Fennel Roasted Belly Pork

Belly pork is an amazing cut of meat which when treated right results in succulent, melt in the mouth flesh. It is inexpensive, but has a great flavour and taste.

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4 Portions
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Prep: 5 minutes plus 3-12 hours
Cook: 2 hours and 45 minutes

Ingredients

Belly Pork

  • 1kg belly pork, skin scored
  • 2 tbsp fennel, roughly ground with a mortar and pestle
  • 4 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 tbsp maldon salt or a similar flaked salt
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

Method

  1. Belly Pork: Rub the fennel, salt and garlic into the flesh and skin of the belly pork. Cover and refigerate for 3-12 hours.
  2. To Cook: Preheat an oven to 150°C. Coat the pork in olive oil Place skin side down in a roasting tray and place on the centre shelf in the preheated oven. Leave to cook for 2 hours.
  3. Final Cooking: Remove the pork from the oven and turn it skin side up. Increase the temperature 220°C. Return the pork to the oven and leave to cook for a further 30-45 minutes. This should provide some crackling. Remove the pork from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before carving.
  4. To Serve: Carve the pork into 2-3cm slices (you may wish to remove the ribs for easy carving). Accompany with roast vegetables or mashed potato and cabbage. Of course an apple sauce never goes astray.