Achiote Pork Belly with Pineapple Salsa

Achiote pork belly is a show-stopping meal for any occasion. Slow braised in Corona beer and an earthy, citrusy, and vibrant Mexican achiote paste. The meat is rich, melt-in-your-mouth and incredibly flavourful with flawless crunchy crackling. For best results, begin this recipe a day ahead to allow time for drying out the pork belly overnight in the fridge, to achieve the ultimate crackling experience.
Achiote is a a paste of ground annato, garlic, oregano, a blend of spices, optional chillies, and citrus juice or vinegar. It is an essential ingredient for this recipe, there is no substitute.
To carve the pork belly, turn it upside down—this makes cutting the crackling easier. There’s no need to thicken the sauce, but you can remove some fat and thicken it to make a gravy.

Pork Belly	Pineapple Salsa
2 kg Pork belly 50 g Achiote paste Tallow, lard or olive oil Sea salt flakes 330 ml Corona beer 350-500 ml Chicken stock Cilantro, to serve Lime wedges, to serve	400-500 g Fresh pineapple, diced 250 g Tomatoes, diced 1 Small red onion, peeled and finely chopped 15 g Cilantro, chopped 1 Jalapeno, deseeded and chopped 1 Garlic clove, minced 2 tbsp Lime juice 1 tbsp Olive oil 1 tsp Cumin powder 1/3 tsp Sea salt

Using a very sharp knife, carefully score the skin of the pork at 1cm intervals without cutting into the meat. Rub the meat side with achiote paste. Place the pork belly, skin side up, uncovered in a baking dish and leave it in the fridge overnight or up to 3 days.
Take the pork belly out of the fridge for 30–45 minutes before cooking to bring the pork belly to room temperature. Meanwhile preheat oven to 230C/450F.
Rub the skin with melted tallow or olive oil, then sprinkle generously with sea salt flakes. Place in the oven and roast for 40 minutes until the skin has crackled and golden. Carefully pour in the corona beer and add enough chicken stock until the liquid comes about halfway up the side of the pork, ensuring no liquid comes into contact with the skin. Reduce heat to 180C/350F and roast for a further 1½-2 hours or until pork is completely tender.
For the salsa, combine everything in a bowl. Taste and adjust seasonings to preference. Let the cooked pork belly rest for 15 minutes before carving. Serve the pork belly with pineapple salsa, fresh cilantro and lime wedges.

33 comments:

Brian's Home Blog 6/7/26 00:14: That looks like the perfectly wonderful meal!!!
Tom 6/7/26 00:16: ...they make a great pair!
J.P. Alexander 6/7/26 01:57: Gracias por la receta. Te deseo una buena semana. Te mando un beso.
Ben | Havocinthekitchen 6/7/26 02:09: This looks wonderful, Angie! The pork belly looks incredibly soft and juicy, and the pineapple salsa sounds like the perfect pairing.
Linda's Relaxing Lair 6/7/26 02:18: Looks delicious 😋
Modrina Neba - Blue sky 6/7/26 05:52: I see something good again.
A Monday kiss to you!
Tandy (Lavender and Lime) 6/7/26 05:53: The crackling looks fantastic!
Ruby Rose and the Big Little Angels 3 6/7/26 07:18: That looks and sounds great. A pee pad is an absorbent pad for a dog to pee on
Margaret D 6/7/26 07:46: Yummy Angie. Just love crackle.
Stara vrtlarica 6/7/26 08:24: Excellent dish, I baked it on Saturday, but unfortunately without your nice additions. Next time I have to correct that mistake and follow your recipe. Kind regards, Jasna
David M. Gascoigne, 6/7/26 11:46: I will wear my sombrero and shake my maracas, Angie, and give this dish a try. 😏
eileeninmd 6/7/26 12:29: Another yummy recipe Angie, thanks for sharing.
Take care, enjoy your day and have a great week ahead.
DEZMOND 6/7/26 13:24: I currently have pear and pineapple tea in my tea drawer and use it for ice tea during this heat. It is very fragrant.
chocolat noir 6/7/26 13:49: 🌸Je te souhaite une belle journée .🌸
My name is Erika. 6/7/26 14:09: I don't know which sounds better, the salsa or the pork belly. This sounds like a winner. :) Happy new week Angie.
Mimi Rippee 6/7/26 14:43: LOVE this! I haven’t used a chipotle for a long time.
Mimi Rippee 6/7/26 14:44: I did not write chipotle. I wrote achiote!!!
Bill 6/7/26 15:02: Sounds like a great meal.
Lori 6/7/26 18:01: Pork and pineapple are a glorious combination.
DVArtist 6/7/26 19:22: Ohhh this looks so good. Thank you for the recipe.
Christine 6/7/26 23:18: Yummy
Lowcarb team member 7/7/26 00:04: ... and so nice with a pineapple salsa.

All the best Jan
Veronica Lee 7/7/26 12:43: That golden crackle makes it look irresistible. 😋
Beata M. 7/7/26 16:59: Delicious 😋
Adrasteja 7/7/26 20:16: Yum, yum! That pork looks incredibly delicious.
The-FoodTrotter 7/7/26 21:23: This recipe looks beyond mouth-watering, not to mention this very alluring pineapple salsa!
MELODY JACOB 7/7/26 23:06: This looks absolutely incredible. This feels like the kind of meal that would turn an ordinary dinner into an occasion.
Anne in the kitchen 7/7/26 23:24: I still have a cryovac pork belly in the freezer. This is a greta summertime recipe
Cocoa and Lavender 8/7/26 18:31: As I mentioned, I am making your Chinese red pork belly this week so I will have to add this one to the list, though I will skip the pineapple salsa in favor of another fruit. ~ David
Neuer Gartentraum 9/7/26 21:46: Das sieht großartig aus. Ich werde den Schweinebraten als Sonntagsessen zubereiten.
tigerfish 14/7/26 23:58: Love the crunchy crackling! And the pork belly looks meaty delicious (hv came across low quality pork belly cuts before with no meat, all fats which is definitely not the most perfect meat to fat ratio for pork belly). Nice refreshing pineapple salsa a must for this!
Raymund | angsarap.net 15/7/26 00:27: Crispy, tender, tropical, the kind of pork belly that turns dinner into an event, as a pork lover this is da bomb!!!
Federica Simoni 17/7/26 17:34: interessante ricetta, grazie