Slow-Roasted Pork Belly with Crackling, Fennel-Garlic Rub and Roasted Cabbage with Mustard

Ingredients

1. 1.5 kg organic skin-on pork belly, in a single flat slab, scored
2. 20 g coarse sea salt
3. 2 tsp fennel seeds, toasted and crushed
4. 1 tsp black pepper and 1 tsp dried oregano or rosemary
5. 6 piece organic garlic cloves, grated, and zest of 1 lemon
6. 1 tbsp organic olive oil
7. 1 piece optional: 1 sliced onion and 2 bay leaves under the pork
8. 1 piece small organic green or savoy cabbage (about 700 g), in 6 wedges
9. 2 tbsp olive oil or pork fat and ½ tsp salt
10. 2 tsp wholegrain mustard, 1 tsp apple-cider vinegar, 1 tbsp butter
11. 1 pinch chopped parsley or dill

Step-by-step method

1. Score and salt (the night before). Pat the belly completely dry. Using a very sharp knife or a clean box-cutter, score the skin in parallel lines 1 cm apart, cutting only through the skin and fat, not into the meat.
2. Rub the meat side (not the skin) with garlic, fennel, pepper, oregano, lemon zest and olive oil. Rub salt only on the skin and into the scores. Place on a rack on a tray, skin-side up, uncovered in the fridge overnight (12–24 hours). The skin will look like dry parchment. This is the secret to crackling.
3. Heat the oven to 150 °C / 300 °F (fan 135 °C). Remove the belly from the fridge 30 minutes before. Brush off any salt crystals that haven't dissolved and pat the skin very dry. Place on a rack over a roasting tray with a splash of water or sliced onions (stops the drippings burning).
4. Slow roast for 2½–3 hours until a skewer glides through the meat with no resistance (internal about 90 °C).
5. Blast for crackling. Raise the oven to 240 °C / 465 °F (fan 220 °C). Roast 20–30 minutes more, rotating the tray, until the skin bubbles up and turns uniformly golden and crisp. Watch closely; if it spots dark, shield with a foil piece.
6. Rest the belly 15 minutes, loosely tented, on a board.
7. Roast the cabbage during the last 30 minutes: toss wedges with oil and salt, roast cut-side down on a tray at 220 °C for 20–25 minutes until deeply browned and tender. Mix the mustard, vinegar and butter, spoon over the hot cabbage.
8. Slice the belly with a serrated knife, skin-side up, applying firm downward pressure (a sawing motion shatters the crackling). Serve with cabbage and the pan juices, skimmed.

Variations

• Weigh substitutions and recalculate nutrition before serving.

Storage

Best served fresh. Refrigerate leftovers promptly in a covered container and use within two days.

Questions and answers