Pork belly questions

Faith

I have a lump of pork belly that I'm going to slow roast tomorrow. I have two questions though:

1. I've never had this before, so what do I do with the crackling? I know I'm supposed to score it, but I'm not sure how.

2. It's a big enough piece, would probably feed 2 or 3. I'm only cooking for one, so what are the reheating options, or is there some tasty dish I can make the next night with leftovers?

duckworth

Faith wrote: »

I have a lump of pork belly that I'm going to slow roast tomorrow. I have two questions though:

1. I've never had this before, so what do I do with the crackling? I know I'm supposed to score it, but I'm not sure how.

2. It's a big enough piece, would probably feed 2 or 3. I'm only cooking for one, so what are the reheating options, or is there some tasty dish I can make the next night with leftovers?

1 - You usually need a stanley blade to score the skin, since a regular knife needs to be really sharp to do it. I like to do it in straight lines, about half an inch apart, so it breaks off in nice bite size pieces. Make sure the skin is really dry before you put it in the oven. And if it's not crispy after its finshed, I take the skin off the meat and stick it under the grill for 5 or ten minutes more. Usually the better the quality of pork, the crisper the skin goes.

2 - Chinese style stir fry woulr be perfect for left over pork belly. Cut it into thin slices and do a stir-fry with it. Just google pork belly stir-fry and you'll get loads of recipes.

You might have more left over than you think - pork belly is rich, and you usually eat a lot less than regular pork.

Seaneh

just follow this recipe.
Easiest and best I've used.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMAExXO3Fko

Here's the complete recipe taken from here.


RECIPE DETAILS

Servings:8
Prep time:30min
Cook time:1hr 30min
Dish type:Main Course
Difficulty:Medium
Cuisine:British
Chef:Marco Pierre White
Programme:
Marco's Great British Feast
Ingredients
1kg pork belly
6 star anise
1 tbsp cracked coriander seeds
600g runny honey
2 stock cubes
4 medium brown onions
1 bunch of sage
4 bay leaves
Sunflower oil
Sea Salt
400ml cold water
Preparation
1. Pour half the water into a roasting tray (this prevents the meat juices from burning during cooking) and add a crumbled stock cube.

2. Rub a little sunflower oil into the pork and season with a little salt. Place the pork on to a wire tray and then place into the roasting dish. Roast in the oven for approximately 2hrs on the bottom shelf at 160C.

3. Meanwhile, make the honey glaze by adding the rest of the water, honey, coriander seeds, star anise and 1 stock cube to a saucepan and simmer until reduced by a third. The mixture will thicken and become syrupy

4. Cut the root off of the onions and cut in half (take the outer skins off if preferred). Add a little sunflower oil to a frying pan, heat then place the onions in the pan flat side down. Add the bay leaves, sage and leave for a few minutes until they start to brown and caramelize. Then place the pan in the oven for 25 minutes until onions are golden brown.

5. When the pork is cooked remove from the oven and set aside somewhere warm to rest. Take the juices from the bottom of the tray, pass them through a sieve then place into a saucepan and reduce by a third.

6. To serve, using a pastry brush glaze the pork with the honey reduction. Then slice lengthwise into (about 1in wide) and arrange onto a large plate. Place the roasted onions around the meat and garnish with the roasted sage leaves and star anise. Finally pour over the reduced roasting juices and serve.

muckety

This Jamie Oliver recipe is good - cooking the pork on veg makes for a really good gravy.

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

I'd second the suggestion that it will go further than you expect. As for what to do with the leftovers, we usually have it in a fried rice dish - if we haven't eaten it cold which is also delicious!

One other tip - take off the crackling before you carve the meat into slices- its difficult to cut through evenly.

nompere

I was watching Nigella last night - and she was slow roasting pork, though she was using the knuckle.

After scoring the skin she rubbed it with a mixture of about two teaspoons of salt, one teaspoon of caraway seeds and one minced clove of garlic. She tucked some of the mixture in under the skin as well as rubbing the surface. I reckon the kitchen would smell wonderful!

foodaholic

nompere wrote: »

I was watching Nigella last night - and she was slow roasting pork, though she was using the knuckle.

OMG have to give that a go, anything with crackling and im sold

catho_monster

Wow that Marco recipe looks to die for.