I sometimes think that if I could have only one piece of meat it would be a piece of pork belly. It has everything I look for – crisp skin, chewy fat, tender meat and masses of flavour. It also happens to be one of the cheapest cuts. I often just whack it in a very hot oven, leave it for 20 minutes or so, then turn the heat down and let it cook very slowly. Sometimes I leave the ribs in, other times I get the butcher to bone and skin it. A real carnivore's cut, this one – wonderful with masses of steamed greens at its side.
1 CRISP BELLY PORK ROAST
Ask your butcher to score the skin finely for this, as the crackling is essential. The first brief roasting at the higher temperature is necessary to set the crackling on the route to crispness. I rather like a pile of Chinese greens, lightly steamed, with this.
SERVES 5-6
belly pork – 1-1.5kg, boned, skin intact and finely scored
For the rub: garlic – 3 cloves
light soy sauce – 2 tbs
groundnut oil – a tbs
salt – 2 tsp
Chinese five-spice powder – a level tsp
Put the pork in a china or glass dish. Peel and crush the garlic to a paste, stirring in the soy, oil, salt and five-spice powder. Spread this paste over the skin and underside of the pork. Leave it to marinate for a good 4 hours, if not overnight.
Set the oven at 220°C/Gas 8. Place the pork in a roasting tin then cook, skin-side up, for about 20 minutes. Lower the heat to 200°C/Gas 6 and continue cooking for a further 40-50 minutes till the skin is dark and crisp.
Leave for 10 minutes to rest before carving.
2 SALAD OF BROCCOLI AND ROAST PORK
I use either the crisp belly roast below or a piece of the stuffed roast for this. Indeed, any juicy piece of cold roast pork would be suitable.
SERVES 4
broccoli – 400g
cold roast pork - 600g
For the dressing: white vinegar – 2 tbs
Dijon mustard – 1 tsp
groundnut oil – 2 tbs
olive oil – 2 tbs
parsley – the leaves from 5 or 6 sprigs
cornichons – 8, or 4 medium-sized, gherkins
Bring a large pot of water to an enthusiastic boil and salt it lightly. Make the dressing by stirring a pinch of sea salt into the vinegar, a little black pepper, then whisking in the mustard, groundnut and olive oils, the chopped parsley and the finely chopped gherkins.
Cook the broccoli in the boiling water for about 3 minutes, drain and set aside. Rip or cut the pork in thick shreds about the thickness of a pencil. Toss the broccoli, pork and dressing very gently together, then serve.
3 RILETTES
A coarsely textured pâté that I like with rounds of hot sourdough toast, or maybe very crisp French bread and a pot of pickled cornichons or other crisp gherkins.
SERVES 8
belly pork – 1kg, skinned and boned
bay leaves – 3
thyme – 3 large sprigs
garlic – 3 large cloves, peeled
water – 250ml
Put the piece of pork in a roasting tin or large shallow pot for which you have a lid. Set the oven at 160°C/Gas 4.
Rub a tablespoon of salt all over the meat, drop in the bay leaves, together with the thyme, the whole garlic cloves and the water. Cover, either with tight foil or a lid, then leave in the oven for 3 hours or until the pork is completely tender.
Remove the lid, lift the meat from its juices, then tear it into very fine shreds with the aid of two forks. This takes a little while to do thoroughly, but is a rather pleasing task. Pack tightly into a china or earthenware bowl. Pour the liquid in the roasting tin through a sieve over the rilettes and mix lightly. Leave to cool, then refrigerate till the fat has set.
Serve with toast or exceptionally crusty bread and cornichons, or perhaps pickled chillies.
4 STUFFED PORK BELLY WITH APPLES
As I was buying a piece of belly pork the other day, my butcher, Mr Godfrey, suggested I stuff it with apples and sausagemeat. I did, and the result was sumptuous.
SERVES 6
pork belly – 1.5kg, boned and scored
herby butcher's sausages – 5 plump ones
a large, sharp apple
small sage leaves – 6
a little oil or pork dripping
a large glass of cider
Set the oven at 220°C/Gas 8.
Lay the pork belly flat on a work surface. Remove the sausages from the skins and put the filling into a bowl. I am tempted to suggest a little more salt and black pepper, but you alone will know the seasoning of your butcher's best. Peel, core and roughly chop the apple, then stir it into the sausagemeat with the whole sage leaves. (The leaves are cooked whole so they add a subtle note, and you can remove them as you carve.)
Put the sausagemeat down the centre of the pork then roll the meat up to form a thick cylinder. Tie with kitchen string down its length to secure the stuffing. Unless you are very professional at tying meat up, it will bulge out here and there, but no matter. Lightly oil the base of a roasting tin, lay the rolled pork in the tin, and season the skin thoroughly with salt and pepper.
Roast the pork in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, then lower the heat to 200°C/Gas 6 and continue cooking for 40-50 minutes until the juices run clear. Remove the meat from the tin and keep warm.
Pour off much of the fat from the roasting tin (there will be quite a lot). Put over a moderate heat. Pour in the cider and bring to the boil, scraping at the pan stickings and stirring them to dissolve them into the cider. Check the seasoning. Carve the pork and serve with the hot pan juices.
5 BAKED RIBS WITH POMEGRANATE MOLASSES
Pomegranate molasses is rather like a deeply fruity black treacle – a sticky mixture of sweet and bitter. It is available from Middle Eastern grocers and some branches of the larger supermarket chains. I always serve steamed brown rice with my ribs. You may want to ask your butcher to cut the ribs for you.
SERVES 4
pork belly – 1 kg, rib bones and skin intact
cumin seeds – 1 tsp
smoked paprika – 1 tsp
the leaves of 2 bushy sprigs of thyme
garlic – 5 plump cloves
pomegranate molasses – 4 heaping tbs
the grated zest of an orange
olive oil – 4 tbs
tomato ketchup – 100ml
dried chilli flakes – 1 tsp
bay leaves – 3
Put the cumin, paprika, thyme leaves, peeled garlic, pomegranate molasses, orange zest, oil, ketchup, chilli flakes and a lightly heaped teaspoon of sea salt in a food processor and blitz. You can do it by hand if you prefer, mashing the garlic to a fine paste then mixing in the other ingredients.
Cut the belly into individual ribs, then put them in a roasting tin and pour over the marinade, tucking the bay leaves in. Toss the ribs around so that they are nicely coated in the marinade, then set aside for a good four or five hours or even overnight.
Roast the ribs in a hot oven (220°C/Gas 8) for 20 minutes, then turn down to 200°C/Gas 6 for a further 40. The meat is better for a 10-minute rest in a warm place before eating.
