Sunday, August 8, 2010

Jamie Oliver's Crispy Skin Pork Belly


there's been so much interest in pork belly in the last year you'd have to be living in a cave not to have come across it in some way or another. maybe it came about with all the talk of "nose-to-tail" or maybe people just aren't so afraid of FAT anymore. what ever it is i'm glad i was introduced to this delicious part of the pig. i never thought in a million years i would be one of those that caught the bug for this big slab of moist unctuous pork and FAT...and i mean FAT. i always considered myself more of the fish and steamed veggie type...HA HA HA...not anymore. if you can wrap it in bacon i'm all for it. pork belly is just one big slab of bacon so naturally i am a big fan.<

if you're at all curious, this is a great recipe to start with. it's so easy, so delicious and a great way to introduce pork belly to those whose are a bit sceptical. it makes a great presentation right out of the oven, but it also keeps in the fridge ready to slice for single portions and rewarm for a quick belly fix (it slices much easier after it has been refrigerated for a bit.)


.JAMIE OLIVER'S PORK BELLY ROASToriginal recipe found here
i have copied it for you below with a few of my notes to follow

ingredients
• 1.5kg pork belly
sea salt (i used Kosher) and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 red onions, halved

(all else is only necessary if making the gravy
• 2 carrots, peeled and halved length ways
• 2 sticks of celery, chopped in half
• 1 bulb of garlic, skin on, broken into cloves
• a small bunch of fresh thyme, leaves picked
• 600ml water or stock
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 2.5 hours

Preheat your oven to full whack, it needs to be at least 220°C/425°F/gas 7.
Place your pork on a clean work surface, skin-side upwards. Get yourself a small sharp knife
and make scores about a centimetre apart through the skin into the fat, but not so deep that
you cut into the meat. Rub salt right into all the scores you’ve just made, pulling the skin apart a little if you have to. 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 a little black pepper. Place your pork, skin side-up, in a roasting tray big enough to hold the pork and the vegetables, and place in the hot oven.

Roast for about half an hour until the skin of the pork has started to puff up and you can see
it turning into crackling. Turn the heat down to 180°C/350°F/gas 4 and roast for another hour.
Take out of the oven and baste with the fat in the bottom of the tray. Carefully lift the pork up and transfer to a chopping board. Add all the veg, garlic and thyme to the tray and stir them into the fat. Place the pork on top of everything and pop the tray back in the oven. Roast for another hour. By this time the meat should be meltingly soft and tender. Carefully move the meat to a serving dish, cover with tin foil and leave to rest while
you make your gravy.
Spoon away any fat in the tray, then add the water or stock and place the tray on the hob.
Bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to
scrape up all those lovely sticky tasty bits on the bottom of the tray. When you’ve got a nice, dark gravy, pour it through a sieve into a bowl or gravy boat, using your spoon to really push all the goodness of the veg through the sieve. Add a little more salt and pepper if it needs it. Serve the pork with the crackling, gravy, some creamy mashed potato, nice fresh greens and a dollop of English mustard.

MY NOTES...i bought my pork belly (skin on) at a great Asian market, 99 Ranch, for about $2.99 lb. the last few i have bought were about 3- 3 1/2 lbs.

slicing the skin requires a very sharp knife. ceramic works really well...or i think you could ask your butcher to make the slices for you (read that in another post)

watch that too much salt doesn't get stuck in the slices of the skin. my first one was a bit too salty.

get that oven up to "full whack". i put mine at 450 degrees in a convection and i've tried 470 with top and bottom elements. both worked fine. just keep an eye on it and remember it still has 2 full hours of cooking to go after the 1/2 hour "full whack" stage.

i skipped all the vegetables except the onion. i used 2 large white onions sliced thick and placed them under the slab after the first hour. i think once i just put them under for the full 2 hours and i didn't have to worry about lifting up the hot belly roast in the middle of cooking. anyway you do it is fine. the star of the show is the pork belly and it will be fabulous either way.

below is what mine looked like 2 1/2 LONG hours later. i didn't do the whole gravy thing. i was just interested in the belly. since i found this recipe, i've cooked it 4 times. i think you'll find it particularly easy and oh so tasty. give it a go...Jamie is SPOT-ON with this one.


59 comments:

Elizabeth said...

Since it's technically bacon and it's only 8 in the morning this would be an acceptable breakfast right?? God that looks good...I have yet to meet a piece of pork that I didn't like!

Ally said...

Just ran across your blog...what beautiful pictures!

G. said...

wow wow wow...i have such a weakness for pork belly!!

Tricerapops said...

i've done this as well - great recipe. this just inspired me to do it again.

Wei's said...

This looks delish! Love your blog :)

Shelly said...

Wow, does this look good...I just clicked the link to look at the original recipe, and yours looks better than Jamie's! Definitely saving this one to try!

Mouse said...

I just made this and am eating it now. AMAZING! Thanks for the recipe!

Anonymous said...

What can I say, tried Gordon's recipe for twice cooked pork belly, so - so!
Tried this,(just finished) and it was the best.
Definitely a keeper!

jules said...

Anonymous...so glad you liked it...i just bought one for tomorrow...yummmm!

heathsoldwarescollectables.blogspot.com/ said...

thankyou, just what i have been looking for, i bought a free range piece of pork bellie from our local old fashioned butcher in clunes, near bangalow, and have been searching for a receipe, i am cooking it today.......looking forward to dinner..bon appetit...

xpressiv said...

I followed this last night & it was truly amazing. I added sliced granny smith apples around the onions on the tray an hour before it was ready & the onions & apples were well caramelised & made a fabulous side to the spectacular belly! Such an impressive result for not much effort. Will defnitely be making again, soon.

Jules and Ruby said...

just made this again last night...i'll be posting about my VERY ODD experience with this certain slab of pork belly ASAP. so glad everybody enjoys this as much as i do. thanks for reporting back.

Anonymous said...

No, pork belly is not technically bacon. Pork belly becomes bacon after smoking/curing/flavoring.

Jules and Ruby said...

anonymous...you're right, it's not "technically" bacon, but it sure is as good as bacon being that it is the cut that bacon is made from. smoked, cured, sous vide, braised, roasted...i love pork belly any way it's prepared. i think i might try making my own bacon with the next slab o' pork belly. thanks for stopping by.

Anonymous said...

Made this for the second time. I really adore this recipe especially after watching Jamie Olivers feature on Pork where he demonstrated cooking it. I live in South Africa we have nice pork belly at many of our stores. Lovely recipe and blog

Serene said...

I know this is an old post, but I'm making this now, and man oh man, my house smells DELICIOUS! Thanks for the post.

Jules and Ruby said...

Serene. I think I can smell another one this weekend. I hope it turned out fabulous. Thanks for stopping by

Karzy said...

YUMMMMMM, am making it right now and its smells amazing...

Jules and Ruby said...

Karzy...just did another one this weekend. i changed it up a bit and will be posting soon, but this recipe is still the winner...hope you love it.

Anonymous said...

Hubby and I tried this last weekend we did our own vegetables but the pork was so easy and sooo tasty and the house smelt amazing. I was always to scared to do pork belly at home but not anymore. Thanks for a great recipe. MR

Jules and Ruby said...

MR...so glad you have entered the wonderful world of pork belly. i'll bet you'll get hooked like i am. thanks for the great report

Unknown said...

Have cooked pork belly a few times but this morning I came across this recipe & it sounded really good & easy. I put belly on a bed of onions , added some fresh thyme & half cup of white wine. I will let you know how it goes. Thanks for the recipe. Lollie Tasmania

Jules and Ruby said...

hi Lorraine...pork belly is so good any way you cook it...right? i hope you enjoy Jamie's method and i'd love to hear about it

Mandy said...

I'm cooking this right now it's amazing cant wait to taste it.

Jules and Ruby said...

Hi Mandy. Oh, I hope it was delicious. I would love a report. Did you do something extra with it? Or just devour the whole thing ...

Gem said...

Fab blog - I have a feeling I will now spend far too much of my work day looking through your archives!

I made this last night (with the original recipe - love fennel so it had to be included!). Went the whole hog (sorry) and did the gravy as well. Served it with roasted parsnip, carrot, pear and apple tossed in more fresh thyme and seasoning, and some boiled baby potatoes. I had a very happy husband... and it is going on the "we have to cook this often" list.

That fennel scented crackling is going to stay with me for a long time. Super yum.

Jules and Ruby said...

hi Gem...oh, how i wish i was a guest at your table. i have never gone whole hog with all the fixin's. i bet it was fabulous with the fennel. hey...if you LOVE pork belly, i have a reeeeeally good one posting soon. hope to see you around again. thanks so much for the report

Anonymous said...

This is really easy and it is making the house smell so good if you run boiling water over the pork before you put the salt on the skin pulls back and makes it easier. You just have to make sure you dry before applying salt.

Jules and Ruby said...

hi Anonymous...do you find that the boiling water helps crisp up the skin or is it easier to score the skin? i hope you come back with a report about how you served...i'm always interested in anybody's "belly" dishes

John said...

Hey Jules, i gave this ago on the weekend mainly because you made it seem so easy and it was. Followed the instructions and it came out perfect! You have a new fan. I can't wait to have a crack at the caramel fudge bacon! Cheers.

Jules and Ruby said...

HI JOHN !...so happy you tried this and it came out delicious. pork belly is always GOOD THING ! i hope you do some experimenting with the caramel fudge bacon

Anonymous said...

Looks good but not a good idea to roast with aluminum for obvious health reasons, especially when used in combination with Vitamin C.

Jules and Ruby said...

hi Anonymous...thanks for the comment. i understand about the aluminum, but the vitamin C...?

Anonymous said...

Love this recipe but was wondering why no one adds in the instructions where to place in the oven?

Kym

Jules and Ruby said...

hi Kym...i believe you want to put the rack about 1/3 from the bottom. does that help? i don't think the original states exactly where the rack should be, but mine is in the lower half. pretty much where i roast everything.

Unknown said...

Just tried this recipe substituting apples and apple juice instead of veg. quite possibly in the top 10 of best things i have ever eaten. simple, yet indescribably delectable. Thank you.

Jules and Ruby said...

hey Kirk !!!! fabulous !
yes, i have cooked pork belly with apple. YUM...next time try a little brown sugar with apples, garlic and onions...maybe a lot of brown sugar. i think i might have posted about it. hmmmm
thanks for the great report

Chris said...

Hi, I have two 400gram pieces what should I change the cooking times/heat too?? Sounds great

Jules and Ruby said...

hi Kirk...i think that's about 14oz a piece. that sounds small. i'm not sure how long. i just now put in a 2 1/4 lb pork belly. this kind of meat needs to cook a long time, but i think small pieces will cook too quickly? i wonder if you should lower the temp after the "full whack" to 320 F..??? hopefully it will stay good and moist and you will have crunchy skin. keep checking on it while cooking...you will know when it's ready. it will shrink quite a bit as well... i would love to know how it turns out

Anonymous said...

As a long time 'English crackling' maker I have found that scoring the skin as described, then placing it in a sink (skin up) and /carefully/ pouring a kettle full of boiling water over it gives the best result. The boiling water causes the squares to contract slightly, opening up gaps. You carefully dry it with paper towel and then add in coarse salt. The bigger gaps also let more of the excess fat escape during cooking.

Anonymous said...

I just cooked it tonight but was disappointed. I thought I did it all correctly but adjusted the temperature for fan forced & it was quite tough. I made the gravy as well which was tasty but it really wasn't gravy.
I put heaps of salt on it then brushed the surface salt off but it wasn't very salty at all.
I think a different method of cooking it may produce much better results for me.

Jules and Ruby said...

HEY ANONYMOUS... sorry this one did not work out. i have since learned a much better way to cook pork bellies. i start on low for a few hours, then take it out to rest for 20 minutes...then blast it for crispy skin. i hope you see this and view my more recent pork belly posts. sometimes it the actual pork belly and sometimes it's the method that fails. i hope you have better luck next time.

Anonymous said...

Made this today. Absolutely beautiful. Did no make the gravy but pork belly was to die for.

The Overthinker said...

I came across this blog whilst looking for a new recipe for tonight's belly. You see ever since we 'discovered' pork belly we've been having it once a week, and I felt the need to change it up. After reading this I thought to myself "why reinvent the wheel when it's already so good"? So the regular it is... I am salivating...2 & 1/2 hours to go!,

Jules and Ruby said...

hi Sarah...sorry i'm late responding...if you ever ..."when" you try another belly, please look at my newer posts on crispy skin pork belly. it's my new GO-TO. crispy skin every time !
so glad to hear from another BELLY FAN !!!

Unknown said...

Hi I just made this for lunch today, and it was amazingly delicious!! I will definitely be cooking this again. Thank you for the recipe.

Anonymous said...

About how much "juice"/stock will the pork belly create? I have a 2 LB cut and am worried my trays aren't deep enough.

Jules and Ruby said...

hey anonymous....i haven't used this recipe in a long time...i have a better more SURE thing recipe you will find if you type in CRISPY SKIN PORK BELLY TACOS in the search bar...BUT if using this recipe....the actual pork belly doesn't make much juice, so i think you should be fine. its the onion that creates liquid. as i recall in the post i wrote that i skipped using all the veg. i just used some onion. i did not do Jamie's full recipe with the gravy for service. hope that helps a little....

Pork Belly Lover said...

I think that this is the best pork belly recipe out there, or at least what I can find. I've sous vide pork belly, tried to roast it with maple syrup and mustard, etc, but none compare to this. This recipe lets the pork be front and center. I've used this method of of cooking pork belly about 5x in the past year and everyone has been blown away by what I serve them. No one ever believes how simple it is to make, which is fine because I look like I know what I'm doing in the kitchen. The combination of fat and meat melting in my mouth is pretty awesome. This last time (today) I made a mango and avocado salsa, which added the right amount of sweetness/citrus to go along with the pork's savoriness. I love the paleo diet. This is now a staple of my diet. Thank you!

Anonymous said...

We had this for dinner tonight and it was so good hubby was very happy with the crackle

Jules and Ruby said...

Anonymous...
sounds like it was a success. if you happen to read this, i have found an even better way to get MAJOR cracklin". check the new posts on Pork Belly.
sorry for not seeing this earlier....Xj

Anonymous said...

I have found that Box cutters works the best, because you can change out the razor blade. Bought mine at Dixie line.

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Unknown said...

Thank you

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Unknown said...

The most wonderful pork belly - works every time. I cannot part with the veggies so added apple cider to the gravy - family were all dunking pieces of ciabatta.
Helen Scalabrino, greetings from Cape Town.

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John Mathews said...

Thanks for sharing the recipe
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