Slow Roast Rolled Pork Belly Food

PORK BELLY ROAST

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to its highest temperature.
• Using a Stanley knife, score the skin down to the meat (try not to cut the meat), making the cuts very close together.
• Bash the fennel seeds and a good pinch of sea salt in a pestle and mortar to a powder.
• Tip the oil over the top of the scored skin, then sprinkle over the fennel mixture, and rub all over so that everything gets into the scores and down into the meat.
• Roughly chop the carrots and celery, then throw these into a roasting tray. Break the garlic bulb up into unpeeled cloves, peel and chop the onions into large wedges, then toss into the tray with the thyme sprigs.
• Put the seasoned pork belly on top of the vegetables in the tray, then roast for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the skin starts to bubble and turn golden brown.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 170°C/325°F/gas 3, and roast for 1 hour 30 minutes. When the time's up, carefully open the oven door and pour in three-quarters of the wine. Cook for 1 further hour.
• Remove the meat carefully from the oven and test to see if it pulls apart easily. If not, cook for a little longer. Allow the meat to rest while you make the gravy.
• Put the tray of roasted vegetables directly onto your hob over a medium heat add, add the flour, then stir together until thick. Cook for 1 minute then add in the remaining wine - if you sauce is too thick add a splash more wine or water.
• Using a potato masher, mash up the vegetables until you have a delicious thick-looking sauce. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes on a low heat, season to taste, then strain through a sieve into a jug.
• Remove the crackling from the top of the belly and break up into pieces, pull the pork belly apart, and serve with the jug of gravy on the side, and a selection of seasonal vegetables.

6-HOUR SLOW-ROASTED PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• Remove the pork from the fridge for 1 hour before you want to cook it, to let it come up to room temperature.
• Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas 7.
• Place the pork on a clean work surface, skin-side up. Get yourself a small sharp knife and make scores about 1cm apart through the skin into the fat, but not so deep that you cut into the meat. If the joint is tied, try not to cut through the string.
• Rub sea salt right into all the scores you've just made, pulling the skin apart a little if you need to. Brush any excess salt off the surface then turn it over. Season the underside of the meat with a few pinches of salt and black pepper.
• Place the pork, skin-side up, in a roasting tray and roast for 30 minutes, or until the skin has started to puff up and you can see it turning into crackling. At this point, turn the heat down to 170°C/325°F/gas 3, cover the pork snugly with a double layer of tin foil, pop back in the oven and roast for a further 4½ hours.
• Meanwhile, halve the onions, carrots and celery, and break the garlic up into cloves (there's no need to peel them).
• Remove the pork from the oven, take off the foil, and baste the meat with the fat in the bottom of the tray. Carefully transfer to a board, then skim all but 2 tablespoons of excess fat from the tray into a jar, and pop in the fridge for tasty cooking another day.
• Add all the veg, garlic and bay leaves to the tray and stir them into the fat. Place the pork back on top of everything and place back in the oven without the foil to roast for 1 further hour, or until meltingly soft and tender.
• Carefully move the meat to a serving dish, cover again with tin foil and leave to rest while you make the gravy. Spoon away any fat in the tray, then add the stock (or replace with water, if you prefer) and place the tray on the hob.
• Bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to scrape up all those lovely sticky tasty bits from the bottom of the tray.
• When you've got a nice, dark gravy, pour it through a sieve into jug using your spoon to really push all the goodness of the veg through the sieve. Season to taste, if needed.
• Serve the pork and crackling with the jug of gravy and all the trimmings - a dollop of apple sauce will finish this off perfectly.

ROAST STUFFED PORK BELLY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 240°C/fan220°C/gas 9, or as high as it will go. Place the pork belly skin-side down on a board. Using a very sharp knife or Stanley knife, carefully remove and reserve the flap of belly that sits over the rib bones, then remove and reserve the ribs. Turn the belly over, short side towards you, and score it widthways, 1cm apart, across the skin.
• Make the stuffing. In a frying pan, soften the onion in the oil over a low heat, then remove to a bowl to cool. Finely chop 250g of the reserved belly flap meat in a food processor (if there's any remaining, discard it). Add to the bowl of onion along with the remaining stuffing ingredients, and some seasoning. Set aside.
• Place 30cm lengths of string at 2cm intervals across a large board. Lay the pork on top, skin-side down, so the string is running the same way as the scored lines. Spoon the stuffing lengthways down the middle of the pork belly, heaping it up into a cylindrical shape, then bring the sides of the belly up and around the stuffing so that they meet tightly. Tie tightly with the string, and weigh to calculate the cooking time (25 minutes per 450g, plus 20 minutes). Turn the rolled pork belly over and rub the sea salt into the skin, making sure that it gets right into the score lines.
• Place the ribs in an oiled roasting tray and place the pork on top, with the join underneath. Roast for 20 minutes to brown and crisp the skin, then turn the oven temperature down to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4 and roast for the remainder of your calculated cooking time.
• When the pork is cooked (a metal skewer inserted into the centre of the meat should be hot at the tip), remove from the oven and rest on a board, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Carve into slices, cutting along the score lines you made earlier. Serve with the crispy crushed potatoes and fennel salad.

CRISPY SLOW-ROASTED PORK BELLY

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Heat the oven to 350 F/180 C. Place a rack (such as a cooling rack ) on a rimmed baking sheet. With a sharp knife, make several parallel cuts across the skin of the pork belly, 1/4 to 1/2-inch apart. Cut through the skin and fat but not into the meat.
• Sprinkle the pork all over with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and rub it all into the pork.
• Place the pork on the rack, skin-side up.
• Roast for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until the meat is very tender and falling apart. Increase the heat to 425 F and roast for 20 to 25 minutes longer to crisp the skin even more.
• Remove the pork from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Slice thinly, using the cuts in the skin as guides.

SLOW-ROAST ROLLED PORK BELLY

Steps:

• Toast the spices in a dry frying pan for a couple of mins. Pound them together in a pestle and mortar with some flaked sea salt, the garlic and half the thyme to make a paste, then mix with 2 tbsp olive oil.
• Lay the pork on a board skin-side down. Rub the herb mix all over the flesh then scatter with the remaining whole thyme leaves. Neatly roll the meat into a joint surrounded by the skin then use butchers' string to tie the joint tightly at regular intervals to hold the joint together. Cover and chill, leaving to marinate for a few hours or overnight.
• When ready to cook, rub the skin of the joint with plenty of salt and 1 tbsp remaining olive oil. Put it on a wire rack and roast at 200C/180C fan/gas 6 for 30 mins. After this time, squeeze the lemons over the skin and turn the heat down to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Roast for a further 2 hrs. Finally turn the heat back up to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 and give it a final blast for another 30 mins or so, to finish the crisping of the skin. Allow to rest somewhere warm for 20 mins. Carve up into thick slices and serve with your favourite roast dinner accompaniments.

GORDON RAMSAY'S SLOW ROASTED PORK BELLY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4.
• Score the pork belly skin diagonally in a diamond pattern at 1½ cm intervals. Season generously with salt and pepper, rubbing it well into the skin.
• Put the fennel, bay leaves, garlic, cardamom, star anise and half the fennel seeds into a hot roasting tray on the hob with a little oil and heat for about 2 minutes until aromatic. Push to the side of the tray, then add the pork, skin side down, and cook for at least 5 minutes until turning golden brown. Turn the pork over, season the skin again with salt and sprinkle with the remaining fennel seeds. Pour in the wine to deglaze the pan, scraping up the bits from the bottom (be careful not to get the skin of the pork wet). Bring to the boil, then pour in enough stock to come up to the layer of fat just below the skin and allow to boil again.
• Transfer the tray to the preheated oven and cook for 2½ hours.
• Transfer the meat to a warm plate and set aside to rest. Meanwhile, spoon off any excess fat in the roasting tray or drag a slice of bread along the surface of the cooking juices to absorb it. Heat the tray on the hob, adding the mustard. Mix in with a whisk, then taste and adjust the flavours as necessary. Remove the star anise and cardamom pods and pour the sauce into a jug. Serve the rested pork with the sauce alongside.

STUFFED PORK BELLY ROAST WITH APPLES & SAGE

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to 200°c.
• To make the apple stuffing, fry the apples and onion in a splash of olive oil until golden brown.
• Add the garlic and sage and allow to fry for another minute before adding the apple cider vinegar.
• Season to taste and set aside.
• Season the pork belly and place the apple stuffing on one edge (lay the pork belly on the counter in front of you). Carefully roll the pork belly and secure with string.
• Any left-over stuffing can be placed around the pork belly with the red onions in the roasting tray.
• Drizzle the pork belly with olive oil and season with more salt and pepper.
• Place the pork belly in the oven.
• Allow to roast for 30 minutes at 200°c before turning down the heat to 160°c. Allow to roast for another 2 hours. (I like to check the belly every 30 minutes or so to make sure the onions and apples aren't burning. If it seems like the roasting dish is too dry, you can add a cup of water/apple juice)
• After 2 hours, remove the belly from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before carving and serving with the caramelised apples and onions from the roasting tray.

SLOW-ROAST BELLY OF PORK

Steps:

• If you have the pork bones, roast them until browned, then transfer to a pan and cover with 1 litre chicken stock. Gently simmer for 1 hr, skimming off any scum that comes to the surface (you will need about 500ml for the gravy). If you don't have pork bones, don't worry about this stage.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Put the pork on a wire rack in a roasting tray, skin side up, and cook for 1½ hrs. increase oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 and cook for a further 15-20 mins to crisp the skin. Remove the pork from the tin and allow to rest for 45 mins.
• To make the gravy, remove all the fat from the bottom of the roasting tin. Add the butter and heat to melt. Tip in the flour and cook for 1-2 mins, scraping the bottom of the pan. Gradually stir in 500ml stock and cook for 5 mins until thick.

SLOW-ROASTED CRISPY PORK BELLY

Steps:

• Dry skin overnight: Place pork belly on a plate. Pat skin dry with paper towels. Leave uncovered in fridge overnight to dry out the skin. (If you don't have time, pat the skin dry as best you can).
• Preheat oven to 140°C/285°F (120°C fan).
• Season flesh: Drizzle flesh (only) with 1 tsp oil. Sprinkle over 1/2 tsp salt, the pepper and fennel powder. Rub all over the flesh, including on the sides, being sure you get right into all the cracks and crevices.
• Wrap in foil: Place 2 pieces of foil on a work surface. Put the belly in middle of foil, skin side up. Fold the sides in to enclose the belly, forming an open box, pinching corners to seal tightly and make it as snug as possible. Place meat on a tray.
• Season skin: Pat skin dry with paper towels. Rub with 1/2 tsp oil then sprinkle remaining 1/2 tsp salt evenly all over the skin surface, from edge to edge.
• Slow roast 2 1/2 hours: Place in the oven and roast for 2 1/2 hours. After 1 1/2 hours, remove and tighten the foil (pork will have shrunk), and continue cooking. This keeps the pork fat level up as high as possible, and the flesh protected so it stays moist.
• Increase heat: Remove pork from oven, then increase heat to 240°C/465°F (all oven types).
• Level pork: Remove pork from foil and place on a rack set over a tray (using rack is best, but optional). Use scrunched up balls of foil stuffed under pork to prop up so the skin surface is as level and horizontal as possible (see photos in post).
• 30 minutes on high heat! Place the pork back in the oven for 30 minutes, rotating after 15 minutes as needed, until the crackling is deep golden, puffy and crispy all over. If some patches are browning faster, protect with foil patches.
• Rest 10 minutes: Remove pork from oven. Rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
• Serving: Slice into 2cm / ⅘"-thick slices using a serrated knife. Pictured in post with Apple Sauce and Vermouth Jus, with a side of Cauliflower Puree (Note 2)! See directions in post for how to plate it up as pictured (fine dining style!), as well as a list of more sauce options.