Danny’s slow roast belly of pork to die for recipe
Comments(110)
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.
Danny’s slow roast belly of pork to die for recipe (for 4 with a starter)
Ingredients:
- 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
Method:
- 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 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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Oh I can imagine the divine smell!!! bet that was soooooo yummy! Did you have apple sauce with it? or crab apple jelly? or mustard? and is there some left over for sarnies today?
We love belly posk and will certainly be trying Danny’s way of cooking it. Thanks for sharing. Sara from farmingfriends
Danny is welcome to cook here anytime he feels like it! I’d even clean the oven for him.
Hi you two. I’ve spent this past weekend babysitting four chickens for a friend. Your blog has been useful for fowl tips and hints. Although I guess I had to learn in my own time that chickens don’t speak English, as in “come on girls, its time to go to bed now. ok come on now. if you con’t come to the shed now, the fox might get you…” Had fun though.
amalee
p.s. I’ve given you a couple of well deserved awards! The gongs are on my blog.
I was bowled over by the smell, Celia. We didn’t have any accompaniments but next time….And nothing left for sarnies!
Hope you enjoy the recipe, Sara
Unfortunately Danny doesn’t travel well at the moment, Amanda. Thanks so much for the awards.
Amalee, I have found that a handful of wild bird seed scattered where I want the chickens to be works wonders on the language front. Glad that you had a good time!
Wow. I’m sold!
Hi Tammy,
Danny is a fantastic cook when it comes to getting the best out of a roast. I don’t even compete anymore which makes Sunday’s very restful.
Gee, this sounds delicious. I think you are lucky have Sunday lunch cooked for you! The scent of the pork cooking with the garlic and rosemary must have been heavenly!
Hi Kate,
I’m lucky. D is a man that loves his home. He is happy to help with anything that happens in a roofed environment and truly shines, compared to me. Any unroofed projects are carried out by me and John Coe!
Your recipe sounds great and I tried it out yesterday, but given what happened I think you may need to add some amendments? I am a pretty good cook, but after following your instructions to the letter, after three and three-quarter hours of cooking (in – like yours – a fan-assisted oven, first at 140 and then at 130C as suggested), I found myself faced with a fairly unappetising, rubbery-looking mass of pork belly. It smelled good but showed no signs whatever of forming ‘proper crackling’. Recipes I’ve seen before say that for good crackling, you need to be using fairly high oven temperatures and so in desperation I lobbed a bit of salt over the skin-side of the pork, cranked up the heat to 220ËšC and left it to cook for about 30 minutes or so more. THEN I had the slow-roast pork belly with proper crackling to die for that you described – it was exactly like your write-up suggested it would be – the fat (like the meat) was obscenely delicious and it was all absolutely terrific. We will definitely be having this again, and thank you for the recommendation.
So my suggestion is: did you perhaps mean that the last hour of cooking should be at 230ËšC? (If so that does seem like a long time.)
Hi Kaye,
Thank you so much for leaving such a useful comment.
I checked with D and he double checked his temperatures. They are right for his dish. Perhaps the problem is a difference of oven temps.
You have left a comment that will pull round a flagging joint of pork. Thank you so much for your input.
This recipe is great. I’ve done it twice so far and tried it today on 140 for 3 hours, 125 for 2 hours, then a quick minute or two under the grill at 200 to puff up the crackling. Worked a treat.
It is pure magic with red potato and wholegrain mustard mash and homemade apple butter.
Hi Madeleine
Thanks so much for sharing. Danny is going to try this next time.
Your mash and apple butter sound delicious accompaniments.
This is a good recipe. Now for all of you who like slow cooked joints like this, I beg of you to invest or build a charcoal fired hot smoker, the pork slow cooked and the flavour of the woodsmoke (whatever wood you like) is the nearest you will get to heaven. Here is a link, not that I am promoting it. Its just one of the best for this type of cookery. I used to use a modified dustbin and it worked great. The key is a water bath to catch the drips and prevent flare ups. As Danny has found, time is the key…http://virtualweberbullet.com/
Hi JJ
Thanks for the tip. How did you modify your dustbin?
absolutely delicious…did it a couple of weeks ago…
Hi Terry and Chris
Thanks for the positive feedback, much appreciated!
This recipe sounds fantastic. For all you pork belly fans, I thought I’d share my recipe with you (which is in the oven as I type!). Follow Danny’s way of cooking the pork, but instead of herbs and garlic, rub the pork with plenty of salt and chinese five spice powder, and roast for the same times as Danny suggests. Make a paste from five spice powder, a bit of sesame oil, and a splash of water, and brush the joint with this paste every hour throughout cooking.
When the joint has finished cooking, leave it to rest on a warm plate, then remove the crackling. Now, shred the meat with two forks (it should pull into lovely strands- don’t be tempted to eat them!) and mix with a jar of good hoi sin sauce. Return to the oven in a baking dish for 20-30 minutes at 200 degrees. You’ll end up with a beautiful caramelised, sticky pork.
Serve with plain steamed white rice and some purple sprouting broccoli.
Hello Richard
Thank you so much for taking the trouble to leave your recipe. It sounds great and I have passed it onto D who is top Sunday chef at the cottage!
I am going to try this wonderful recipie today – i have just got my pork. As a novice, i just wanted to check that i need to score the skin with a sharp knife first?
Hi James
I’ve just checked with Danny. You need to score the skin with a shrp knife first. Hope it turns out well for you!
Wonderful, thank you…it has been going a while now and smells great. I will let you know how it turns out. I bought my pork without the bones – is that how Danny did it?
Oh, i forgot, one other question! If i want to do roast potatoes with it, how do i cook them at such a low temperature? Can i just cook them longer and then turn it up high for the last 20 mins or so after the pork is cooked?
Hi James
We cook it with bones. We have breast of pork boned when we are going to cure our own steaky bacon. But I’m sure it will work out fine. If you have a joint without bones you can also stuff and roll it.
For roast potatoes why not try these mini roasts? http://www.cottagesmallholder.com/?p=290 you can whap the temperature up when you take out the pork to rest.
Thank you so much for the tip. It looks great, so am sure it will work ok without the bones. Like the look of the mini roasts – so glad i have found you site! James
Hi James
If you try this recipe again with bones in they are easily tulled free at the end of cooking time.
Modifying a dustbin for a smoker. Get a steel dustbin with lid (or an oil drum will do). Near the bottom cut a ‘door’ about the size of a CD box. Hinge this to the dustbin and use foil tape to make it reasonably airtight. Punch 4 threaded rods through the dustbin. 2 about 9 inches up and the other about 17up. The first 2 hold a pan of water. The second two have a rack over for the meat. You ‘fire’ the charcoal in the bottom of the dustbin (I use a couple of bricks around the base as a heatsink). The water pan goes over (I used a big stainless dog bowl filled with boiling water, cold will keep the smoker too cold) finally the meat over with the lid on top. Get the charcoal grey before adding the meat and putting the lid on. The ‘door’ enables you to add wood to the charcoal. It should NOT burn or flame AT ALL!, just smoulder. 225F – 250 F is ideal. I use oak or apple. I also use a remote probe to monitor the ’smoke’ heat and the meat temp. Also, for some reason Briquettes are better than lumpwood. Dry rub the belly the day before and during the cook baste, see the weber site for recipes. I have one going right now which is what reminded me to check this site! JJ
Hi JJ
Thank you so much for this comment. I am so keen to build a garden smoker for fish and people without a chimney could use one of these to smoke bacon too.
Really appreciate you sharing your tips too.
We had slow raosted pork at a restaurant and it was so wonderful I googled for a recipe. Fortunately, I came upon this site – not only is the slow roasted pork fabulous – I love the dissertation and the follow up discussion. What a great find this is!
PS – I’m making the roast again tomorrow for our daughter’s future in-laws!
Hi Leslie
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. Glad that you enjoyed the recipe and the post!
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 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!
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
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 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 Cher
We serve apple sauce with it. We also have a version baked over plums http://www.cottagesmallholder.com/?p=415 which makes an instant plum sauce.
I prefer Danny’s recipe but the other one is good too.
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 Sarah,
I love this recipe too. Danny is very talented when it comes to roast meat!
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/
Have just cooked and eaten this delicious pork dish, I had to increase the fan oven temp to 230 for the last 10 mins, it was perfect. I served it with parsnip mash, brocolli, and a garlic cream sauce. (total cooking time was two and a half hours, the piece of pork was for 2 people only) Thanks again for sharing this recipe.
Hi Amy
I’m so sorry but I missed your comment. The red cabbage accompaniment sounds perfect. Thanks.
Hi Maureen B
Your accompaniments sound excellent too! Thanks so much for dropping by!
I’m cooking this tomorrow for sunday lunch. I’m going to roast a whole head of garlic in its skin next to the pork for the last hour or so, so we have squidgy garlic cloves to spread like horseradish over our pork.
Hi Tony
That sounds like a great twist, thanks for sharing!
I am making this tomorrow,Do I have to reduce cooking time if I have a joint with no bones??? HELP
Hi Katie
If you cook this joint without bones it will be far less succulent but it’s still tasty.
Danny says cut 30 minutes off the cooking time. Make sure that your foil nest is well wrapped over the meat with only the shin exposed.
Hope that it turns out well for you!
Hi,
I cannot see how you can get crackling at all at your low temperatures. Suggest the first 20-30 mins @ 230 Deg then turn doen to 135 for 3-4 hours depending on weight
[...] Re: Inspire me with Belly Pork please? I do belly really simply. Got the recipe from here The Cottage Smallholder Danny’s slow roast belly of pork to die for recipe Tastes great [...]
Hello
This recipe requires 4 hours cooking. What about the high cost of fuel? Would be interested to learn how to get round this.
Hi Richard
You get a wonderful crackling, more like pork scratchlings than a trad crackling.
Hi Claire
THis is a long slow cook recipe. I don’t know how you would get round the problem of the high cost of fuel apart from creating a roasting co-op locally and filling just the one oven with three full bellies – I’m not being sarcastic here.
We buy whole bellies of pork for our bacon in a mini co-operative. This means that we buy at trade price. Why not extend the practice?
I bought a lovely pork belly from a local farmers market yesterday and roasted it as per your recipe. It was absolutely divine! I did have to (as some others have done) increase the fan oven to around 225 degrees 20 – 30 mins before the end, and the crackling was superb. Served with mash, gem squash, spinach and beetroot. Yum!
Made the belly pork yesterday and it was fantastic thsnks for a great recipe. Served it with slow cooked thinly sliced potatoes with onion and cream and greens. FANTASTIC CRACKLING -although some of the earlier comments made me concerned – the recipe was accurate for my oven. Nothing was left at the end of the meal!
I just tried your recepie and had the same problem as 11 Kaye Spence. I tried exactly the same temperatures and durations as suggested in your recepie but after 4 hours the crackling is no where near cooked! I have a fan assisted oven and used the conversion for 140 deg C as Gas Mark 1?
Hello Natasha
I reckon that oven temperatures must differ.
You can always get crackling to crackle undr a fast grill – this is how a lot of pubs are able to give you that ’straight from the oven taste’!!
Love the sound of your veggies… must totter back to the drawing board on that front!
Hello Susan
Thanks for leaving a comment.
It always works well for us.
Hello Paul
Thanks for dropping by.
Yes 140c is gas mark 1. Perhaps your oven is not quite acieving the temperature that it indicates. Your crackling should be like pork scratchlings after four hours.
We are just normal(ish) people cooking and sharing our recipes. They always work for us.
I assume that I can still make a gravy from the drippings caught in the foil? Out of curiosity, what is the benefit for the foil nest? Does it keep the meat moist?
Hi just found your site as spending all last night looking through my recipe books.So have just put the pork in the gas oven.(have to say not as good as electic)Fingers crossed.Thanks.
I want to follow this recipe but also glaze the crackling with honey. Any tips on honey type? Should I glaze and score the skin before cooking or part way through? I’m worried about it burning and ruining the cracking! Thanks guys. Great site by the way!
Hi Jackie
The foil stops the meat from drying out. The crackling crisps and in the foil nest the pork remains succulent and creates a great gravy (remove the fat before serving). The latter would dry out too without the foil nest.
Hello Claire
I do hope that you enjoyed our recipe for your pork!
Hi Ross
Pour the honey (or sugar) over the crackling for just the last twenty minutes as it will burn and could ruin everything.
Always score the fat on a joint before roasting
and rub with a bit of salt.
I’d love to hear how it turns out if you have a moment.
I’ve just got a belly of pork out of the deep freeze for tomorrows lunch (from half of a friends pig!) and it weighs 2 kgs. I know I’m being really thick, but should I just double the time, or will that be too long?
Don’t want to cut it in half because there are 6 of us.
Really looking forward to trying it.
Hi, Michele.
Lucky you if you have friends who will give you half a pig!
To be honest, I am taking an educated guess here because I have never cooked a 2kg belly.
You would increase the cooking time for a thick joint (like a rib roast) because the heat has further to travel to reach and cook the centre. But because belly is quite a thin joint I definitely would not double the cooking time. There is a greater mass of meat for the oven to cope with but all I would add is perhaps 15 minutes maximum at the lower setting (i.e. give it 1 hr 15 mins at 130). If the crackling does not look crispy at the end, just pop it under a low grill for 7 to 10 minutes.
Please do let us know the outcome so that everybody can learn from your success
My husband arrived from our pork farm shop with a small piece of belly.—- just for 2. Couldn`t find a recipe anywhere so just put in”roast belly of pork ” on google and up came your great recipe. Having to adjust recipe for my Aga and am cooking in baking oven as otherwise we will be eating at midnight! Will serve it with roast spuds. mashed celeriac and home made Quince compote. It`s cooking now , so will let you know how the Aga copes with it
Helo Caroline
These cheaper cuts need long an slow cooking so I’m intrigued to knoe how your joint turned out!
I have been cooking this recipe for about 6 month’s now since I first found it, we used to have belly slices on a wednesday evening, but no going back. I get in from work and prepare an dput it in the oven and we eat about 8.30, the smell is divine and the taste of the pork belly is so juicy and succulent, the crackling does benefit from a good score across the top and a trickle of fresh lemon juice, this encourages the crackliing to bubble up and go crispy, not a wasted bit in our house. best recipe ever…
This is undoubtedly the most delicious cut of pork that I have ever cooked. I agree with other posts though, I had to increase the temp to 230c for the final 30 minutes to achieve crispy crackling. I will look forward to scouring your site for other delicious recipes.
Hi, Diane – so pleased that you like it enough to cook it regularly. In this house it’s always a toss-up as to whether a pork belly should be home-smoked for bacon or slow roasted. The aroma of slow roast for several hours is a mouth watering experience in itself! Thanks for that intriguing tip about lemon juice. Will definitely try that out next time.
Hi, Michaela – thanks for coming on to post your great report. The first time we had this dish we simply could not believe how the humble pork belly was so transformed by slow roasting. Your experience with non-crackling is very likely down to varying oven temperatures. I am gong to buy an oven thermometer (not a meat hermometer) to see exactly what temp our oven cooks at. You could probably crackle it faster under the grill and it might be better for succulence rather than subjecting the entire joint to half an hour of hot oven. We live and learn
I cooked this recipe last week having searched for a long time for a good belly pork recipe. It was delicious. The meat was so tender and the crackling so crisp. I have been instrcuted by my wife to cook it again….soon!
Hello The Lincolnshire Poacher
Thanks for leaving a comment. Delighted that your’s turned out well!
We ate this joint this evening, a much bigger joint roasted over sliced Bramley cooking apples and it was wonderful. The crackling hadn’t bubbled so D finished it off under the grill for five minutes.
Hi,
I’ve got a 1kg of rolled belly of pork to roast in my aga – any suggestions????
Hello Lorraine
We have three recipes on this blog for belly of pork, so you’re spoilt for choice.
I’d be really interested to hear how your rolled belly experience went. We always roast them flat.
Had lunch in a local (N.Wales, uk) 5-star restaurant yesterday – roast belly of pork – delicious – seemed v. similar to your results – served with celeriac mash and small segments of caramelised apple. Came across your recipes etc. when hunting down the cooking times to try it out. We cook on an Aga so it may be a bit hit and miss the first time!
Thanks for this top site! I am living in Rwanda and had bought a lovely belly pork joint but didn’t know how to cook it properly – was thinking of maybe BBQ! Anyway, I googled you and this was the first hit and your recipe looks fab. The joint is in the oven now so I am hoping my gas bottle does not run out! The pork here in Rwanda is absolutely amazing. I have lots of colleagues from South Africa who love their meat and they agree they have never tasted pork chops so good. Strange really as Rwandans (even rich ones) don’t really eat pork – they much prefer beef and chicken. Anyway, thanks for the site and I’ll let you know how well it has been received later!
Love the site
You may be interested in the times and temperatures I found in a Christmas Prezzie recipe book – Ottolenghi the cookbok. This suggests annointing the undrside with herbs whizzed with olive oil, then cooking for one hour at 250C, adding a bottle (!) of wine and cooking a further hour at 170, then finally a third hour at 110. I reckon the foil nest idea would keep the meat moist enugh without the addition of a bottle of wine (my scottish ancestry rebels at the idea – wine is much better in my glass).
Anyway, I have a 1KG joint in the oven as we speak, I have decided to cut the time by one quarter for each stage, as the original times given are for a 2KG bone-in joint, adopt the nest idea but also to share some of my white wine with it as mysteriously there seems to be a bottle open. I’ll report back if all goes well.
WOW! reading al these comments and succulent recipes had me dribbling over me keyboard!
I have only just mastered the art of cooking a joint and crispy roast tats, cooked a duck over xmas – turned out absolutey brilliant, the last two I cooked turned out like boot leather.By now I had slung out me electric cooker and got a gas one – BIG difference!
I was particularily interested in the BOP recipe as I have just bought me first one and was trawling around looking for recipes. will cook it for new year, will report back on how I cooked it and how it turned out
I want to cook this recipe in aga any suggestion so the crackling is good and times
thanks
Hi Mandy
I have no idea as we don’t have an AGA. Perhaps you could Google equivalent cooking times for AGA. I think that the AGA site may have a section on this.
I bought a rolled joint today, gonna try this method tomorrow. Will be serving it with braised red cabbage and apples braised in cider and brown sugar.
*fingers crossed*
Ive been cooking BOP since I googled your website in October 2008. I just wanted you to know that my whole family drool over this when I cook it on a Sunday.There is never any left over. I have a fan assisted oven and I cook at 140 for 2 hrs and then 150 for an hour. I then put under the grill for 7 mins for perfect crackling!! I cook a 1kg joint and this feeds two adults, our teenager daughter(who is first at the table for BOP) and two hungry 4 and 3yr old boys. Perfect thankyou Danny
Hi I have just moved to house with 2 oven aga how would I cook the slow roast belly pok? How long in top oven and how long in simmering oven also would I cover or not. Recipie sounds devine but I am still nervous cooking in Aga, need reassuring!!
Hi Anne
The Aga website has equivalent cooking times for converting ordinary oven temperatures to Aga temperatures.
I’m sorry but we don’t have an Aga so I can’t help.
Anne – Aga run courses for people new to cooking on an Aga. My mum went on one and there is nothing she can’t cook on her Aga.
Wow, I found this Recipe by accident, but wow what a delicious smell coming from my oven right now!
I got up at 6am to put the meat in, prepared it and all the veg the night before, all i have to do is breeze along ready to serve up at one.
Should be a nice surprise for my mum.
Hi i have done this recipe twice now and its just excellent, i used 600 grams and removed it 20 mins early from the oven for perfect results each time, spuds need 1.30 hours with the last 10-20 mins at 180, thanks.
I just wanted to say WOW, I tried this at the weekend and its the best pork I have had in a long time.After reading about people having trouble with the crackling I was a bit worried but I followed the instructions to the letter and had no problems at all the crackling… was sublime.One thing I did do tho, was make sure it was dried with a paper towel and well scored and salted.
Like most of you I was looking for another recipe to roast / cook a Pork belly. And have stubbled accross this site, I intend to do as the recipe says and see how it turns out, as it sounds absolutely delicious.For myself in the past to get a good crackling is to wipe off all moisture. Then making sure there are good score marks accross the skin and rub in oil and salt, the rule of thumb is to start the cooking process at a high temp say around 220 / 240 deg C for around 30 min. this acts as a 2 process system 1 its seals the meat and 2 gets the crackling off to a good start, then drop the temp. to around 120 – 130 deg C. cooking for around 3 to 4 hours, the meat is tender and the crackling is good.
FYI. A recipe For my last Pork Belly dish. make sure there is good score marks accross skin Place skin side down and slice green apples and prunes on the meat side and sprinkle a little of 5 spice powder and then roll the pork up and truss it (tie it up) wipe all excess moisture and rub in oil and salt pre heat oven to 220 – 240 deg C cook for 30 minutes then reduce temp to 120 – 130 deg C and cook for a further 3 hours. Turned out really nice…
Hello Shane
Thanks so much for your recipe and ideas. Much appreciated.
We have two recipes for belly of pork on this site and now we have three. Thank you.
Thanks fn,
This dish opened my eyes regarding high heat to get a good start on crackling, we had this dish last night, “Followed the recipe to a tee” and we were just so impressed the crackling was perfect and the meat just so tender absolutely yummo, The only thing I did different was after cooking the pork for 3 hours at 140 deg C then dropped the temp to 130 deg C for the last hour, I only cooked it for a further 30min and then turned the oven off so the meat could rest. As the meat was cooked, we had a 1.5 kg pork of belly. We had gravy with ours, but did not use the juice left over in the pan, its really just fat.
Just beautiful well done and thanks so much for the recipe and we intend on doing this dish regularly, will keep my eye on this site constantly for further recipes.
If I come up with some new recipes will pass them on. Cheers Shane.
Cooked your pork belly for lunch today. I followed your recipe to the letter and the result was a ‘melt-in-the-mouth’ meal. My daughter was at a dinner at Downing College in Cambridge last night and she said pork was on the menu and she said mine was much much better. So for me, a not-very-good cook, that was praise indeed! Thank you and Danny. I’m planning your cauliflower cheese tomorrow – a friend recently told me a bay leaf added to the cooking water takes away the ‘cauliflowery’ smell. It works. I also use the water I’ve cooked potatoes in to kill stubborn weeds in my brick path by the back door. Has anyone else got any similar tips?
an excellent recipe. it’s so simple but the results are fantastic.
i’m a fan of your site now. to think it all started with a simple google search for pork belly recipes…
best,
lizzie
Hi Shane
I love this recipe too. Now we buy our belly of pork from the local organic meat butcher and it’s even better.
Although we usually turn it into home cured and smoked streaky bacon – this is to die for and we are addicts.
Hi Liz
Sorry to take such a long time to get back to you. Terrific that you enjoyed our BOP recipe.
Really interested in your potato water weed killing tip. Sorry I don’t have a tip to match this!
Hello Lizzie
Thanks for leaving a comment.
Great that you enjoyed our recipe. I love it too.
Belly pork is an all time favourite of mine(as is breast of lamb)
Best from a butcher not a supermarket,the cheap cuts for me are the best!
I like to serve mine very slow roasted with plain boiled spuds(I’m afraid I slather the spuds in butter and some of the fat from the roasting tin and mash them on the plate!)
And a big pile of spring greens.
And you can make excellent gravy in the pan(pour off the fat first)especially if you’ve roasted some veggies in there as well,just pour some water in and let it reduce stirring on a low heat and if you have to thicken it with a little flour,the flavours should be so good you won’t need a stock cube to cheat!
Don’t discard the dripping!
Pour it into a cup,spread it on toast for breakfast with a little salt and a lot of pepper.
Heart attack on a plate but gorgeous!
Or just save it for roasting in,no point wasting it!
Agas,never owned one but used to cook breakfasts on one in a clients kitchen(I’m a bricklayer)she didn’t know how to use it and neither did I but we just figured out which bits did what at what speed(heat)and by the time we finished working there she was doing dinner parties!
She is a Doctor BTW,never cooked before in her life.
Agas are pretty much all different like the old kitchen range.
I think the trick is just to find the bit with the lowest heat for belly pork and the bit with the highest for a good rare roast beef or lamb(yes,I like lamb a bit rare)it is a bit hit and miss but if you live with an Aga you’ll soon figure out it’s foibles.
Hers was too hot in my opinion,always blazing away even in the summer,would boil a full kettle so fast she threw away her electric kettle!
I never tried a steak on it but I just know it would have done a sirloin beautifully!
Rare to medium rare….Mmmmmm!
I also used to toast sarnies on it,not rocket science
Now I’m making myself hungry,had belly pork last night and that dripping should be set by now….time for breakfast!
I cooked this for the family, and it is delicious and so simple. I will definitely be doing this again. I’m looking forward to varying the herbs to try new flavours – maybe thyme and orange instead of rosemary and garlic?
Hi Andy
Sorry, I missed this comment. I’m a decorator and it’s amazing what happens in other peoples’ kitchens
Thanks for all your cooking tips – much appreciated.
Hi Lisa
Thyme and orange would be great!
I found this recipe on the internet a good while ago and have never looked back ~ it’s by Antony Worrall Thompson.
It’s 100% reliable and guarantees the perfect crackling and melt-in-the-mouth meat: I live in France and over here they don’t usually keep the rind on the pork, other than in belly pork, but then they’re not used to cooking it to have crackling! So my butcher was fascinated when I told him what I was going to be doing with it.
2kg /4½lb leg of pork (½ leg), rind scored
4 tablespoons cider vinegar
8 sage leaves
2 tablespoons Maldon sea salt
1 tablespoon crushed black peppercorns
3 tablespoons pork dripping, butter or vegetable oil
8 bay leaves
6 sage leaves
8 unpeeled garlic cloves
The night before, boil a kettle and pour boiling water over the pork rind 3 times at 1 minute intervals. This oriental method helps tighten the rind and is the secret to fantastic crackling. Next baste the raw joint with cider vinegar, rubbing it all with your hands to work the vinegar into the rind. Place the joint on a plate in the fridge uncovered overnight.
Pre-set the oven to Gas Mark 6/400ºF/200ºC.
Make 8 cuts in the pork and insert the sage leaves into the cuts. Spread the pork with the pork dripping, butter or vegetable oil, then season with salt and pepper. Place in a roasting tray with the bay leaves, sage and garlic. Roast for half an hour then reduce the oven temperature to Gas Mark 4/350ºF/180ºC. Roast for a further 1½ hours. (Sometimes I leave it a little longer.)
Remove the pork from the roasting pan and allow to rest for fifteen minutes in a warm place before serving.
Wow this sounds beautiful, I’ve a 4kg boned piece of belly from our local organic pig farmer here in jersey and would like to use this method for a party we’re having.
Would I be right in thinking I should cook it for about 1hr 45 mins at the lower temperature – going by Dannys thoughts on a 2kg piece.
Any thoughts appreciated
…or maybe if I do two pieces at 2kg each I could keep it at only 1hr 15mins at the lower temperature?
Hi Rich,
As you can see from the comments, there are many excellent methods for this dish. Some of them advise cooking for less time but I have never tried that. We find that the long slow roast produces the melt-in-the-mouth effect that we love.
Because it is such a thin joint I think the cooking times should be the same for a 2kg or a 4kg joint. Maybe add an extra 30 mins for the 4 kg. I think I would rather play safe and cut it into 2 x 2kg slabs.
The great thing is that at these low temperatures it would be difficult to overcook it. I suppose common sense says to test it after 4 hours and then decide if it needs longer.
Sorry, Rich, you are on your own – but we would really love to know how it turns out. If you come back here afterwards (once the hangover has cleared!) you could teach us all from your experience.
Hay Danny,
Hangover just about cleared now so am ready to report back.
To start off 4kg of belly is big, it filled my oven. Apart from that shock all went fantastically. I split the meat into two 2kg slabs so it would fit into my roasting dishes. The only issue I had was that the moisture given off by the joint caused the crackling to lag behind but a quick blast under the grill remedied that. The four hours was spot on.
The long slow cook made for a beautiful meal. I served it up with a warm salad of puy lentils (cooked with sherry vinegar, chorizo and sliced roasted red and yellow peppers), and roasted rosemary new potatoes with a creme fraiche and chive sauce.
I shredded the left over pork and packed it in a jar and poured over the still molten fat, a happy accident of rillettes for this weeks lunches.
This is a great recipe which I’ll use again, possibly this weekend
Have you seen the book ‘Fat : An appreciation of a misunderstood ingredient with recipes’ by Jennifer McLagan well worth a look.
Now I think I’ll try your bacon recipe next. Thank you for sharing your recipes and advice.
Cheers
Richard
Hi Richard
That sounds like an amazing meal – love the idea of the hot lentil salad!
Rilletes have Dany weeping for joy. Hadn’t thought of making them from leftover belly of pork though – great idea.
Try our latest bacon recipe (they tend to improve as we get more experienced.)
Hi Happy Smallholders
Made this tonight, it didn’t even make it to the plate. Ate it with your apple sauce standing over the carving board. Got to go and clean up now, greasy chins do not a domestic goddess make.
Omygawd, Gail, you achieved something that I have always longed to do! Go For It, I always say, and you certainly did
Good for you.
Richard – congrats on what sounds like the perfect prep and method, and a delicious meal. Thanks for coming back here and sharing. Any chance that you might let us know your recipe for the puy lentil sides and your rosemary new potatoes?
Hi Dan
A pleasure to let you have the recipes, here they are
Puy Lentils with chorizo (for two as a main or four as a side)
Tin of Puy Lentils (you can cook from dried if you fancy)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp sherry vinegar
chorizo cooking sausage
150g sliced grilled peppers (i use the ones in oil)
100g crumbled goat’s cheese (optional)
In a pan, gently warm the lentils with the olive oil and sherry vinegar.
Whilst they are warming slice and fry the chorizo in another pan, I’m greedy and like using two sausages even when the main was the pork belly.
Stir the chorizo and peppers through warmed lentils. Top with some crumbly goats cheese if you fancy.
Rosemary new potatoes (for four as a side dish)
500g new potatoes (small if you can get them)
2 tbsp light olive oil
a few rosemary sprigs
Preheat oven to 230c, heat roasting tin in oven for 10 minutes. Coat potatoes in 1 tbsp of oil, tip into hot tin and roast for 20 minutes.
Remove the potatoes drizzle over the left over oil add the rosemary and sprinkle with sea salt. Return to oven for another 10-15 minutes until crispy and golden brown.
When I cooked these with the pork I started them off at 3 hours for the first 20 minutes and then returned them to the oven whilst the pork was resting for their last blast of heat.
Hope you like them
Top man, Rich. Many thanks for those two. The rosemary potatoes may especially suit because we have many “marbles” from our own main crop.
BTW, I loved the post on your blog about your 4 year old daughter’s first day at school. Reminds me of the lovely story I once read about a similar little girl:
15:30
Mum, you know how you were sad when I went off for my first day at school today?
Yes, darling. I was sad and I missed you all day long.
Well, Mum, you will not have to be sad ever again.
Oh? Why is that darling?
Because I am never going back.
When I cook BOP I roll out the belly and season it well. For a stuffing I put chop up some cooking apples,onion, garlic,parsley lemon thyme leaves, sausage meat and zest of a large lemon.
I chop up everthing faily small apart from the apples as they tend to break down in the heat and i like a bit of chunk. I roll the pork back up and put it in a pre heated oven to 220c put the pork in then turn it down to 150 right away.
The heat seals the pork. I leave it in there for about 3-4 hours depending on the size.
The pork is mouthwatering and just melts in mouth. If the crackiling has not quite crakeled I will cut it of the top of the pork and put it in a hot oven untill it is done.
That’s a very interesting variation, Joe. I think we will try it next time.
We have always cooked it flat, with additions of fruit etc underneath it. It does work well every time but I am up for proven variations.
Thanks for the idea. We will report back on here or in the forum.
Made this last night. Delicious. Really really delicious!
Planning to cook it Christmas eve, put it in over, go down pub, then come home to hot pork rolls.
Have ordered a 2kg piece of belly pork from my butcher…. can anyone recommend how long it should be cooked for?
Thank you so much for this recipe! I have tried it about 3 times now and each time I get better. It always tastes amazing, but my problem is the crackling. I never have a full piece with perfect crackling but I’m getting there. I am cooking a 3kg piece today for 7-8 hours and will report back on how it goes. A bit of pressure since it’s Christmas day, but I think it will go fine.
Thanks again for such a great recipe!
Elaine
Found this when googling for a good belly pork recipe and have it in the oven as I speak. The only thing to add so far is that on a cold day like today I would consider it a sin to have my oven on for 4 hours without popping a good old-fashioned rice pudding in alongside the pork. Love your site by the way and will let you know how the pork goes but if the smell is anything to go by it’ll be great.
I have just made this it was fabulous, I did it with 750g boned, rolled belly and not being a herby kind of gal I put mine on a bed of carrot, celery, onion and garlic.
Oh my word it was absolutely amazing, this will be a regular on the menu!!
Thank you sooo much
read this last night…picked up the pork from the butchers in the village this morning… can’t wait to try it out tomorrow evening! Salivating just thinking about it!
Jane
Absolutely delicious!! I found that the skin did not crisp but enough, so just put it under the grill at the end of the cooking time. Am going to try it with small apples roasted around it tonight. An easy way to get around my husband, it is his all time favourite!!