This elote pork belly recipe has got it all. It’s crispy and tender, rich and fresh at the same time, which is saying a lot! It’s one of my takes on chicharrón. This classic dish is popular in Central and South America and Spain and features fried pork rinds or fried pork belly (and sometimes both). Chicharrón can be served with many things, so I’m serving up this pork belly with elote sauce and guacamole.
I made this recipe with Cowboy Charcoal, which is my go-to fuel for any live fire cooking. This stuff burns the cleanest and hottest of any charcoal I’ve tried. I even use it to flavor my smoked butter and smoked chimichurri — it’s that good.
Post sponsored by Cowboy Charcoal
Why You’ll Love Elote Pork Belly
Pork belly is one of those game changing grill ingredients. You can make pork belly tacos for taco night, pork belly burnt ends for a backyard BBQ, or pork belly cinnamon rolls for an incredibly luxe brunch. Love the flavor of bacon but wish it was meatier so you could do more with it? Pork belly is your new best friend.
For this elote pork belly recipe, we’re frying the pork belly for the crunch that people associate with chicharrón. The word chicharrón actually means “crackling” in Spanish, and you’ll see why with this recipe!
To keep the rich pork belly flavors from overwhelming the meal, I added a few twists, starting with creamy, fresh guacamole. Then, pairing the guacamole with elote sauce really amps up the flavor. The whole process should take 3-4 hours, but most of that is hands off while the pork belly is in the smoker. It’s time well spent for this meal!
Looking for ideas for different pork cuts? Check out my Tomahawk Pork Chops Recipe, Pork Pinwheels or my Smoked Pulled Pork Sandwich.
Elote Pork Belly Ingredients
- Pork Belly: We’ll use skinless pork belly for our elote pork belly, seasoned with some salt, pepper and garlic! I also used some of my FYR Red hot sauce as a binder.
- Elote Sauce: This sauce consists of sour cream, mayonnaise, hot sauce, garlic powder, black pepper, lime juice, kosher salt and buttermilk.
- Guacamole: I use the avocados, red onions, fresh cilantro and lime juice you usually think of with guacamole. But here’s another twist — we’re adding in corn kernels, cotija cheese and Tajin seasoning to honor the elote aspect of this recipe!
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How to Grill Corn
Elote actually refers to grilled Mexican street corn, which is slathered in the freakin’ delicious sauce I’m making for this recipe. If you have extra sauce and want to make your own Mexican street corn on the cob, here’s my method for grilling corn on the cob with those nice grill marks.
Since we’re also grilling corn for the guacamole, you could always throw on some extra cobs! Shuck your corn, put it directly over a very hot fire, then grill until it’s charred and cooked through. This process should take about 6-8 minutes. You’ll want to turn it occasionally so you get even charring and keep an eye on it so it doesn’t get burned. Serve with butter, or go whole hog with elote sauce, cotija cheese (which we’ve got for the guacamole anyway) and more fresh cilantro.
Want a cob that isn’t charred? You can also grill the corn in the husk. For this method, place the corn in the husk directly on top of your hot Cowboy Charcoal and grill until the cob is cooked through, which should take about 15 minutes. The husk will be all blackened and charred, and it gets kind of messy shucking it. But, you’ll have clean kernels on the inside.
How to Make Elote Pork Belly
Making the Elote Sauce
First, let’s get our fire going. Use Cowboy Charcoal to preheat your grill to medium-high heat (around 375 degrees Fahrenheit) for direct cooking. When the grill is hot, grill your 3-4 ears of corn over high heat until they’re fully cooked and slightly charred. As I mentioned in the tip, this should take about 6-8 minutes. Pull the ears off the grill and slice the kernels off the cob.
In a bowl, mix together your ingredients for the elote sauce: 2 tablespoons sour cream, 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, 1.5 tablespoons hot sauce, 1.5 teaspoons garlic powder, 1 teaspoon black pepper, juice from two limes, kosher salt to taste and buttermilk to your desired consistency. Set the elote sauce to the side.
Making the Guacamole
In another bowl, core and mash 5-6 ripe avocados. Add in 1 cup finely diced red onions, 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, juice from 3-4 medium limes and kosher salt to taste. Mix all that together, then top the guacamole with your grilled corn, 1 tablespoon cotija cheese and 1 tablespoon Tajin seasoning. Drizzle the elote sauce over the top and set to the side.
Grilling the Pork Belly
Now it’s time for the star of the show: the pork belly! Slice your 3 pounds pork belly into 2-inch-thick strips. Cover the strips in FYR RED sauce and season with 3 tablespoons of a salt, pepper and garlic mixture (or your favorite pork rub).
Set it to the side, then get your Cowboy Charcoal to preheat your smoker to 250 degrees F for indirect cooking. Add the pork belly to the smoker and cook it for 2-2.5 hours, until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.
When it hits temp, remove the pork belly from the smoker and transfer it over to a preheated skillet, cooking directly over some hot charcoal. Cook until the meat has a nice, crispy exterior, while the interior is still tender and juicy.
Once you’ve finished searing the pork belly, remove from the skillet and let it cool for five minutes. Serve the pork belly with the elote guacamole on the side. Enjoy!
What to Serve with Elote Pork Belly
We’ve got a pretty rich dish with this elote pork belly, so you’ll want to go easy on the sides. Some roasted bell peppers or blistered shishitos would be freakin’ delicious, or even a simple green salad dressed with lime juice and olive oil. Mexican rice and tortilla chips would be great too.
Leftovers and Reheating
Store your elote guacamole and your leftover pork belly in separate containers in the fridge for up to three days. When you’re making this dish again, leave the sauces cold. Reheat your pork belly in a skillet on the grill at medium heat for 10-15 minutes. You could also use a 350-degree F oven for this step.
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FAQs
When you visit your local butcher, you’ll have a choice between skin-on pork belly and skinless pork belly. In many of my pork belly recipes, I use skin-on pork belly because that crispy skin can be the best part when you cook it right! For this elote pork belly, I went with the skinless option since we’re cutting the meat into strips and not emphasizing that crispy skin as much.
You can find pork belly at your local grocery store or butcher. When you’re buying it, make sure you ask for skinless and get those big hunks of meat that you can cut up into the 2-inch strips.
This stuff is so good, you can find it everywhere! Hardware stores and supermarkets across the United States have it in stock. Check out the company’s store locator to find a spot near you.
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Elote Pork Belly
Ingredients
Pork Belly:
- 3 lbs Pork Belly no skin
- 3 tbsp Salt, Pepper, Garlic Rub
- FYR RED Hot Sauce as needed for binder
Elote Sauce:
- 2 tbsp Sour Cream
- 2 tbsp Mayonnaise
- 1.5 tbsp Hot Sauce
- 1.5 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 2 Limes juiced
- Kosher Salt to taste
- Buttermilk to desired consistency
Guacamole:
- 5-6 Ripe Avocados removed from shell
- 3-4 Corn on the Cob sliced off the cob
- 1 cup Red Onions finely diced
- ½ cup Chopped Cilantro
- 3-4 medium Limes juiced
- 1 tbsp Cotija Cheese
- 1 tbsp Tajin Seasoning
- Kosher Salt to taste
Instructions
Elote & Guacamole:
- Preheat your grill to medium high temperature (around 375F) with Cowboy Charcoal for direct cooking.
- Grill your corn over the high heat for 6-8 minutes until fully cooked and slightly charred. Pull off the grill and slice the corn off the cob.
- In a bowl, mix together the elote sauce and set to the side.
- In another bowl, core and mash your avocados. Add the rest of the guacamole ingredients (except the corn, cotija and tajin) and mix together. Top the guacamole with corn, tajin and cotija cheese. Drizzle the elote sauce over the top and set to the side.
Pork Belly:
- Slice the pork belly into 2” thick strips. Slather in FYR Red Hot Sauce to serve as a binder. Then season thoroughly with a salt, pepper and garlic rub or your favorite pork rub. Set to the side.
- Preheat your smoker with Cowboy Charcoal to 250F for indirect cooking.
- Add the pork belly to the smoker to cook for 2-2.5 hours until 165F internal.
- Once done, preheat a skillet over some hot charcoal on the grill. Add the smoked pork belly to sear on the skillet until golden brown and crispy (about 8 minutes). Pull off once done and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Serve the Pork Belly with the elote guacamole on the side. Enjoy!
