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| Roast Belly Pork with Apples & Veg, a One-Stop Meal |
What a treat it is to have a roast dinner with all the trimmings. What a joy if the meat is a less expensive but delicious cut.
Belly Pork is a favourite in Asian cooking where its combination of lean pork and layers of fat is much prized. That would normally put it out of bounds for healthy eating but, on an Indulgence Day, cooking it slowly and gently allows much of the fat to drain away.
A portion of belly pork big enough for 3-4 will set you back £5-10, depending on where it's bought.
After the admittedly fiddly preparation of the crackling (well worth it!!), the one-stop method of cooking makes life easy. A little planning, and the meat and several veg can be ready at the same time and save on fuel costs. The prep starts the day before you plan to serve the roast; cooking time is 3 hours.
Ingred:
at least 1.3 kilo/ 3 pound belly or shoulder of pork (Ask the butcher to score it for you - 67 forgot; see photo)
boiling water
olive oil
salt
water or stock
up to 1/4 cup/60 ml armagnac/apple cider/apple juice (opt)
at least 1 eating apple, unpeeled but cored & cut into 8ths
potatoes
carrots
cabbage (opt)
broccoli (opt)
peas (opt)
corn (opt)
Equipment: one roasting tray deep enough for the crackling to stand proud, foil or parchment paper, a small oven tray
Method:
- If the crackling hasn't been scored, take a very sharp knife and draw parallel lines in the fat down to, but not into, the flesh. The lines should be 1/2 inch/1 cm apart.
- Boil a kettle. Place the pork on a rack in a tray and pour boiling water over the crackling layer. Discard the water; remove tray and turn the pork upside down so the crackling layer rests on the bottom. Pour in sufficient boiling water to cover the fat layer but not the flesh; leave for 20 mins. (Bear with here; these are butchers' instructions and worth the effort). Drain.
- Leave uncovered in the fridge overnight.
- Preheat oven to 160C/320F
- Rub crackling with olive oil, pushing it into the cracks; lightly salt
- Lightly pepper and salt the flesh
- Place the joint on a rack in the roasting tray; if poss, the crackling should stand proud and the meat sit below the top of the tray; pour in 1/2 cup/120 ml water with a few tbsp armagnac, apple cider or apple juice
- Bake in the centre of the oven for 3 hours' do not baste.
- After 1 1/2 hours, place potatoes and apples (on a piece of foil) alongside the meat
- Wrap the vegetables in individual packets of foil or greaseproof paper. Place carrots and cabbage alongside the meat, or if there is not enough room, underneath
- 45 mins before the end of cooking, place broccoli, corn and peas packets on smaller tray & place in bottom of oven
- When the roast is done pull away the crackling. Cover meat with tin foil and leave to rest 10-15 mins. Keep veg warm (the apple will probably have collapsed nicely and form a chunky sauce.
- Using a sharp knife or kitchen scissors, break crackling into bite size pieces and place in serving dish.
- Remove as much fat as possible from the the juices in the pan; place over med heat; add a bit of water and scrape away at the bits on the bottom. Strain & keep warm. (For a thicker gravy, add a slurry of 2 tbsp cornflour mixed with 2 tbsp cold water, stirring until blendedj
- Arrange meat, veg, fruit & crackling on a large platter
Tip:
- This method of a one-pan roast with all the trimmings will also work with a chicken or joint of beef but obviously the cooking time will be much reduced
- Shoulder of pork is slightly less fatty than Belly Pork but is not as lean as loin or leg
- The apples as they are taste fine but a bit of butter & cinnamon can be mixed in
More Meat on Nav Bar: Recipes II ...
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This reipe has been developed by B Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission.
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