A mouthwatering pork belly sandwich: sourdough bread slathered with garlicky mayonnaise and stacked with thick, BBQ sauce-glazed pork belly slices, tomatoes, onions, and rocket.
Make this hearty pork belly sandwich for lunch today. Or for dinner, who said you should only eat sandwiches for lunch? I love eating a delicious sandwich in front of the telly, and I am sure I am not the only one.
Make some other meaty sandwiches using this recipe for Sliced Roast Beef. Or try this Italian Tramezzini recipe and feel like you're on holiday in Italy.
Ingredients: 14 + salt & pepper | Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 7 minutes | Servings: 2 | Difficulty: Easy
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Recipe ingredients
Pork belly: You will need two slices of pork belly to make two sandwiches, so one piece per person, more or less ½ lb/ 250 g. I mostly buy cuts about ½ inch/ 1 ½ cm thick. If they are thinner (about ¼- ½ inch/ 6-12 mm), it is also fine, but adjust the cooking time accordingly.
- If the slices still have the skin on, please remove it.
Bread: I love sourdough bread. However, you can use other loaves of bread: crusty ciabatta, panini bread, crusty sandwich rolls, rye, whole wheat, or spelt bread are all good options.
- I don't recommend the packaged, sweet-tasting supermarket white bread. And I am not a fan of brioche buns either; both packaged white bread and buns are too soft and too sweet for this sandwich.
Toppings: Sliced tomatoes, red onions, and rocket.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make a pork belly sandwich?
Prepare ingredients:
- Sauce: Mix the mayonnaise, grated garlic, mustard, and honey in a small bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Vegetables: Wash and dry the rocket leaves and remove any excessively long stems. Thickly slice the onions and the tomatoes.
- Bread: Cut four thick slices of bread.
Pan fry pork belly: Rub the meat with the spices (1).
- Cook in a hot skillet on medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes per side, depending on their thickness. Flip the slices a few times in between using tongs (2).
- Brush them with some BBQ sauce during the last 2 minutes of cooking. Flip them repeatedly during this time, brushing them with more sauce every time you turn them (3).
Assemble the sandwich:
- Slather two bread slices thickly with the mayonnaise mixture and two pieces (the upper ones) only thinly. Place the thickly slathered slices on the working surface.
- Cut the prepared pork belly pieces in half and arrange the halves on each bread piece.
- Add rocket, tomato, and red onion slices.
- Cover with the thinly slathered bread pieces.
- Serve immediately.
Customize your sandwich
- Make a sandwich similar to this Pork Chop Burger with lots of mustard and caramelized onions.
- Make a sauerkraut pork sandwich; sauerkraut and pork are a match made in heaven. Learn How to Cook Sauerkraut or make Bavarian Sauerkraut.
Tips
You will not need additional fat for cooking the meat; the belly will render enough fat.
Use a splatter screen when pan-frying the belly to avoid too much mess. Or cook the pork belly in the oven or the air fryer.
Cook pork belly: You can start from scratch and pan-fry the meat, or use reheated leftover pork belly. Check out this article on How to Cook Pork Belly Slices; it provides information on pan-frying, baking, grilling, or air-frying belly slices.
- Or make Pork Belly in the Slow Cooker, slice it, and use it for today's recipe.
Serve the pork belly sandwiches immediately while the meat is still hot. If using leftovers, reheat the pork belly well before assembling the sandwiches.
How to store?
Store all the ingredients separately in the refrigerator. Keep the sauce in an airtight container and reheat the meat before building a new sandwich.
It's preferable to slice the vegetables just before serving, but if you have leftovers, they will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for one day.
Freeze the meat for up to two months. Defrost and reheat before serving.
Reheat in the microwave, oven, stovetop, or air fryer. I don't recommend eating the meat cold.
Sliced Pork Belly Sandwich
Equipment
- Frying pan or skillet
Ingredients
- 2 slices pork belly long and thick, Note 1
- 4 slices sourdough bread Note 2
Spices:
- â…› teaspoon sweet paprika powder
- â…› teaspoon smoked paprika powder
- â…› garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt or Kosher
- good pinch black pepper
- 3 tablespoons BBQ sauce your favorite
Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 garlic clove large
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon grainy sweet mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey
- fine sea salt and black pepper to taste
Vegetables:
- handful rocket leaves
- 2 tomatoes small-medium
- 1 red onion small-medium
Instructions
- Sauce: Mix mayonnaise, grated garlic, Dijon and sweet mustard, and honey in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.3 tablespoons mayonnaise + 1 garlic clove + 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard + 1 teaspoon grainy sweet mustard + 1 teaspoon honey + fine sea salt and black pepper
- Vegetables: Wash and dry the rocket leaves and remove any excessively long stems. Cut the onions and the tomatoes into thicker slices.handful rocket leaves + 2 tomatoes + 1 red onion
- Bread: Cut four finger-thick slices of bread.4 slices sourdough bread
- Pork belly: Rub the meat with the spices. Cook in a hot skillet for 5 to 7 minutes per side, depending on their thickness. Flip the slices a few times in between using tongs.2 slices pork belly + ⅛ teaspoon sweet paprika powder + ⅛ teaspoon smoked paprika powder + ⅛ garlic powder + ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt or Kosher + good pinch black pepper
- Glaze pork: Brush the slices with BBQ sauce during the last 2 minutes of the cooking time. Flip them repeatedly during this time, brushing them with more sauce every time you turn them.3 tablespoons BBQ sauce
Assemble sandwiches:
- Slather two bread slices thickly with the mayonnaise mixture and two slices (the upper ones) only thinly. Place the thickly slathered slices on the working surface.
- Cut the belly slices in half and arrange two halves on each of these two bread slices.
- Top with rocket, tomato, and red onion slices.
- Cover with the thinly slathered bread pieces. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Pork belly slices: About ½ inch/ 1 ½ cm thick and 7 inches/ 18 cm long. Remove the skin if it's still on.
- Bread: Crusty ciabatta, panini bread, crusty sandwich rolls, rye, whole wheat, or spelt bread are all good.
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