Danny’s slow roast belly of pork to die for recipe
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Pork Ham Bacon Sausages | 143 comments
Joint of pork belly with skin side down ready for slow roast
We have Sunday Lunch in the evening and Danny usually cooks it. If I have the day off, I can spend hours in the garden and totter in at dusk to a great meal. Perfect.
Last week he cooked the best pork that I have ever tasted. I had bought belly of pork from Fred Fitzpatrick on a whim.
Danny was polite and definitely suspicious when I showed him the thin joint. Belly of pork is a slim, boy racer sort of cut. A rib of small bones and meat that appears to be stingy. Wrong. BOP has loads of meat.
I was working last weekend and arrived home to tantalising smells drifting from the oven.
“I found a great recipe. But didn’t have the ingredients so made up my own and experimented with a new method,” D explained, as he sliced the delicious meat.
The pork had a deep, mellow flavour and the crackling was truly superb. The skin and fat both took starring roles. Proper crackling underpinned by a sparkling melt in the mouth layer beneath. I was not eating ‘fat’ but gently roasted, bite sized pieces of heaven that had transmogrified in the long slow cooking process into something with texture and flavour. I would kill for a decent pork scratching. Danny’s home made version impressed me and after the first forkful of meat I reeled with applause and, I hate to admit it, envy.
Edit Oct 2015: Getting the crackling good and crispy can be a hit and miss affair. Every oven is different. See Sue’s comment below. If it’s rubbery, you can pop it under a low grill for 5 minutes or more but be careful not to let it blacken and burn. I guess it’s best to play safe and score it, and rub on salt and oil in the traditional manner.
Do also consider serving this perfect Yorkshire pudding recipe with this or any roast.
| Danny’s slow roast belly of pork to die for recipe |
- I kilo joint of belly of pork
- 10 leaves off a sprig of rosemary
- 3 small cloves of garlic sliced
- Foil big enough to form a nest under and around the joint
- Place the pork, crackling side down, in roasting pan. Distribute the rosemary and garlic evenly over the base of the belly. Take the foil and press it over the belly to make sure that the herbs will not shift.
- Turn the whole lot over, crackling side up, and form the foil into a snug nest around the joint, leaving the crackling exposed and ensuring that the fat from the crackling will drip into the foil nest.
- Roast at 140c (fan) for 3 hours and then turn down to 130c for another hour (4 hours!) – these are our fan-assisted oven temperatures so you may wish to adjust for a conventional oven, but not by much I think. Maybe +10% maximum.
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For anyone who wants an accompaniment to roasted belly pork (I’ve been addicted for some years now!), Nigella’s red cabbage is very good. It’s in her Feast book, I think with goose. It cuts through the fat very well. I also add some balsamic vinegar to the cabbage, maybe more sugar … alter to taste! Find the recipe here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15017886/
Hi Sarah,
I love this recipe too. Danny is very talented when it comes to roast meat!
Just wanted to thank you for the recipe and timings. Came back to check today as am cooking for second time tomorrow – this recipe is to die for, would never have put the herbs and garlic with it but it so works. Lambwas my favourite meal until I cooked pork like this! Thanks so much Sarah xxx
Hi Cher
We serve apple sauce with it. We also have a version baked over plums https://www.cottagesmallholder.com/?p=415 which makes an instant plum sauce.
I prefer Danny’s recipe but the other one is good too.
I tried this recipe and misread 10 leaves of rosmary for 10 sprigs. Still tasted nice, I did however have a panic 3 1/2 hrs in and whacked the temp up to crackle the crackling, only thing was I wished I had put some salt on. Served with mash and veg. Do you please have any sugestions for a sauce/gravy to go with it?
P.S. My husband is now positively encouraging me to use his computer, if I keep on finding and making such gorgeous recipes!
Hi Tom
I’m not sure what you did wrong. Did you roast a joint of belly of pork or the slices? When you mention skin do you mean the crackling?
I’m not sure what you mean by bop?
I noticed that the skin was very tough after roasting{I did use bop with joint} what did I do wrong?
thanks.
tom
Hi Tom
You need a joint for this recipe rather than slices of pork belly. It would be like trying to roast a lamb chop like a rack of lamb – it just wouldn’t work.
Honey works well on roast belly of pork.
My friend Tessa grills the pork steaks, slowly.
Love to hear how you get on!
Hi,
I have 4 sliced pork bellies without the bone{about 3/4 pound,small portion for one person}
Should I roast it for a shorter time?
and could I add brown suger to give it that nice caramiled sweetness? or will it burn?
thanks.
Hi Leslie
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. Glad that you enjoyed the recipe and the post!