Crazy good Sous Vide Pork Belly Tacos

For the best pork belly of your life! 

Seriously, this sous vide pork belly is so simple and so good. The textures and flavors of the finished dish will blow you and your friends away. This is not your traditional bbq pork belly recipe, its so much better. Use a high quality pork with a good ratio of meat to fat for this recipe. I usually buy my pork belly from Costco. If your local Costco does not carry pork belly, look for a local Asian grocery store like 99Ranch.  You can also find high end Kurobuta Pork from Snake River Farms. If you are not familiar with SRF you need to check them out soon. As a Chef I always looked forward to bringing their American Wagyu steaks into my restaurants. It was a treat for everyone, from the cooks to the guests. Take a look at their mixed variety boxes. 

What you need

• Sous Vide Machine, aka Immersion Circulator. My Recommendations Here
• Vacuum Sealer. Due to the long cook times, you need a sealer. The water displacement method will leave too much air causing the belly to eventually float and then cook unevenly.
• Sous Vide Bag, like the food-saver style vacuum bag.
• Lid for the sous vide container or ping pong balls to keep the water level from dropping during the extended cooking time.
• Large pot or a Cambro box for the water bath

Time & Temperature

My favorite combo is 165º for 12 hours. The sous vide process will tenderize the pork belly and break down any connective tissue without becoming shredded pork. If you are looking for shredded pork I would recommend you used an Instant pot or a smoker vs using the sous vide technique. The lower temperature used in sous vide is its advantage. Pulled Pork needs to hit 195-205, which is just too high of a temperature for a sous vide cooker.

Pro Tip

Enjoy this Pork Belly with a Mezcal Old Fashion or a nice Reposado like this ArteNom 1414 or the G4. This sous vide pork belly recipe was inspired by the flavors that compliment Tequilla. I also really wanted the flavor of the pork belly to shine rather than being covered up with heavy sugary sauces.  Cheers!