Slow Roasted Pork Belly with Apple Cider Glaze
This is the perfect pork belly; soft, tender, juicy meat, fat rendered and of course mouth-watering crunchy crackle. Served with a simple sour, sweet and tangy apple cider reduction; perfect for entertaining or a lavish night in.
Ensure your barbecue is clean and free from any grease or debris. Prepare the barbecue for indirect cooking over very low heat (110°C-130°C).
Dry the skin of the pork and score the skin if the butcher hasn’t done so already. Score through the rind and just into the fat, about 3mm deep and at 1cm intervals. Rub a little olive oil all over the pork. Season and rub salt all over, especially giving the rind a good coating of salt.
Roast the pork belly over indirect very low heat, with the lid closed, for 4 hours allowing the meat to become tender, or until the internal temperature of the pork reaches around 80°C to 85°C.
While the pork belly is cooking, make the Apple Cider Reduction. In a saucepan on a stove top or on a side burner of a barbecue, boil the apple cider, apple cider vinegar and brown sugar together for 45 minutes, or until it has reduced to a syrup, stirring as needed. Best served warm.
Once the pork belly has cooked for 4 hours or has reached 80°C to 85°C, remove it from the barbecue and set it inside while you increase the temperature of the barbecue. Increase the temperature of the barbecue for indirect cooking over high heat (240°C-260°C).
Return the pork belly to the barbecue and roast it over indirect high heat, keeping the lid of the barbecue closed as much as possible, for 20 to 30 minutes, until the skin has crackled. Remove the pork from the barbecue and leave to rest for 15 minutes before slicing.
Slice the pork belly and serve with the Apple Cider Reduction.
Leftover Idea: Add soy sauce to the Apple Cider Reduction, to make a salty, sweet braising liquid. Add the leftover pork to a small disposable foil drip pan, crackle side up. Fill the dish with the liquid, ideally the meat will be submerged, but the crackle will be exposed. Reheat in an oven or barbecue set up for indirect heat at 200°C for 30 minutes to warm through and harden the crackle. Serve with steamed rice and grilled greens.
Ingredients
Directions
Ensure your barbecue is clean and free from any grease or debris. Prepare the barbecue for indirect cooking over very low heat (110°C-130°C).
Dry the skin of the pork and score the skin if the butcher hasn’t done so already. Score through the rind and just into the fat, about 3mm deep and at 1cm intervals. Rub a little olive oil all over the pork. Season and rub salt all over, especially giving the rind a good coating of salt.
Roast the pork belly over indirect very low heat, with the lid closed, for 4 hours allowing the meat to become tender, or until the internal temperature of the pork reaches around 80°C to 85°C.
While the pork belly is cooking, make the Apple Cider Reduction. In a saucepan on a stove top or on a side burner of a barbecue, boil the apple cider, apple cider vinegar and brown sugar together for 45 minutes, or until it has reduced to a syrup, stirring as needed. Best served warm.
Once the pork belly has cooked for 4 hours or has reached 80°C to 85°C, remove it from the barbecue and set it inside while you increase the temperature of the barbecue. Increase the temperature of the barbecue for indirect cooking over high heat (240°C-260°C).
Return the pork belly to the barbecue and roast it over indirect high heat, keeping the lid of the barbecue closed as much as possible, for 20 to 30 minutes, until the skin has crackled. Remove the pork from the barbecue and leave to rest for 15 minutes before slicing.
Slice the pork belly and serve with the Apple Cider Reduction.
Leftover Idea: Add soy sauce to the Apple Cider Reduction, to make a salty, sweet braising liquid. Add the leftover pork to a small disposable foil drip pan, crackle side up. Fill the dish with the liquid, ideally the meat will be submerged, but the crackle will be exposed. Reheat in an oven or barbecue set up for indirect heat at 200°C for 30 minutes to warm through and harden the crackle. Serve with steamed rice and grilled greens.