Store-Bought Frosting Can Upgrade Roasted Pork Belly (Seriously)

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Look, we know how it sounds. Sure, maybe you've glazed a Christmas ham with Coca-Cola, or added maple syrup to your pulled pork, but aren't there some ingredients that should simply never be combined? Isn't there a point at which the amalgamation of sweet and savory goes too far? Well, buckle up, because we haven't reached that point yet — believe it or not, the key to upgrading your next roasted pork belly is the store-bought vanilla frosting sitting in your pantry.

This is one of those unlikely-sounding culinary techniques that makes more sense the more you think about it. Frosting commonly contains a large amount of sugar. Adding sugar aids in the caramelization process, as the meat is cooked and undergoes the Maillard reaction; this increases the flavor and texture, and is a large part of why brown sugar is often included in barbecue rubs or ingredients like honey or maple syrup are used in glazes. Store-bought frosting, which is intended to adhere to other foods, is a quick and easy way to evenly coat your pork belly, yielding deliciously crispy meat. Employing vanilla frosting carries additional benefits, as vanilla and pork go unexpectedly well together.

To try this yourself, season your pork belly with salt and pepper, then arrange it on a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet, with the pork belly's skin facing upwards to achieve maximum crispiness, then load it into a preheated 225 F oven. After roasting for a couple of hours, remove the meat and evenly spread the frosting over its surface before roasting for another hour. Remove the pork once again and treat it with a second, lighter glaze of frosting, then finish the meat with an additional 10 minutes under the broiler.

This isn't the only way of utilizing store-bought frosting for deliciously meaty results, however. A similar innovation you may wish to consider is pork belly cinnamon rolls, a recipe by Derek Wolf at Over the Fire Cooking. Skin-off pork belly is filleted, treated with a maple bourbon rub and brown sugar, rolled up, and bound with twine, before heading over to the smoker for 4-5 hours until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 165 F. At this point, the pork goes into a foil bin and is doused with a glaze of cinnamon and bourbon whiskey, then smoked under foil for another 1½ hours. After letting your pork belly cinnamon rolls rest for 15 minutes, drizzle with a glaze of vanilla icing, which can easily be made by microwaving your chosen frosting for 30 seconds, until it is thin and pourable.  

Moving beyond pork, there are many uses for store-bought frosting other than decorating cake – some of which also bring savory elements to the party. In addition to using it as a pork belly glaze, we suggest mixing sweet, salty, and maybe even spicy by using frosting with snacks like pretzels, Flamin' Hot Cheetos, or Corn Nuts. Whatever you decide to use it for, it's up to you which brand of frosting you use, but Betty Crocker Rich & Creamy Vanilla Frosting and Duncan Hines Vanilla Frosting have been widely praised as being among the best store-bought frostings on the market. If you prefer to trust in your own culinary abilities, however, there's nothing stopping you from consulting our recipe for a classic vanilla buttercream frosting.