Lechon Belly Recipes

LECHON BELLY (ALA LECHON CEBU) RECIPE

Steps:

• Wash the pork slab with running water and make sure that hairs on the skin are shaved.
• In a casserole, put 5 cups of water then add lemon grass, leeks, bay leaves, onion, black peppercorn, garlic, and salt.
• Make the brine/marinade: Bring water to boil then lower heat and simmer for at least 10 minutes. This will allow the herbs and spices to release its flavor and aroma.
• Turn off heat. Set aside brine solution until it cools.
• Pour the brine on the pork slab and marinate overnight
• After marinating, remove the pork from the brine. The surface of the pork is quite salty so we have to rinse with fresh water then pat dry with paper towel.
• Lay the pork slab on flat surface and place the rolled lemon grass, leek, and garlic.
• Now roll up the pork slab, form a roulade with the garlic, leeks, and lemon grass on the center. Tie pork with twine (string) to keep its roulade in shape.
• Brush the surface with mixture of milk and water. Set aside for at least an hour to allow milk to set in the skin. Milk makes the skin color reddish brown when roasted.
• Set and preheat your turbo broiler (or oven) at 375 deg F (190 deg C). Maintain this temperature up to end of cooking.
• Put the pork roulade on the turbo broiler but cover with aluminum foil. I put aluminum to cover the meat temporarily for the first 2 hours of cooking to shield the hot air from the oven fan otherwise the outer part of the pork will be cooked quickly yet the inner part is still half cooked.
• After 2 hours remove the aluminum foil cover. Continue cooking but rotate the roulade, at least every 10 minutes to evenly cook the skin. Check if the skin is already crackling crispy then it is done.

LECHON BELLY (FILIPINO ROASTED PORK BELLY / CEBUCHON)

Steps:

• In a large stockpot, combine all the brine ingredients (except the vinegar and pork) and stir. Heat to a boil and continue to cook for 10 minutes.
• Remove the pot from the stove and let it cool to room temperature. Once it's cooled add the vinegar and mix.
• Turn your pork so the skin is facing down. Use a knife to score your meat in diagonal lines across the pork belly. Aim to score about halfway or ½ inch deep and 1 space in between each line. Turn your pork belly 180 degrees and repeat the scores. You should end up with diamond-shaped scores.
• In a container, combine the brine and pork. Make sure it fully covers the pork, then cover with plastic wrap or a lid and brine in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
• After brining, transfer the pork into a rack-lined sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels. And season with salt heavily, then sprinkle the pepper.
• Layer the stuffing ingredients. Place garlic slices in between the folds, layer the onions slices and bay leaves, and add the green onions and lemongrass strips on top.
• Cut 4-6 strands of twine about 3-4 inches longer than the width of your pork belly (make sure to measure using the width you will be rolling, not lengthwise). Carefully take each strand and wiggle it underneath the pork so that each strand is evenly spaced out. Try to get as close to the edges as possible (about 1 inch from the edge).
• Add your rotisserie rack pole in between, try to make this as even as possible.
• Roll the pork belly. Take both ends of your pork belly and roll it tight, the ends of the pork should touch or be close to touching when fully rolled. Then wrap each twine strand and tie firmly. Repeat with all the strands until you end up with a roll. Add the clamps on either side to secure your pork belly (if your rotisserie comes with them).
• Place your belly on the grill and turn on the rotisserie and add a drip tray below to catch all the fat. Baste with milk.
• Grill at 180 °F for 2-3 hours. For my grill, I only needed to turn on 1 burner at the lowest heat and it maintained 180 °F, use a thermometer since yours may be different. Check the meat and grill temp, and baste with milk every 30 minutes to make sure things are staying on track. Here's what it should look like at the end.
• When the meat's internal temperature hits about 125-130°F, turn up the heat to about 350-375 °F for another 45 minutes. Baste every 15 minutes, and check to make sure the grill temperature is not too hot or cold. When the skin is crisp and the meat reaches a minimum internal temperature of 145 °F, you're done! Do not leave the grill unattended especially towards the end of grilling to ensure the belly does not burn. Here's how it should look when the skin is finished crisping up.
• Let it cool for 5-10 minutes, remove from the rotiserrie rod, slice then chop, and serve.

LECHON SPECIAL

Steps:

• Put the pork belly in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until it fork tender, 1 hour 30 minutes.
• Place the pork in a strainer and drain to remove all of the water, 30 minutes.
• Add the oil to a deep fryer or Dutch oven and heat to medium-high heat. Fry the pork until golden brown, 30 to 45 minutes. (The thicker the slab of belly, the longer it will take to fry.) Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
• Chop the pork belly into 1-centimeter-square pieces. Toss the pork belly, onions, tomatoes, fish sauce and Hawaiian salt in a medium mixing bowl. Garnish with green onions.

HOW TO COOK LECHON BELLY (BONELESS LECHON)

Steps:

• Wash and clean the pork belly slab in running water. Drain.
• In a medium size pot, prepare the brine by combining the water, lemon grass, leeks, bay leaves, pepper corns, garlic, sugar and salt.
• Bring to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes to release the aroma and flavor of the herbs and spices. Turn off heat and let it cool.
• Put the pork belly slab and submerge in the flavored brine and place in a refrigerator. Let it soak overnight for best result.
• After brining, wash the pork belly in running water and pat dry.
• Place the pork belly in a flat surface and place in the center the stuffings: lemon grass, leeks, garlic and onion.
• Roll the pork belly like a jelly roll and tie it with twine until it is secured and will not open up and spill the stuffing.
• To make the lechon skin even more crispy and have a crackling skin, do this extra step: Poke a paring knife or fork on the skin. Rub salt all over the skin and meat then place the pork belly in a refrigerator to chill for few hours.
• Place the pork belly in a roasting pan with a rack and cover with aluminum foil.
• Place in a preheated oven 190°C and roast for 2 hours. Then after 2 hours, remove the foil, continue roasting for another hour until the skin is crispy. Serve hot.
• In case the skin is not yet crackling crispy, extend the cooking time to 45 minutes to 1 hour and raise the temperature to 220°C.

FILIPPINO LECHON KAWALI

Steps:

• Combine pork belly, garlic, bay leaves, salt, and pepper in a skillet; pour in enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until skin is tender, 35 to 45 minutes. Drain and let sit at room temperature until pork has air-dried.
• Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Fry pork in the hot oil, working in batches, until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove fried pork with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.