Kevin and Carol are amongst our oldest and dearest friends – we’ve known each other since 1983. They live in our neighbourhood, just a few streets away, and between us we have five strapping sons, all of whom have attended the same school.
If you thought Big Boy and Small Man could put food away, you haven’t seen Carol’s boys eat. I’ll often watch in awe as they literally inhale a mountain of food into their lean frames. The last time we were over for dinner, Kevin roasted belly pork – the plate of tender meat and crackling had barely touched the table before an entire pack of starving teenagers fell upon it in a feeding frenzy. Needless to say, I had to ask for the recipe…
Begin with a nice piece of free range belly pork, preferably one that doesn’t have too thick a layer of fat. Dry the rind well with a paper towel, score it with a razor blade or sharp knife (I use a razor, as I find it hard to do with a knife), then rub with a little oil and fine sea salt.
Preheat the oven to 180C with fan.
Place the meat rind-side down on either a hot frying pan (I used non-stick) or on the barbeque hotplate. The aim is to dry the skin out and to start crisping it up slightly before roasting – move the meat around to stop it sticking and burning.
When the rind has coloured up a little, brush the flesh with a mixture of dark and light soy…
Place the pork rind-side up on a wire rack over a lined oven tray (to make washing up easier). The photo below shows the meat ready to go into the oven…
Roast in the oven for 1 – 1¼ hours, depending on the thickness of your meat (mine took 1¼ hours). The best way to gauge when the pork is done is with a probe thermometer – according to Stephanie Alexander, when the internal temperature reaches 76C, it’s safe to eat.
Once the meat is cooked, turn the top (grill) element of the oven on, to crisp up the crackling. Watch it very carefully at this point, as it can burn in an instant.
Allow the pork to rest for about 15 minutes, then cut into bite-sized pieces with a large, sharp knife. Plate it up, gingerly place it in front of starving wolves (maintaining eye contact at all times)…and stand back!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
He. he, he…. loved the “maintain eye contact at all times” – priceless!
that sounds delicious indeed, I’ve never cooked pork belly, only had it once in a restaurant. Does it splatter too much in the oven? No way I could make this before we do a major renovation in our kitchen – the smoke alarm would go off and never stop. (sigh)
Sally, it doesn’t really splatter until the last few minutes when you’re crisping up the rind. And our pork was quite lean – there wasn’t very much fat left in the final dish. Mind you, there wasn’t much visible fat, it could all well have been cooked in, as the meat was very tender and juicy.. :)
I have only ever had pork belly at friend’s places. (Maybe that is what friends do, cook pork belly:)) It has been very nice both times. Maybe I should venture out a bit.
I’ve slow roasted belly pork a couple of times before, but this is the first time I’ve done it Kevin’s way. I think this will be our new standard! :)
What an awesome idea Celia – must try this!
:-) Mandy xo
Mandy, get Pete to crisp the skin on the braai for you first! :) x
He would love to do that! Pete would braai 3 meals 7 days a week given half the chance. :-) xo
That looks really good and yes, I have put platters of food in front of teenagers only to then go back to the kitchen to collect something else for the table and returned to see nothing but an empty dish with maybe just a little garnish remaining. And these kids are lean! Where does it go? I’m assuming that when you buy pork belly you ask for it to be taken off the bone? xx
Charlie, I picked up the belly pork from Haverick’s, where it’s sold with the rind on and bones removed. I always keep a stash in the freezer now – makes dinner easier! :) Your kids are lean too, I have no idea where these sons of ours put the food – I’m sure Arabella eats like a bird.. :)
This looks delicious. Pork belly is an all-time favourite of mine and nothing beats the flavour of good free-range pig, in my humble opinion.
Amanda, thank you – the Otway pigs are delicious, I’m glad so many butchers are stocking them now!
I love the look of that cut into slices or chunks.
I don’t think our pork is called a pork belly- this looks like a tenderloin cut, maybe. I’ll have to ask the butcher.
I’ve been cooking up so much shoulder for shredded pork that I have neglected the rest of the pig- except, of course, the bacon!
Heidi, it’s the meat off the belly, so it’s quite fatty, and I think it’s the bit they use to make bacon as well. Isn’t it funny the variation in nomenclature from country to country…
Oh my god I love me some pork belly! I’ve never tried to cook it though. I’ve heard good things about pork belly on the BBQ. Delicious! Thanks for sharing.
Clare, I think this would cook up well on the barbie – but we don’t own one! :)
Dear Celia… pork belly is a favourite at our place, but I haven’t done it this way before. How lovely that you have maintained that strong friendship with Kevin and Carol since 1983! I have a similar friendship with a family we lived next door to since 1984. Love them! Love this recipe ; )
Lizzy, our friendship is one of the great joys of my life! :)
Oh Celia I can picture exactly the scene of you placing the plate down in front of the wolves. Those chunks look so juicy and flavoursome.
Claire, the meat was surprisingly tender – I was worried it might have dried out, but the fat keeps the meat remarkably moist!
I am going to follow this recipe step by step by step!! Live in an erstwhile Estonian Community in the countryside [fatty pork with crackling and just as fatty sauerkraut is religion and I usually the sinner with my refusals :( ! ]. Well, this methinks is a lot more healthy, just as tasty and just a tad different: so let’s go!!!
Eha, I hope you enjoy it! We serve it with rice!
Ooh great tip about using the razor blade-I will admit that at first I thought you shaved the pork belly and then I realised how ludicrous that would have been. But yes my brain went there :P
Lorraine, ever time I use a knife, I invariably end up cutting myself, as I have to cut with quite a lot of force to score the rind. Razor blade goes straight through it, and I always have a stash of old ones from bread slashing. :)
My favourite cut of pork ever, and such a great meat to crackle ratio! I have actually given up cooking leg or other cuts as roast and just use the belly now. Be warned though- don’t buy the belly at costco as they sell it with the skin trimmed off, the horror!
Becca, after you warned me, I had a good look at the pork at Costco and shook my head at the missing rind! I’m not sure their pork is free range either, and I’m a bit hardline about that, especially with pigs and chooks!
I love pork belly. I cant eat much of it. last time I made a crispy tasty belly Skater rejected it and I had to take it to work where a hoard of people gathered round and inhaled it in minutes
Tania, I bet you make an amazing crispy belly pork! Shame Skater wouldn’t eat it – that boy is a mystery, I’ve never known a teenage male to pass up crackling! :)
Oh god this looks so good!
Mimi, thank you! :)
Like Tania said, I love pork belly. I like the meat and John likes the crackling. We go well together. This looks terrific, Celia.
Maureen, thank you – you don’t get any crackling though? That’s a bit rough, love.. :)
That looks great. Can you taste the soy or does it just enhance the flavour of the pork?
Jo, it just gives the meat a bit more flavour, but it’s not obviously soy-flavoured at the end. I’m sure you could probably just rub the outside with a little oil and salt, but I was following Kevin’s recipe.. :)
I love the idea of using soy :)
Tandy, it was nice – and handy! There’s always soy in the fridge! :)
I love a good pork belly! It’s amazing how popular it’s become, appearing in most restaurants now regardless of cuisine! This recipes great, thanks for sharing Celia
Lisa, it’s a staple in Chinese food, but I’ve only recently started cooking it! :)
A reallly delectable piece of fine pork! Now, I would like to savour it at once, Celia!
Sophie, thank you! It went down a treat with the boys! :)
You’ve convinced me, Celia I’ve never cooked one before but this looks too good to pass up. I would even brave the wolves and take a 2nd helping. Thanks for sharing a great recipe. It’s going straight to my Pinterest board. I don’t want to lose track of this one. :)
John, I hope you like it – we served it with steamed rice and um…stir-fried tromboncinos (don’t laugh!) .. :D
I’m drooling…I’ve never cooked pork belly before so I can’t wait to try this. My husband will LOVE this recipe. Yummy :)
Em, I hope your hubby likes it – I’ve only just started cooking belly pork recently as well!
Thank you for writing this one out. Off to visit some IMKs before preparing for miss 12s sleepover birthday party tonight. Xxx
Have a fabulous party, Ali! x
I would be in there fighting for my share! I’m bookmarking your recipe, because I love the combo of soft flesh and crisp crackling.
Liz, it’s really Kev’s recipe, and it works so well! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! :)
I love the fact that you’ve called it belly pork, rather than the more refined pork belly. It was always belly pork to us, growing up in the UK. My mam used to buy it often because it was cheap and she had a family of six – including a strapping builder of a husband – to feed. Us kids hated it. These days i love it. And i have a piece of wonderful free range belly pork in the freezer … now i know what to do with it. Let the feeding frenzy begin!
Isn’t that funny Rach, until you mentioned it, I didn’t even notice I was doing that. I think it’s an Chinese thing – my mum has always called it belly pork. I will make a deliberate effort to continue to do so from now on! :)
Celia – I am so touched that you have put the recipe up! I hope all your friends enjoy it as much as our wolves do!! Love Kev
Thanks darling. It really IS like feeding a wolf pack, isn’t it? :)
You’ve inspired me to try making pork belly again, especially now that our farmer markets are popping up with the warm weather. Thank you!
I could join the pack – crackling is utterly irresistible. Must get some pork belly soon.
Dear Celia,
I can imagine a pack of wolves devouring that piece of delicious pork belly in … 16 seconds?
This recipe is somewhat different from mine as I find blanching the meat rids it of any gamey flavour and five spice powder is redolent of roast pork from Malaysia. I find the “glass convection oven” so effective in ensuring a really crispy pork crackling and minimal oven cleaning afterwards.
http://chopinandmysaucepan.com/chinese-roasted-pork-belly
Looks delicious Celia.