Roast Pork Belly With Polenta Recipes

SLOW-ROASTED CRISPY PORK BELLY

Steps:

• Dry skin overnight: Place pork belly on a plate. Pat skin dry with paper towels. Leave uncovered in fridge overnight to dry out the skin. (If you don't have time, pat the skin dry as best you can).
• Preheat oven to 140°C/285°F (120°C fan).
• Season flesh: Drizzle flesh (only) with 1 tsp oil. Sprinkle over 1/2 tsp salt, the pepper and fennel powder. Rub all over the flesh, including on the sides, being sure you get right into all the cracks and crevices.
• Wrap in foil: Place 2 pieces of foil on a work surface. Put the belly in middle of foil, skin side up. Fold the sides in to enclose the belly, forming an open box, pinching corners to seal tightly and make it as snug as possible. Place meat on a tray.
• Season skin: Pat skin dry with paper towels. Rub with 1/2 tsp oil then sprinkle remaining 1/2 tsp salt evenly all over the skin surface, from edge to edge.
• Slow roast 2 1/2 hours: Place in the oven and roast for 2 1/2 hours. After 1 1/2 hours, remove and tighten the foil (pork will have shrunk), and continue cooking. This keeps the pork fat level up as high as possible, and the flesh protected so it stays moist.
• Increase heat: Remove pork from oven, then increase heat to 240°C/465°F (all oven types).
• Level pork: Remove pork from foil and place on a rack set over a tray (using rack is best, but optional). Use scrunched up balls of foil stuffed under pork to prop up so the skin surface is as level and horizontal as possible (see photos in post).
• 30 minutes on high heat! Place the pork back in the oven for 30 minutes, rotating after 15 minutes as needed, until the crackling is deep golden, puffy and crispy all over. If some patches are browning faster, protect with foil patches.
• Rest 10 minutes: Remove pork from oven. Rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
• Serving: Slice into 2cm / ⅘"-thick slices using a serrated knife. Pictured in post with Apple Sauce and Vermouth Jus, with a side of Cauliflower Puree (Note 2)! See directions in post for how to plate it up as pictured (fine dining style!), as well as a list of more sauce options.

SLOW ROASTED ITALIAN PORK WITH POLENTA

Steps:

• PORK
• Rub the pork with 1 Tablespoon salt and pepper, a teaspoon of paprika, and one of the smashed garlic cloves. Place in a plastic zip bag or plastic storage container. Store in the fridge overnight or a for a few hours before cooking.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Using a sharp knife, score fat (but not meat) on pork in a diamond pattern. Pulse herbs and the rest of the garlic in a food processor until combined. Slowly add oil and continue pulsing until a thick paste forms. Stir in 1 Tablespoons salt, 1 Tablespoon pepper; rub mixture all over pork.
• Place the onion slices in a foil lined roasting pan or large Dutch oven. Place pork, fat-side up, on top of the onion halves; add 1 1/2 cups water to bottom of the pan. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil (about 1 Tablespoon) on top of the pork. Cover with foil or lid (if in a Dutch oven) and roast until meat is starting to become tender, about 3 hours. Remove foil or lid and continue cooking until meat is fork-tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours more. Cook 30 minutes per pound total, or until the internal temperature as measured with a meat thermoter is 160 F. Remove pork from the oven and allow to rest 15 minutes before pulling apart or cutting.
• Carefully transfer pork to a large bowl, leaving juices in pan. When cool enough to handle, use two forks to shred meat into bite-size pieces, discarding any large pieces of fat. Transfer shredded pork back to pot and toss with juices. If you prefer to serve in larger pieces as we did, transfer to a cutting board and slice your pork into desired thickness.

ROAST PORK BELLY WITH POLENTA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 220°C (approximately 430°F).
• For the meat: Cut pork belly crosswise with a sharp knife. Combine 1 teaspoon salt, peppercorns, allspice, clove, marjoram and carraway in a mortar. Rub meat with spice mixture. Rinse, peel and coarsely chop carrots, parsnip, garlic and onions. Rinse pork bones with cold water. Grease a roasting pan with oil. Add pork, skin side up, vegetables and bones, Bake for 20-30 minutes on the second shelf from the bottom. Add broth and some beer and reduce temperature to 180°C (approximately 350°F). Bake for about 1 1/2 hours and continue to baste with beer throughout.
• For the polenta: Boil broth, milk and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir in cornmeal. Cook over reduced heat, according to package instructions. Stir until it no longer sticks to the edge of the pot. Stir in butter and season with salt and pepper.
• For the carrots: Peel and slice carrots. Boil in broth, cover and let simmer for about 15 minutes until soft. Puree pot back in pot and simmer, add some broth if needed. Season with salt and sugar.
• For the shallots: Peel, halve and cut shallot into strips. Heat oil in a pan and cook shallot until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Remove bones from roasting pan and let sauce simmer a bit longer. Season with salt and pepper.
• Cut meat into pieces and arrange on polenta. Top with shallots. Add carrots and drizzle with roasting pan sauce. Garnish with chives and serve.

ROASTED PORK BELLY

Steps:

• Combine paprika, oregano, cumin, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, turmeric, and cayenne pepper in a bowl; rub onto the non-fat side of pork belly. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate, at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Remove plastic wrap from pork belly and place pork belly, fat-side up, on the prepared baking sheet. Make shallow cuts into the fat of the pork belly in a checkered pattern. Rub lemon juice into the fat.
• Roast in the preheated oven until fat begins to brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and continue cooking until fat is crispy, about 1 hour more. Remove from oven and let rest 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.

SLOW-ROAST ROLLED PORK BELLY

Steps:

• Toast the spices in a dry frying pan for a couple of mins. Pound them together in a pestle and mortar with some flaked sea salt, the garlic and half the thyme to make a paste, then mix with 2 tbsp olive oil.
• Lay the pork on a board skin-side down. Rub the herb mix all over the flesh then scatter with the remaining whole thyme leaves. Neatly roll the meat into a joint surrounded by the skin then use butchers' string to tie the joint tightly at regular intervals to hold the joint together. Cover and chill, leaving to marinate for a few hours or overnight.
• When ready to cook, rub the skin of the joint with plenty of salt and 1 tbsp remaining olive oil. Put it on a wire rack and roast at 200C/180C fan/gas 6 for 30 mins. After this time, squeeze the lemons over the skin and turn the heat down to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Roast for a further 2 hrs. Finally turn the heat back up to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 and give it a final blast for another 30 mins or so, to finish the crisping of the skin. Allow to rest somewhere warm for 20 mins. Carve up into thick slices and serve with your favourite roast dinner accompaniments.