ROAST PORK BELLY RECIPE
Ingredients;
1 slab of pork belly (1.5 kg) 2 onions halved 2 carrots chopped into chunks Rosemary
Rub/ Marinade; Skin peels of one lemon 2 springs of rosemary (leaves only) 3 cloves garlic 1 tablespoon fennel powder (or fennel seeds) Salt Black pepper 4-5 tablespoons olive oil 1 onion (sliced)
Gravy; Some chicken stock 1 tablespoon flour Salt Black pepper Worcestershire sauce
Steps;
Marinade;
1. Separate the rosemary leaves, put together with the lemon peels and chop till you have a fine crumbly mixture. 2. In a pestle and mortar, pound the garlic to a paste. 3. Add in the fennel powder, the rosemary-lemon, salt, black pepper and oil. 4. Give it a good mix. Slice the onions and mix it into the marinade. Set aside.
Prep/ Cooking of pork;
1. If the pork has been in the freezer, take it out 2 days before you have to cook it. 2. Day 1; Defrost the pork and thaw it. Wipe away any excess moisture with paper towels. Keep the fridge overnight uncovered to have it really dry. 3. Day 2; Score the skin with a sharp knife. I bought a brand new box cutter for the job, it’s the best tool for scoring skin but make sure you clean the blade thoroughly. There are kitchen grade cutters out there but it’s not so accessible or cheap here. Rub marinade all over. Onions go inside the pork. Roll it up and secure with twine. Rub marinade on the outside skin. Cover whole thing with foil and tie up the ends. Keep overnight in the fridge. 4. Day 3; Take out the pork to come to room temp, say and hour and a half before cooking. Pre-heat oven to 180C. Sit the pork on a tray of onions, carrots and rosemary. Season outer skin with more salt and roast.
5. Use a thermometer to check the internal temperature of the pork. It’ll take about 3 hours to roast this amount of pork.
6. After 3 hours, check the temp again. You’ll want about 70C on the inside, when it rests, the pork will continue to cook inside and the temp will continue to increase.
7. Take the pork out, remove the twines. Increase the oven temp to 250C. Char the skin till it’s crisp. KEEP A WATCHFUL EYE ON THIS PROCESS. IT’LL BURN VERY QUICKLY IF YOU TURN AWAY EVEN FOR A SECOND. 8. Rest the pork for 15 mins before cutting and eating. Eat with dinner rolls or as it is with the gravy.
Gravy;
1. To make gravy, remove most of the drippings from the tray till you have about two tablespoons left. 2. Add a tablespoon of flour and mix it into the bits left behind. 3. Add chicken stock. Use a masher to mash the vegetables to a pulp. Taste, season with salt and pepper. 4. I like to add a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce. Reduce the gravy till it’s thick. Taste and see if it needs anything else. 5. Strain into a gravy bowl.
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