Sear pork belly before or after cooking in a pressure cooker?

Question

I've been trying different pork belly recipes, after trying a few using a pressure cooker and a few that only call for pan-searing, I think I'd like to try a combination of both, since that works really well for beef.

Every time I've done any sort of beef in the pressure cooker, the consensus appears to be that you should sear before putting it in the pressure cooker. After all, it usually comes out too tender to sear afterwards, anyway.

However, recipes for pork belly appear to call for the opposite: to sear the pork belly after it comes out of the pressure cooker.

I know that pork belly has a lot of fat & connective tissue, so is this perhaps the reason why the recipes call for the opposite? Will searing it before pressure cooking affect how that breaks down? Or is it really bound to not make that much of a difference?

Answer 1

If you sear the meat in the pressure cooker before putting the lid on, then the flavoring from the seared tidbits and caramelization will assist in bringing a fuller flavor to the finished recipe.

This is the same technique I use when I cook something in my Dutch Oven (as a substitute for my slow cooker). Instead of trying to transfer everything into the slow cooker, I simply slide my Dutch Oven into the oven and set the heat (for the equivalent of high or low).

I don't see any reason that the same principle shouldn't work for you with your pressure cooker.

Answer 2

This depend on how you are going to serve the pork belly. If you want to slice it into smaller pieces, say to place in a pork bun, for example, I would carefully remove from pressure cooker after cooking. Wrap and chill with a weight on it. Once chilled, slice/portion and sear individual pieces.