Pork belly Roast

silverharp

I am going to try this over the weekend, never bought a pork belly before , should a half decent butcher have them?
If anyone has tried something like this before , anything to watch out for

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pork-recipes/pork-belly-roast

tk123

You can get the butcher to score it for you to save time.

Minder

Mr Olivers roast looks a little thin - look for a thick piece of belly pork. The chinese talk of belly pork having 7 layers - unfortunately the demand for lean pigs has all but destroyed any chance of a thick belly slab of pork.

Whatever you can get, cook it long and slow. Once cooked, if the crackling looks less than picturesque, cut the whole rind off the meat, place on a grill tray and grill on a medium heat until it starts to bubble and crisp. It will scorch and burn easily so use a low heat and check it often.

Kenny_D

I'm gonna try this with my next piece of belly. If you live near a Courtneys wholesale butcher you can get them to order you one in. Sometimes they have them in the shop

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/5532/crisp-chinese-pork

kenco

Marks and Spencer do a cheap and cheerful pork belly (not too bad at all imo)

silverharp

GStormcrow wrote: »

I'm gonna try this with my next piece of belly. If you live near a Courtneys wholesale butcher you can get them to order you one in. Sometimes they have them in the shop

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/5532/crisp-chinese-pork

I bookmarked that for next time:)

No problem getting it , I normally go Clyne's in Ringsend as they are better value then Byrne's in Sandymount. It was roughly €13 for 1.5kg

looking forward to cooking it today

olaola

I'd say any butcher will get it in for you if you give them one or two days notice.

silverharp

olaola wrote: »

I'd say any butcher will get it in for you if you give them one or two days notice.

Thanks , they had it no problem, they didnt bat an eyelid.

It was very tasty, the meat was melt in the mouth. Not a 100% sure of the crackling , although it was crunchy it was a bit too fatty for my taste

glanman

I love Pork Belly!!

Its so cheap too.

heres what I do:

I get my butcher to score a slab and cut it into inch and a half thick lengths.

I baste them in salt pepper and crab apple jelly. You can use things like apricot jam etc...

Oven at 180 c. I put in a deep roasting dish but put the a slightly raised rack for a little of fat to run off. I put onions, carrots and other root veg in with it. I also put some quarters of pears also, goes very well. Serve with floury potatoes if you can. Delish comfort food!

Takes about 45 mins in the oven, keep an eye and turna few times so that the crackling doesn't burn.

silverharp

glanman wrote: »

I love Pork Belly!!

Its so cheap too.

heres what I do:

I get my butcher to score a slab and cut it into inch and a half thick lengths.

I baste them in salt pepper and crab apple jelly. You can use things like apricot jam etc...

Oven at 180 c. I put in a deep roasting dish but put the a slightly raised rack for a little of fat to run off. I put onions, carrots and other root veg in with it. I also put some quarters of pears also, goes very well. Serve with floury potatoes if you can. Delish comfort food!

Takes about 45 mins in the oven, keep an eye and turna few times so that the crackling doesn't burn.

just 45min? that seems a lot shorter then I would have expected. The meat is still tender?

the beer revolu

silverharp wrote: »

just 45min? that seems a lot shorter then I would have expected. The meat is still tender?

I've slow cooked pork belly with great results but it's also nice just roast quite quickly - it's not that tough.

Glanman was talking about slices of pork belly - I'd roast a larger slab of pork belly for a bit more than an hour - maybe an hour and a half depending on size.

muckety

Slow roast is the best imo, thickest piece possible (I ask the butcher to go about 7 to 8 ribs in from the thickest end) and roast a la jamie oliver on a platform of veg (which go into the gravy) for about 3 hours. The fat mostly melts away and the meat is meltingly tender.

souter

Hi, huge fan of pork belly myself but haven't had much success cooking it myself, specifically the crackling.
Understand the long and slow + aromatics for the meat, but unsure about high heat at the beginning for the crackling (a la Jamie Oliver) or at the end (which seems to make more sense).
Any recommendations either way?

Minder

If the crackling hasn't worked out, take it off the pork as a single piece. Put it on a grill tray and grill it until it bubbles up and crisps. It will easily burn so keep an eye on it - takes less than two minutes.

Dizzyblonde

If you score the rind with a Stanley knife or craft knife then pour boiling water over it before drying it and rubbing salt in, it helps a lot with the crackling. I put it in on a high heat then turn it down.

Miaireland

Make sure the skin is totally dry before you put it in the oven if you want it crispy. I always pat it well with kitchen paper as it is slight damp from being in the plastic bag.

I have tried the boiling water trick but to be honest didn't find that it made much of a difference.

souter

Best pork belly ever. The butcher had scored the skin well, I did the boiling water thing and dried it scrupulously, then rubbed in salt and olive oil. On a trivet of veg and thyme, I started it off at 220C for ten minutes, which produced lovely looking crackling. Then poured in some water and covered with tinfoil for 3.5 hours at 150C while on a family outing to the aquatic centre. When we got back the meat was practically falling apart and smelt gorgeous. The crackling had however gone soggy so I removed it and finished off under the grill. Served with mashed potatoes and yams ,sweet york cabbage and greasy gravy.
I think in future I'll crisp the crackling at the end and leave off the initital heat.
Only downside is I have exceeded my weekly saturated fat quota in one sitting.

xxdilemmaxx

Crackling probably didn't work out because you used tin foil, I usually just keep mine uncovered on a low heat for a couple of hours and crackling always seems to be nice and crispy by the end!

Mike Litoris

That Jamie Oliver recipe is the dogs b******s. The gravy is devine. I use that gravy method with any meat I roast now.