By Adam Bush, Olive
The perfect pork belly is all about the contrast between crunchy, snappable strips of crackling, and delicately soft meat underneath. But how to get the former without overcooking and drying out the meat, or the latter without ending up with tough, chewy, unappealing skin? Follow these simple rules and you’ll be serving up flawless pork belly to an eager crowd.
Total Time: 3 hours 30 minutes + overnight drying + marinating + resting
Yield: serves 4
See more at Olive
The perfect pork belly is all about the contrast between crunchy, snappable strips of crackling, and delicately soft meat underneath. But how to get the former without overcooking and drying out the meat, or the latter without ending up with tough, chewy, unappealing skin? Follow these simple rules and you’ll be serving up flawless pork belly to an eager crowd.
Total Time: 3 hours 30 minutes + overnight drying + marinating + resting
Yield: serves 4
Ingredients
- rib-in pork belly 2.5kg
- sea salt flakes 1½ tbsp
- thyme 10 sprigs, leaves picked
- black peppercorns crushed to make ¼ tsp
- vegetable oil a drizzle
- onions 2, thickly sliced
- celery 2 sticks, halved horizontally
- chicken stock 300ml
- dry cider 330ml bottle
- wholegrain mustard 1 tbsp
Method
Step 1
Put the pork belly in the fridge overnight, leaving the skin exposed to dry. The next day, use a sharp knife to score the skin in 1cm intervals, being careful not to go through to the meat. Mix together 1 tbsp of the sea salt, the thyme leaves and black pepper, and rub thoroughly onto the meat but not the skin. Chill, uncovered, for 1 hour, then remove from the fridge for another hour to come back to room temperature.Step 2
Heat the oven to 230C/fan 210C/gas 8. Rub a drizzle of oil over the skin and season with the remaining sea salt, making sure to get it between the scored cuts.Step 3
Put the onions and celery sticks into a large, deep baking tray, then sit the pork on top, skin-side up, and roast for 45 minutes, until starting to crisp.Step 4
Turn down the heat to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3, pour the chicken stock and cider around the meat (being careful not to touch the skin), and roast for a further 3 hours. The meat should be very tender and the crackling crisp – if it’s not quite done, turn up the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6 and roast for a further 15-20 minutes or until really crisp.Step 5
Move the pork onto a serving or carving plate with the onions, and loosely cover with foil. Pour the juices into a jug and allow them to settle. Skim off the fat, then pour the cooking juices into a pan and top up with just-boiled water if it tastes a little strong. Whisk in the wholegrain mustard.Step 6
Carve the meat and serve with the onions, celery and gravy.See more at Olive
