{Crispy Pork Belly + Apple & Fennel Coleslaw}

This is by far the most viewed recipe on my blog !! By way far !!  Everyone it would seem loves pork belly, me included. This recipe came from my bestest girlfriend Jus who lives in Sydney, she was here for my birthday and together we cooked an alright twice cooked pork belly.  Not blog worthy.  She knew I was disappointed and that we still had a piece in the freezer so when she made this she rang and said we have to try it too. After hearing her talking about it I was sold.  That pork belly was out and defrosting in no time.

I am so so happy to have this recipe to add to my blog, this is the way pork belly is meant to taste, it is perfect, the meat is super tender and the crackling is ear shatteringly good, paired with the sweet star anise sauce and crunchy coleslaw it is the perfect meal. This is one of those dinners that you eat on a Sunday and are still thinking about it on Thursday! This is enough for four of your favourite people.


...the pork

1.5kg pork belly, thick end, bones removed

2 tbsp sea salt

2 tbsp olive oil

pepper 

...the sauce

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup red wine vinegar

2 tbsp honey

2 star anise

1 cinnamon stick

1 tbsp coriander seeds, lightly crushed

2 bay leaves

...the slaw

½ cup rice wine vinegar

½ tsp salt

½ tsp sichuan pepper

3 tbsp sugar

1 small red onion

1 baby fennel

¼ savoy cabbage

1 lebanese cucumber

2 radish

1 apple

1 chilli

1/2 bunch fresh coriander leaves

Ask your butcher to score the skin of the pork belly (if you do it yourself, use a very sharp knife or a stanley). Rub sea salt into the pork skin and refrigerate uncovered for 30 minutes to dry it out. Preheat oven to 220. Wipe the sea salt off the pork skin with kitchen paper and dry thoroughly. Drizzle a large roasting dish with olive oil. Put pork belly in, skin-side down, drizzle with a little more olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes, then reduce the oven to 190 and roast for another 1½ hours. Carefully turn pork belly over and roast for another 30 minutes, or until skin is crisp and crunchy. Remove from oven, do not cover, and rest it for 15 minutes.

For the coleslaw, put vinegar, salt, sichuan pepper and sugar in a bowl, finely slice red onion and fennel and add to vinegar to soften. Then finely slice the cabbage, cucumber, radish, apple, green chilli and coriander and pop them into your salad bowl, just before serving add in the onion and fennel mixture and toss to combine (I use a mandolin for all the coleslaw ingredients).

While the pork is resting make the sauce. Place all sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer gently over medium heat for five minutes, until thickened. To serve slice pork into thick slices put it onto a serving plate and pop onto the table with the sauce and the coleslaw along side.