Soy Sesame Ginger Marinated Pork Belly Roll - Roasted Crispy Skin

someone please stop me from buying a pork belly EVERY WEEK !

I CAN'T HELP MYSELF

i love how versatile it is.  you can dress it up for a fancy dinner party or simply slice a piece off for quick sear.  you can go straight up crispy porkalicious...or...a fresh herb roll, maybe a spicy Mexican belly?  how about a brown sugar apple onion crispy skin slab OR for this one i went with some Asian flavors and tried a simple overnight marinade.

i'm also in love with "THE ROASTED ROLL"

the crispy skin surrounds the whole roast and the inside is well flavored and super moist.  of course it's at it's prime just 20 minutes out of the oven, but left-overs are great.  after it's chilled the roll slices very easily for a good quick sear.  i can have an unctuous pork belly meal any time of day.  breakfast is delicious with a fried egg and maple syrup, lunch might be a few lettuce wraps and dinner?...well...i don't eat dinner after all that belly during the day, but i'm sure a slab with some mash or polenta would work well for anybody. 

the roll is also a great way to disguise a flawed, or not so great looking, slab of pork belly...

this one came out quite good considering the piece i started with.

my pork belly was sadly misshapen.  i was not a happy camper when i unwrapped the belly at 10pm.  i had intended this to be a big beautiful slab of pork belly for all to admire.  instead i got one with a big chunk taken out of the skin, meat falling apart and... 

A BOOB !

this boob or "extra bit" has happened to me before with Jamie Oliver's Crispy Pork Belly with extra BITS post.  you might notice the boob is at the very bottom-end of the belly.  maybe the big chunk taken out was another boob?

MARINADE

you might not use it all depending on your cooking method.  i should have reserved some for a nice sauce.

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup Shaoxing wine

1 1/2 Tbsp sesame oil

2 Tbsp brown sugar, packed

1 tsp fresh ginger, pressed through garlic press

a few slices of fresh ginger

1 clove garlic sliced thin

2 scallions, sliced (about 3 Tbsp.)

ROLLING AND ROASTING...

this was a 2.15 pound boneless pork belly

rinse and dry your pork belly.  

poke holes in the skin with sharp skewer and score the belly(as shown) with a sharp knife OR BOX CUTTER

(i did not do a uniform job on this one because this belly was very unruly)

preheat the oven to 320F, NON-convection.
ROLL THE  ROAST AS DISCUSSED BELOW.

cover roasting pan with aluminum foil for easy clean up.

slice 2 onions, thick, and lay them under a roasting rack, as shown.

pour just a little stock or wine over the onions so there will be a little moisture going in the oven.

place roast on rack and LOOSELY tent the roast.

put in oven and check every hour.  check to see that there is still a little liquid in the roasting pan...add a touch more whenever needed.  depending on the size it should be fork tender in about 3 1/2 to 4 hours.

remove tent and crank the oven up to 380F convection.  i had the top element turned on as well.  you could go straight broiler element at 400F if you do not have convection..  watch carefully until the skin starts to puff and is good and crispy, but not burnt.  you may want to rotate the roast to get even crisp.

remove from oven and let rest for 20 minutes.

use a very very sharp knife to slice.  the crispy skin is a bit difficult, but that's part of the charm.  the chef gets the crisp bits that fall off.

BELOW ARE A FEW PHOTOS FOR SOME VISUAL AID

 find a vessel that the belly will fit snug in.  put marinade in, but don't let it come up to the skin...just the meat should be marinated.  put this in the fridge, uncovered so the skin will be as dry as possible.  marinade overnight.

remove from marinade, being careful not to get the skin wet...if possible.  if rolling...place skin side down on some paper towels, add your extras, roll and tie it up.  get help...you'll need an extra set of hands.
NOTE...an after thought...i would put some of the solids from the marinade inside the roll.  ie. the scallion, ginger, garlic and some brown sugar and a drizzle of sesame oil.  this would bump up the flavor a bit more than mine.

 i decided to roll this piece.  it was so misshapen and kind of falling apart.  as you can see i practically put the thing in bondage to hold it together.  once it was cooked and had taken shape, i removed some of the strings to crisp the skin...not the 3 holding the roll together.

in the oven partially tented so as not to brown the skin too quickly.

i watched the skin carefully.  when the top and sides were popping and crispy i turned it over to get the underside a bit crisp.  this is not necessary, but i was experimenting to get the entire skin crispy.  it worked...with a watchful eye and tender loving care.

OFF TO BUY ANOTHER BELLY...
stay tuned for the next one.
i think i might go spicy Mexican flavors