Crispy Roast Pork Belly
You can't beat a good roast pork belly. The lovely thick layer of fat on pork belly keeps the meat really moist as it roasts, and also gives you an incredible, even layer of delicious crackling.
Ingredients
- 750 g pork belly
- 300 ml water or stock
- 1 stick celery cut in half
- 2 small carrots peeled and halved
- 700 g baby potatoes
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- Olive oil
- Small bunch of fresh sage oregano or thyme, leaves picked
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to at least 220°C fan bake.
- Place your pork on a clean work surface, skin-side upwards. Use a small sharp knife to make scores a centimetre apart through the skin into the fat, but not deep to cut into the meat. Rub salt right into the scores, then brush any excess salt off the surface of the skin and turn it over. Season the underside of the meat with a little more salt and black pepper. Place your pork skin side-up in a roasting tray and place in the hot oven.
- Roast for about 20 minutes until the skin of the pork has started to puff up and you can see it turning into crackling. Move the pork to one side of the tray. Add the carrots and celery then the stock into the roasting tray. Turn the heat down to 160°C and roast for another 20 minutes.
- Add the potatoes, lemon zest, garlic and sage to the tray with a drizzle of olive oil. Place the pork on top of the potatoes and place back in the oven, and roast for another 20 minutes. Carefully move the meat to a serving dish, cover with tin foil and leave to rest while you make you finish the potatoes.
- Use a potato masher or fork to squash the potatoes, then return to the oven for a final 15 minutes at 200°C to crisp up.
- Serve the pork belly alongside the smashed potatoes and your chosen greens.
Notes
Enjoy your pork belly recipe nz style!
Tips: This is a perfect mid-winter Christmas meal dish or serve it up on the big day instead of a baked ham. Also, if you’re worried about scoring the crackling yourself, ask your butcher to do it for you.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
