Dreamy Roast pork belly
From my new book 101 Dishes to Eat Before You Die
To be published August 2009 Love Food/Parragon Books
Just writing the words ‘roast pork belly’ makes me want to rush to the butcher and sign my worldly possessions over to him (or at least all those possessions I haven’t already signed over to him). This is one of those ultimate feasts that I’d choose to eat as my last meal on earth, for these reasons:
1. It’s trouser-shakingly, head-burstingly, palate-bustingly delicious, it’s succulent and it’s covered in the most magical edible substance on the planet: pork crackling.
2. It’s spectacular to serve – a grand-scale hunk of Fred Flintstone-esque carnivorality that hits the table with a wallop and physically oozes goodness. The cook cuts the ribs into hunks that the diner gnaws on like Henry VIII – knives and forks are useless here – and everyone makes mess of their shirt.
3. It’s dead cheap.
4. It’s virtually indestructible – even the most scatterbrained and underequipped cook can make this.
5. How many more reasons do you need? Go and make it! Quick!
You need to buy a whole, well-raised unadulterated hunk of belly: bones still in, and skin still on, but ask for the skin to be scored. If the butcher doesn’t do this for you, you’ll need to do it yourself with a short, sharp, firm-bladed workknife [ed note: can we call it a Stanley knife?].
Serves 8
Ingredients
3Kg (6½ lb) Pork belly complete with skin and bones (make sure there are 8 ribs, though), skin scored with a knife every 1cm (1/2 inch) or so
15 Dried bay leaves
5 thumbs of Ginger, grated
15 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
100ml Olive oil
½ tsp Black pepper
2 tsp Salt
Optional (if you’d like a spiced, more fragrant version):
1 tbsp whole star anise
1 tbsp whole cardamon seeds, cracked
To serve: roast potatoes or mash, glazed carrots and
Method
Combine all of the ingredients (except the pork) in a small food processor or large pestle and mortar and mash until it becomes a thick paste. Put the pork belly into a roasting tin that will fit in your fridge, then rub the paste into it on all sides, making sure you get some into the cuts through the fat. Now put it in the fridge for anything from 1 hour to 2 days.
Preheat the oven to 160C. Place your pork, uncovered, in the oven and roast for 2½ hours. Turn up the oven to 250C and cook for another 20-30 minutes to crisp up the skin, checking every 10 minutes to make sure that the pork doesn’t burn.
If the pork skin hasn’t turned into good crackling by now (this does sometimes happen) put the grill on high and grill it, keeping a good eye that it doesn’t burn. Cut off the crackling in one large piece and set aside uncovered. Cover the meat with foil and let it rest for 15 minutes before serving. Cut it at the table, giving each person a whole rib and a chunk of crackling.
To drink: Vacqueyras red wine from the French Rhone
