How To Cook Pork Belly - Great British Chefs

As the name implies, pork belly is taken from the belly of the pig – this means it has a very high fat content, which gives the meat a lot of flavour. | Recipes MeatandPoultry Beef Chicken Duck Lamb Pork Seemore CakesandBaking Easycake Loafcake Layercake Tarts Pâtisserie Seemore FishandSeafood Cod Prawn Seabass Hake Salmon Seemore Occasions Dinnerparty Breakfast Party Sundayroast All-daybrunch Courses Canapés Starters Mains Sides Desserts Petitsfours Cuisine Mexican Italian Indian Thai Chinese French Dishtype Curry Soup Pasta Salad One-pot Stew Everydayandeasy Midweekmeal Easypie Easychicken Easyvegan Easycurry Seealleasyrecipes Diets Vegetarian Vegan Pescatarian Gluten-free Dairy-free Lowcarb Seasonal Celeriac Cauliflower Kale Rhubarb Bloodorange Asparagus Aftersomethingelse?Takealookatwhat'snewandgetinspired. 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GreatBritishChefs Porkbelly Porkbelly RecipeCollection Whattolookforwhenbuyingporkbelly Whetheryou’rebuyingporkbellyatthebutcherorthesupermarket,thefirstthingtolookoutforisthatit’sfresh.Thefirstplacetolookisthefat–goodfatshouldbeacreamywhitecolour;anysignofdiscolouration(greyingoryellowingofthefat)isasignofage.Similarlythereshouldn’tbeanyoffsmellsandthefleshshouldbefirmandpinkwithnodegradationorsliminess.Youwantagoodratiooffattoflesh–somewherearoundthe50:50rangeisgood,andideallyyouwantanevendistributionofbothwithniceevenlayersofintramuscularfatbetweenthemuscles.Thismeanswhenyoucookyourporkbellyandyoucometoportionit,therewon’tbeoneareawithverylittlemeatandanevenspreadofrenderedfatthroughout. Howtocookporkbelly Porkbellywithcannellinibeansandsalsaverde byGBCKitchen Porkbellywithapplepuréeandsproutingbroccoli bySimonHulstone Asthenameimplies,porkbellyistakenfromthebellyofthepig–thismeansithasaveryhighfatcontent,whichgivesthemeatalotofflavour.Traditionallyporkbellyhasalwaysfavouredslow-cookingmethods–thisallowsthefattorenderintothemeatovertime,leavingtheresultingfleshmoistandtender.Slow-roastingintheovenallowsyoutorenderthefatandcrispuptheskinsimultaneously,creatingalovelytexturalcontrast,butporkbellyisequallydeliciouswhenbraisedorstewed–thelattermethodsresultinapleasantlychewytexture,asthefatdoesn’trenderquitesomuch.Forprofessionalchefsandambitioushomecooks,cookingporkbellysousvidecanresultinsomeincredibleflavoursandtextures–checkoutourguideonhowtodothatbelow,alongwithsometipsifyou'replanningtocookporkbellyonthebarbecue. Howtobarbecueporkbelly Howtocookporkbellysousvide Porkbellytendstobesoldtwoways:inlargeslabstoberoastedwhole,orcutintostrips(whicharecommonlyfoundinsupermarkets).Bothareequallydeliciousbutsuitedtodifferentstylesofdishes.Peoplegravitatetowardsslow-cookingporkbellymainlybecauseofthefat,notbecausethemeatisespeciallytough(bycomparison,shoulderandlegjointsareoftenslow-cookedbecausethemusclehasdonealotofworkoverthecourseofitslifeandthereforeneedsmorecookingtobreakitdown).Porkbellyslicescanbesearedinahotpanoronabarbecueandeatenstraightaway–theywon’tbeassoftastheyarewhenbraisedorslow-roasted,butthey’renolessdeliciousandyoucanaddallsortsofinterestingdryrubsandmarinades.Forasimplemethodofroastingalargerpieceofporkbelly,takealookatthemethodbelow.Ifyou'reusingstrips,theycanberoastedorbraised–givethemaroundanhourtoallowthefattorenderdown(orlessifyoulikethemalittlechewier).Youcanalsoslicethemverythinlyandstir-frythemforjustafewminutes;apopulartechniqueincountrieslikeChina. Ingredients 1 porkbelly,approximately1.5kg oliveoil finesalt blackpepper shoppingList 1 Preheatanovento220ºC/gasmark7 2 Scorethefatontopofthebellywithasharpknife,beingsurenottocutintothemeat 3 Pattheporkbellyalloverwithkitchenpapertodrythesurface,thenrubwitholiveoilandseasongenerouslyalloverwithsaltandblackpepper.Youcanaddotherherbsandspicesatthispointtooifyoulike–fennelseedsandthymebothworkwell 4 Roastthebellyintheovenfor30minutes,untiltheskinontophascrispedup,thenreducetheheatto160ºC/gasmark3androastforanother2hours 5 Resttheporkbellyfor20minutesunderasheetoftinfoil,thencarve Porkbellyinspiration Misoandgingerbraisedporkbelly byShuHanLee PorkbellyMarbella byGBCKitchen AppleandredcabbageareclassicEnglishaccompanimentstofattycutsofpork,andwithgoodreason–porkbellycoatsyourpalatewithfat,andboththeseingredientshaveanacidic,sweettangthathelpstocutthroughthat.TrySimonHulstone’sPorkbellywithapplepuréeandsproutingbroccoliorMarkDodson’sRouladeofporkbelly,braisedredcabbageandapplecompotefortwoveryEnglishwaysofservingthiscut.Forsomethingabitmoreexotic,ColinMcGurran’sRoastporkbellywithpineappleandsataysauceisdefinitelyoneforthemoreadventurous.ShuHanLee’sMisoandgingerbraisedporkbellyisagreatexampleoftheslightlychewy,slipperydelightsofbraisedporkbelly,asisThuyPham’sCoconutbraisedporkandegg–aclassicVietnamesedishthatvaluesthefatjustasmuchastheflesh. 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