I’ve lost count of how many times this recipe has been cooked at Tangleby. It never disappoints. Serve on a bed of Celeriac Purée.
Ingredients
For the pork belly
- 1kg pork belly
- 3 medium apples
- 1 tablespoon flaky sea salt
- 5 tablespoons cooking oil
- Microgreens, to garnish (optional)
For the fragrant sauce
- ¾ cup honey
- ⅓ cup lemon juice
- ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
- ¼ cup tomato sauce
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 clove garlic — crushed
- 1 whole star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick — broken into 3 pieces
- ¾ teaspoon black peppercorns
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon whole cloves
- ¼ teaspoon chilli flakes
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup fresh coriander sprigs
Method
For the tangleby crispy pork belly
- Preheat the oven to 150°C (130°C fan bake). Line a roasting dish with two long sheets of foil.
- Cut the apples in half and arrange in the prepared dish so the pork can sit on top of them.
- Remove all the moisture from the pork skin by dabbing with paper towels.
- Score the pork skin. Mix the salt and oil and rub into the skin well.
- Place the pork onto the apple halves and gather up the foil so it surrounds the pork but leaves the skin exposed.
- Cook for 3 hours.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 140°C (120°C fan bake) and cook for another hour.
- Increase the oven temperature to 240°C grill (220°C fan grill). This will bring the crackling up to perfection, but watch it constantly to avoid burning.
- While the pork is roasting, make the Fragrant Sauce by bringing all the ingredients to a simmer in a saucepan over a medium heat and cooking for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour through a fine sieve. Return to the saucepan and reheat when ready to serve.
- Slice the pork and serve with the Fragrant Sauce and the baked apple on the side. Garnish with microgreens, if desired.