Roast belly of pork with cider

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150C/gas2.

2. With a sharp knife score the skin of the belly pork in even diagonal lines about 10cm apart.

3. Line the bottom of a deep roasting tray with a sheet of parchment paper, scatter in the peppercorns and bay leaves, and lay the pork in, skin side up.

4. Pour in the water and cider, cover with a tight fitting lid (you can also use foil if you place a sheet of baking parchment between the foil and the pork).

5. Cook in the oven 3-4 hours, or until the pork is tender and the juices run clear.

6. Uncover the roasting pan and pour most of the cooking juices into a clean pan (leave a little of the juices in the roasting pan), skim the fat from the top and reserve.

7. Reset the oven to 200C/gas 6 and scatter the sea salt over the pork skin. Return the pork to the oven and roast another 15 minutes or until the skin has darkened to a rich golden brown.

8. Take the meat from the oven and let it rest 10 minutes in a warm place. If the skin hasn't crisped enough after resting you can cut it away from the meat and roast it some more separately.

9. Boil the cooking juices and reduce by a third. Finish by whisking in knob of butter, adjusting the seasoning with a little lemon juice, and salt and pepper; strain into a clean pan and keep warm.

10. Slice the pork and serve with roast potatoes, curly kale, fried apple slices and the reserved jus.

Comments                        add a comment

Delicious and well worth making. Belly of pork is very cheap but the end results were stunning. I've made this many times and have varied the jus ingredients and sometimes not even used the apples. Alway delicious and well recommended.

Ingredients

1 pork belly, skin on, boned
1 tsp Black peppercorns
2 Bay leaves
750ml cold water
500ml dry cider
1 tsp Maldon sea salt
1 tsp Butter
lemon juice, to taste
salt and pepper

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