SLOW-ROASTED PORK BELLY
This cracking dish was the catalyst for writing this book, and I have to say it’s the most popular meal I have ever had the pleasure to serve. Meat always tastes better if it is roasted on the bone, and although unusually the skin isn’t scored in this recipe, I find it gives the best results.
SERVES 4 | PREPARATION TIME 30 minutes, plus resting | COOKING TIME 12 hours
1.5–2kg/3lb 5oz–4lb 8oz pork belly on the bone, skin unscored
3 tbsp coarse sea salt
2 onions, quartered
2 celery stalks, trimmed
3 carrots, halved lengthways
1 recipe quantity Sticky Red Cabbage (see page 219), Apple Jam (see page 213) and Johnnie’s Mashed Potatoes (see page 215), to serve
1] Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas 7.
2] Massage the oil all over the pork and sprinkle the salt over the skin. It may look like a lot of salt, but it helps to draw the moisture out of the skin, giving fantastic crackling. Sit the pork, skin-side up, on a bed of onions, celery and carrots in a roasting tin.
3] Roast the pork belly for 45 minutes until the skin starts to bubble and crackle at the edges. Turn the roasting tin, then reduce the temperature to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6. Roast for another 45 minutes, by which time there should be a bubbly glaze appearing on the skin. Now reduce the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4, turn the tin again and cook for a further 45 minutes; then 150°C/300°F/Gas 2 for 45 minutes; then 130°C/250°F/Gas 1 for 45 minutes. Turn the roasting tin every time you reduce the oven temperature so that the pork cooks evenly in the oven.
4] Finally, roast the pork at 100°C/200°F/Gas ½ for 8 hours, turning the pan once more halfway. Remove from the oven, scrape off the excess salt and transfer the pork to a warm plate and rest for 20 minutes. Twist and pull out the bones and use a sharp knife to ease away the white cartilage attached to the meat. Cut into portions and serve the pork with sticky red cabbage, apple jam and mashed potatoes.
JOHNNIE’S TIP
If using a boneless pork belly, you will need a 1kg/2lb 4oz joint. Sit the pork belly on a roasting rack or on a bed of carrots, onions and celery. Reduce the cooking time at 100 °C/200°F/Gas½ to 3 hours