Pork belly masterstock pressure cooker

[dryrain]

I cooked pork belly cut into pieces with a master stock in the pressure cooker on high for 1h 30mins. I thought it would come out tender and falling apart. It was falling apart but not so tender. Did I over cook it? Was the pressure to high? Would I be better keeping the pork in one piece next time? Any advice would be helpful, thanks.

[cowboyardee]

I've gotten good results with pork belly in the PC for about 40-45 minutes. Tender, gelatinous, not falling apart. Note that I seared it first. I also kept the pork belly in one large chunk until after cooking - that helps. You probably cooked out a little too much of the fat and gelatin. So yes, basically I think you overcooked it.

[dryrain]

Tried it for 45 minutes and it worked out perfectly, thanks.

[Phogi]

I've found that pork belly, when over cooked, seems to always do the same thing: The fat renders out, and the lean gradually gets denser and more tough.

I've not used a pressure cooker, but I've found this to be true for baking, frying, and confit.

I've not found a solution. In theory, the trick would be cutting pieces with the right proportion of meat to fat...my hunch is that a very lean piece would do it.

[chefj]

That sounds like a very long time in a pressure cooker.
I think the dish you are talking about is Dong po rou 東坡肉, Basically braised pork belly.
It only cooks for 3 hours total in a unpressurized pot .
Here is a recipe that is very good but does not use a pressure cooker. You could take a look at the method and see how it compares to yours.
http://eatingchina.com/recipes/dongpo-pork.htm
Here is one slightly different version
http://rasamalaysia.com/red-cooked-po...

[momskitchen]

Pork belly is essentially unsmoked bacon. Not sure how you cook fat so that it is "tender and falling apart". I'd suggest you bake it or fry it instead. If your pork belly didn't look like a slab of bacon, maybe you were sold something else.