Pork belly is uncured, unsmoked and unsliced bacon that comes from the underside of the pig. It also happens to be the most delicious and decadent cut of pork, if cooked just right. The aim with pork belly is to have a roast with crispy, crunchy skin on top and that soft, succulent, meltingly tender meat below.
Who can resist this? It must be the ultimate in roasts – whether you cook it with plain salt and pepper or with asian spices or herbs of your choice, it’s simply the perfect combination of textures and flavours. This is a simple recipe for an irresistible roast and if you make sure that the skin is as dry as possible before rubbing in the salt and spices, you’ll have yourself a mouth-watering crisp.
Roast Pork Belly
Servings: 4-6 Time: 2 hours 40 mins Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
- 1kg boneless pork belly, with skin scored in 1cm intervals, making sure not to pierce the meat underneath
- 2 tablespoons coarse sea salt
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 brown onion, cut into wedges
- 1 cup chicken stock
Method
- Place pork, skin side up, into a roasting dish and pat skin dry with a paper towel
- Place in the refrigerator overnight to dry completely
- Next day, pre-heat oven to 140 degrees Celsius
- Pat skin dry with paper towel again
- Brush with half the oil
- In a bowl, combine the salt, pepper and fennel seeds and rub into the oiled skin
- Place onion into the base of a roasting pan
- Place the pork belly, skin side up, on top of the onions
- Place the stock around the roast in the pan (not over the skin)
- Cover the pan with foil
- Roast for 2 hours or until very tender
- Increase oven to 230 degrees Celsius
- Uncover and roast for 40 minutes or until rind crackles
- Set aside for 15 minutes to rest before serving with roasted vegetables or potatoes – or just eat the slices in your fingers as they come