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Chocolate Espresso Pork Belly

George Bryant (Civilized Caveman)
4.67 from 3 votes
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 3 hrs
Total Time 3 hrs 10 mins
Servings 5

Ingredients
  

  • 3 pound pork belly skin removed
  • 2 tablespoons Choffy see notes
  • 2 tablespoons espresso or ground Hug In A Mug Coffee
  • 2 teaspoons sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions
 

Smoker

  • Before you prepare your pork belly, preheat your smoker to smoke at 225 degrees Fahrenheit (107 Celsius)
  • While your smoker is warming up, wash your pork belly with cold water and pat dry
  • Score the fat side of the pork belly in a checkerboard pattern without cutting into the meat
  • Mix your choffy (or cocoa powder), coffee, sea salt, and black pepper together and liberally season your pork belly over the checkerboard. Ensure you get seasoning into the grooves
  • If you have a leave in meat thermometer, now is the time to insert it
  • Place your pork belly on your smoker and go take a nap
  • Let your pork belly smoke for 4-5 hours
  • You can pull your pork belly off when it reaches an internal temperature of 150 Degrees Fahrenheit (66 Celsius) or you can leave it up til 170 degrees Fahrenheit (77 Celsius)
  • Once it is done, remove it from the smoker and slice to serve to the size you prefer
  • I like to serve my roasted pork belly with roasted root vegetables like my carrots or sweet potatoes to contrast the saltiness and cut the richness

Oven

  • Before you prepare your pork belly, preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit (218 Celsius)
  • While your oven is preheating, wash your pork belly with cold water and pat dry
  • Score the fat side of the pork belly in a checkerboard pattern without cutting into the meat
  • Mix your choffy (or cocoa powder), coffee, sea salt, and black pepper together and liberally season your pork belly over the checkerboard. Ensure you get seasoning into the grooves
  • If you have a leave in meat thermometer, now is the time to insert it
  • Place your pork belly on an elevated rack over a cookie sheet or pan and place it in your preheated oven
  • Roast for 30 minutes and then reduce the temp to 350 degrees and roast for 2 1/2 - 3 hours or until the internal temperature reaches anywhere between 150-170 Degrees Fahrenheit (66-77 Celsius) which is your preference. It is almost impossible to overcook pork belly
  • Once it is done, remove it from the oven and slice to serve to the size you prefer
  • I like to serve my roasted pork belly with roasted root vegetables like my carrots or sweet potatoes to contrast the saltiness and cut the richness

Notes

You can use your own ground and roasted cacao or cocoa powder if you want to get some more chocolate on it