Roast Belly of Pork with Fennel Seeds

Roast Belly of Pork with Fennel Seeds

Pork belly is criminally underrated. One of the few cuts of meat that can stand being roasted without risk of it drying out, it's tender, moist, and you get crackin' crackling with it.  Despite all this, it's also one of the cheapest cuts that you can buy.  Why? Because, it has a decent amount of fat on it, and, as we've all become fat-phobic, terrified of even a smidge of the glorious white stuff, pork belly all dressed up in its bountiful layers has been condemned to the food sin bin.  But the fat in the belly keeps the meat moist while cooking, which means that you can leave it in the oven for a while before it needs any real intervention.  Once it does come round to serving you will find that most of the fat will have melted away during cooking, leaving wonderfully tender and flavourful meat.     

If you want crackling (who doesn't?!), score the pork skin with a very sharp knife (but not into the actual meat) and rub with a good pinch or two of salt.  I've used Fennel seeds along with salt and pepper to season the pork, as the aniseed flavour works superbly well. 

I have deliberatly not specifed precise quantities of ingredients, for example, how many potatoes you'll need is dependant on how many people your serving (and what else you're serving it with i.e veg). 

INGREDIENTS:

Pork Belly (Approx 300-400g person)

Salt & Pepper - Good few pinches

Fennel Seeds - 1-2 Tablespoons

Onions, sliced, enough to create a 'bed' for the pork (roughly 2 or 3)

Potatoes, Peeled and cut into chunks, enough for everybody

1. Preheat the oven to 220C / 200 C Fan / Gas Mark 7
2. Slice the onions and put them in a roasting tin so that they make a bed for the pork to sit on.  This will stop the underside of the pork from burning. 
3. Score the skin of the pork belly with a very sharp knife and rub in the salt and pepper. 
4. Scatter the fennel seeds over the pork.
5. Peel and chop the potatoes into rough chunks and place around the pork.
6. Place the belly into the oven and cook at 220C / 200 C Fan / Gas Mark 7 for 30 minutes.
7. Turn down the oven to 170C / 150 C Fan / Gas Mark 3 and cook for about two or three hours.  Check the pork every so often just to make sure that its ticking way nicely. You don't need to be too precise with cooking times as it is unlikely that the belly will dry out.  
8. The potatoes will probably be done half way through cooking, so take them out and keep warm for serving later.  
9. It is unlikely that the cracking will be done by the time it comes round to serving, so heat the grill and place the pork ( still in the roasting tin) under the grill.  Keep a watchful eye so that it doesn't burn.  Grill until the crackling has crackled.  
10. Serve with the potatoes, veg and gravy.  

Thai Pork Burgers and Lettuce and Lime Salad

Thai Pork Burgers and Lettuce and Lime Salad

These Thai inspired beauties are the new favourite in the house, lighter than a classic beef burger, they are beautifully fragrant and spicy.  They are also a doddle to make, and most of the ingredients for the spice paste were already lying around in my kitchen, so no long searches for obscure ingredients.

These little burgers go superbly well with chunks of roasted sweet potato and/or fragrant Jasmine rice,  and the lettuce and lime salad.  This salad is crisp, bitter, refreshing, salty and zesty, a cleansing balance to the meaty spiciness of the burgers and is pretty delicious.  Close your eyes and you could be in Bangkok.... 

INGREDIENTS:

Thai Pork Burgers (makes enough for 2 greedy people):

500g Minced Pork

Thumb sized piece of Ginger, peeled

4 Garlic Cloves, peeled

2 Chillies

1 Fresh Lemongrass Stalk, outer skin peeled off

1 Small Red Onion

Zest and Juice of one Lime

1 Tablespoon Light Soy Sauce

1 Small bunch fresh Coriander, stalks and leaves roughly chopped

1. In a food processor, blend the ginger, garlic, chillies, lemongrass, red onion, soy sauce and lime zest and lime juice until it becomes a paste.
2. Add this to the pork mince with the chopped Coriander and mix with your hands until thoroughly mixed.  
3. Form into small burgers and fry in a little oil until brown and cooked.  Serve with Jasmine Rice and/or roasted Sweet Potato chunks, and the Lettuce and Lime salad.  

Lettuce and Lime Salad

Crisp white lettuce, washed and roughly chopped

Small handful of Coriander, leaves and stalks

10 (or so) Mint leaves

Juice of half a lime (or to taste)

1-2 Spring Onions finely sliced

1 Green Chili, deseeded and finely chopped (optional)

Good pinch of Salt

1. Roughly chop the lettuce and place in a large bowl
2. Finely chop the Coriander, Mint, Spring Onions and Chili and toss with the lettuce leaves.  
3. Squeeze a generous about of lime juice over the salad and a good pinch of salt.  Taste and add more lime juice or salt as necessary.  Serve with the Thai Pork Burgers

Pulled Pork

Pulled Pork

As far as roasts go, pulled pork is pretty epic.  Far simpler and, actually, a lot less faff than your typical beef or chicken Sunday lunch, it is immensly tasty, fun, and cheap. Although it is a bit of an investment in time (and fuel) the results are well worth it - meltingly tender pork with a delicious spicy kick.  

The aim of this game is to cook the pork low and slow, I cooked the shoulder for 18 hours in an oven which was never above 110C / 90C (Fan Ovens) / Gas Mark 1/4, and boy did it turn out good.  We served it with cheap white rolls, wedges, corn on the cob, and several types of chili and barbeque sauce.    The new Tabasco Chipotle sauce goes perfectly with the pulled pork - spicy and smokey, it's frickin' awesome. 

Those who have had proper pulled pork before, will know that this recipe is not strictly authentic.  For one, I don't have a smoker (I don't know anyone in England that does), in which to smoke the shoulder for hours. So, this pulled pork is more of a homage to the barbecue kings of the Deep South and their meaty greatness.  

Makes enough for 5 very hungry people (plus leftovers)

INGREDIENTS:

2.5 kg Boned Shoulder of Pork (roughly 500g uncooked weight per person)

New packet of Clean Rubber gloves

For the Spice Rub:

1 Tablespoon of Smoked Paprika - Pimenton de la Vera

1 Tablespoon of Garlic Granules

1 Tablespoon of Ground Ginger

1 Tablespoon of Mustard Powder

1 Tablespoon of Cayenne

1 1/2 Teaspoons Ground Black Pepper

1 Teaspoon Dried Rosemary

1 Teaspoon Dried Thyme

25g Rock Salt (Not the fine table salt)

60g White Caster Sugar

60g Dark Brown Sugar

1. In a bowl mix up all the ingredients for the spice rub and set aside.
2. Carefully wash the shoulder of pork.  Cut the pieces of string that hold the shoulder together and roll out the pork.  Cut away any large pieces of fat.  You want to keep a fair amount of fat on the pork to stop it drying out when cooking.  Besides, nearly all of the fat will eventually melt off the meat. Pat the pork dry with kitchen paper.
3. Put the pork into a suitable sized roasting tin and generously cover with the spice rub.  
4. You will need to massage in the spice rub making sure that the pork is completely covered.  
5. Cover the pork with cling film and leave to marinade in the fridge for about 5 hours or so.  
6. About an hour before you plan to start roasting the pork, take it out of the fridge, and let it come to room temperature.  This is actually very important, so don't skip that bit.    
7. Preheat the oven to 110C / 90C (Fan Ovens) / Gas Mark 1/4.  The aim is to slowly roast the pork at a very low temperature.  
8. Put the pork into the oven and leave to cook for at least 12 hours.  I cooked the pork for 18 hours at it turned out wonderful.  As long as the temperature is low then the pork shouldn't dry out. Don't worry if the rub starts looking quite dark and black - this is normal, it hasn't burnt - its caramelised!   
9. When the pork is cooked - there isn't really the need to check for blood in the juices if the pork has been cooking for at least 12 hours.  The best way to check is to stick a fork in the pork and twist it - if it turns easily then the pork is done.  
10. Take the pork out of the oven, cover it with tin foil and a clean tea towel and leave to rest somewhere warm for at least 30 minutes.  
11. After resting, uncover the pork and wearing your (clean) washing up gloves, start to hand shred the pork.  Discard the skin and any lumps of fat that still remain.  The pork should naturally break off into strands without you having to use any knives. 
12. Serve the pulled pork with chips/wedges, soft white rolls, buttery corn on the cob and lots of barbecue and chili sauce.