crispy:
Keep flipping the grilled pork belly as it gets some browning on each side until it looks like this:
Now grab that honey, sesame, balsamic glaze and brush it on:
Keep basting and flipping the pork belly to thicken the sauce. Don’t wait long between flipping, less than a minute, so the sugars don’t blacken. If the sauce is blackening too quickly, dial back the temp on a gas grill or move to the edge of hot coals on a charcoal grill.
Pull the crispy grilled pork belly off the grill and toast the buns
How to Toast the Perfect Bun
If you toss the buns straight on the grill, there will be a very short window to get the buns toasty before they burn. The trick is to grab a can of spray oil and give the sliced side of the buns a good spritz. Indeed, don’t go light here. Most of it cooks off. Make sure to coat the bread on that sliced side completely. Consequently, any spot that isn’t covered will burn in seconds. Additionally, the parts that are oiled will brown beautifully, but it will still be pretty quick so don’t put these on and go get a beverage.
Assemble the Pork Belly Sandwich(es)
Then, lay down the bottom bun and drop a layer of shredded cabbage and cilantro (optional):
Finally, layer on the star of the show, that crispy grilled pork belly:
Crispy Grilled Pork Belly Sandwich Summary
Just like those pork belly burnt ends recipes, we listed above, make sure to make more than you expect to need as these things are pretty addictive. Indeed, everything about these are amazing. The crispy bacon and the crisp cabbage along with the toasted bun and the sweetness of that well nuanced sauce simply make these sandos incredible indeed.
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Recipe Card:
Crispy Grilled Pork Belly Sandwich
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Salted butter
- 1 tablespoon Sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons Jarred garlic Substitute 2 cloves of fresh minced garlic
- ⅓ cup Honey
- ¼ cup Balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Soy sauce
- 3 pounds Pork belly Cut into 4 inch strips between a third and a half inch thick
- Salt to taste
- Your favorite burger buns We used sesame buns
- Spray oil
- Shredded cabbage
- Fresh cilantro Optional, substitute flat leaf parsley
Instructions
- Prepare the grill for medium high heat: 375F-425F
- Mix all the ingredients above the pork belly in a bowl and blend together. Set aside and prepare the pork belly
- Slice the pork belly into four inch strips about ⅓"-½" thick. Season the strips of pork belly with salt on both sides
- Place the strips of pork belly on the grill until each strip is browned on one side and flip over. After both sides have some browning, keep flipping and browning until the pork belly is browned all the way through and is starting to get crispy
- Brush on the honey, sesame, balsamic glaze and flip. Baste and glaze. Baste and glaze. Keep flipping rather quickly so the sugars don't burn while allowing the glaze to thicken. Once the glaze is thick and gooey remove the crispy grilled pork belly from the grill and prepare the buns
- Spray the sliced sides of the buns thoroughly with the spray oil to coat completely then place the buns oiled side down on the hot grill. once the buns have toasted a bit, rotate 90 degrees and toast a bit more.
- Place the bottom buns down, layer on the cabbage and cilantro (optional) and the crispy grilled pork belly and top with the upper buns.
- Eat and revel
Video
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