ROASTED PORK BELLY WITH CRACKLING RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 220C.

  2. Using a Stanley knife, lightly score the skin of the pork belly by making even, shallow cuts in the skin 1cm apart. Rub the olive oil and then the salt into all sides of the pork belly.

  3. Place the pork in a 30 x 40cm roasting tin, skin side up. Roast in the oven for 45 minutes, or until crackling starts to form. Reduce the oven to 180C.

  4. Remove the pork from the tin and set aside. Add the vegetables, herbs, garlic, wine, sherry vinegar and 375ml of water to the roasting tin and stir to combine.

  5. Return the pork to the tin, sitting it on top of the vegetable mixture, skin side up. Cover with foil and cook for two hours until the meat is tender. Increase the heat to 220C, remove the foil from the meat and roast for 15-20 minutes to crisp the crackling. Remove from the oven and set aside until cool enough to handle.

  6. Carefully remove the bones and discard. Discard the vegetable base. Cut the pork belly into 2cm-thick slices with a sharp serrated knife and serve slices of pork and crackling on a warmed plate with rhubarb chutney.

   

  TIPS:

  - If you have leftover pork, it's great the next day, sliced thinly on a crusty white roll with cucumber pickles.

  - Frank Camorra's Rhubarb chutney

Steps:

• The day before cooking, unwrap the pork and dry the rind really well. Put in the fridge uncovered overnight. Remove the pork from the fridge an hour before you intend to start cooking it.
• Heat the oven to 230C/fan 210C/gas 8. Rub 2 tbsp of vegetable oil all over the surface of the pork, including between the scores, and season heavily with sea salt. Put in a roasting tin and in the oven for 30 minutes.
• Turn the oven temperature down to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Remove the tin from the oven and add the shallots, celery, fennel seeds, rosemary, garlic and white wine to the tin, taking care not to get the rind wet. Put back in the oven for 3 hours.
• With 1 hour to go, put the carrots in another roasting tin, toss with 2 tbsp of olive oil, some seasoning and the five-spice, and put in the oven.
• If the crackling is still not perfectly crisp after 3 hours, turn the oven up to 230C/fan 210C/gas 8 and roast for another 15-20 minutes until really crisp (remove the carrots if you do this). When done, remove the pork from the oven and wrap the meat, but not the crackling, with foil and rest for 20 minutes. Turn the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7 and continue to cook the carrots, while the meat rests, until they crisp at the edges.
• Remove the veg from the pork tin with a slotted spoon and pour off the juices into a jug. Leave for 5 minutes until the fat separates. Spoon out the fat, pour the remaining roasting juices into a pan and simmer gently to make a gravy. Carve the pork and crackling and serve with the carrots, braised veg, gravy and some mashed potato, if you like.