Loaded BBQ Pork Belly Baked Potatoes Recipe

A loaded baked potato is a thing of culinary beauty — at least in my opinion — these massive stuffed taters are drool-inducingly gorgeous. Fluffy interiors, crispy-skin exteriors, and a mountain of creamy, crunchy, melty, and savory fillings. We're all pretty familiar with the standard loaded baked potato staples. Most chain restaurants feature a baked potato on their menu and, often, they are "loaded" with similar fare: bacon, sour cream, cheddar cheese, and chives or scallions. When tasked to craft a "barbecue-style" loaded baked potato, I wanted to riff on the bacon element by making a burnt ends-style pork belly topper.

We have the Kansas City region to thank when it comes to gracing us with the barbecue concept of "burnt ends." These coveted, charred, crispy bits originated with brisket and have since moved into pork belly territory. Since many of us don't have a commercial barbecue operation at our disposal, I created an at-home-compatible solution. My technique involves slow cooking the pork belly in the oven. During those final moments of low-and-slow roasting, I toss the crisping belly pieces in a twangy-spicy-sweet barbecue sauce to infuse, caramelize, and char.

For my traditional loaded baked potato aficionados, fear not. I still included the sour cream, chives, and cheddar cheese we all adore. I also added some pickled red onions and jalapeño to highlight and balance our more unctuous components.

For the barbecue, you need to source some raw, slab-style pork belly — not bacon. Most dedicated butchers will have raw pork belly, as would many Asian-style grocery stores. To sauce the pork belly, you will need salted butter, garlic, hot sauce (Louisiana-style or Frank's are my favorites), ketchup, soy sauce, honey, and apple cider vinegar.

For the baked potatoes, you will need 4 large russet potatoes, olive oil, and Montreal steak seasoning. For the toppings, I recommend sour cream, grated cheddar cheese, sliced pickled jalapeños, sliced pickled red onions, and fresh chopped chives.

To make the pork belly, preheat the oven to 300 F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Spread the cubed pork belly on the prepared baking sheet in an even layer. Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour or until the pork is just starting to brown.

While the pork belly is baking, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.

Once melted, add the garlic, and saute for 1 minute.

Add the hot sauce, ketchup, soy sauce, honey, and vinegar to the pan, and whisk to combine.

Bring the sauce to a low simmer and cook, whisking frequently, for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Remove the pork from the oven and drain away any pan drippings.

Transfer the pork to a medium bowl and top with half of the BBQ sauce. Toss to coat.

Return the sauced pork belly to the baking sheet, spreading it out in an even layer, return the tray to the oven, and bake for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the potatoes on 4 large sheets of aluminum foil.

Using a fork, poke holes into the potatoes to release steam.

Drizzle the potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with steak seasoning.

Loosely wrap the potatoes in the foil and transfer to a large baking sheet.

Once the pork belly is generously caramelized, remove it from the oven.

Toss the caramelized pork belly in the remaining BBQ sauce and keep it warm until you're ready to serve.

Increase the oven temperature to 425 F. Place the potatoes in the oven and bake for 1 hour or until tender.

To assemble the loaded potatoes, carefully open the foil and cut a slit into each potato. Firmly press on the ends of the potatoes to open them up.

Divide the sauced pork belly between the baked potatoes.

Dollop the potatoes with sour cream and generously sprinkle with cheddar cheese.

Top with pickled jalapeños and red onion and sprinkle with chopped chives before serving.

• Japanese Restaurant-Style Carrot Ginger Salad Recipe
• Crispy Fried Brussels Sprouts With Pomegranate Glaze Recipe
• Korean Dry-Rubbed Chicken Wings Recipe
• Grilled Romaine and Corn Salad With an Herby Mustard Dressing Recipe
• Easy Kale Caesar Salad Recipe

When making this recipe or any other pork belly barbecue-related recipe, the most important thing is the pork belly itself. Look for skinless slabs with a balanced meat-to-fat ratio. We want a good deal of both (meat and fat). The rendered fat ensures that the meat stays moist and juicy, as well as helping us to achieve that burnt-ends-char appeal.

Why pork belly instead of bacon? We use pork belly in this recipe for its more tender, succulent, melt-in-the-mouth texture. Since raw pork belly is uncured and unsalted, we end up with a more balanced-tasting bite. Our barbecue sauce is pretty bold and well-seasoned, so using bacon would cause our burnt ends to be overly salty.

The name "burnt ends" is a bit of a misnomer. We aren't burning our pork belly, just moderately charring it and caramelizing the sugars in the honey. During that last 30 minutes of bake time, keep an eye on your oven. Look for the pork belly to look candy-like and glistening, and look for the pieces around the edge of the baking sheet to be a little darker. Adjust the oven's temperature if you notice your pork caramelizing too quickly or beginning to burn in earnest.

Russet potatoes are the best for baking. They have a nice starch balance that results in fluffy centers, not mushy, waxy centers like other potatoes. Russets' outer skin is perfectly fibrous and dense, allowing for an even steam to occur on the inside, while the outside crisps. These are the best potatoes for the job, and I highly recommend them for your use in this recipe.

When shopping, look for uniformly-shaped and sized potatoes. For loaded baked potatoes, I look for taters that are somewhat flat on one side. The uniformity ensures all of our potatoes bake evenly and at the same time. The "somewhat flat" potatoes allow us to work with a stable surface when baking and stuffing with ingredients. No roly-poly hot potatoes.

Make sure to thoroughly wash (cold water with a gentle scrub) and dry your potatoes beforehand. Don't skip the poking or seasoning portion of this recipe either. Those fork-poked holes allow for any built-up steam to release, and the seasoning infuses the skin with flavor.

• Argentinian Picadillo Beef-Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe
• Whipped Sweet Potatoes With Lemon Herb Drizzle Recipe
• Sweet and Spicy Gochujang Pork Riblets Recipe
• Filipino Pork Adobo Recipe
• Roasted Spanish Potatoes Recipe