Aromatic Belly of Pork

These days fat is very politically incorrect but as long as you don't serve this dish more than three times a week you'll be OK!

No, seriusly, you might balk at the idea of eating belly of pork with its layers of fat but don't be put off.  The flavour and texture of this dish is incredible and its something I've been working on for some time to get right.  If you want to serve this at a dinner party then you can make the portions as large or small as you like as it would work well as part of a several-course arrangement.

It takes a couple of days to do the recipe properly but I thinks it's worth it.

Serves 12

1 Whole Pork Belly.  Have your butcher bone it out leaving all the meat and fat, and diamond score the skin.

about 2 Pints good chicken stock

1 bulb whole garlic

Bay leaves

Black peppercorns

Juniper berries

Mixed herbs

Five spice powder

Dark soy sauce

Hoi-Sin (Peking Duck) sauce

Put a large roasting dish on the hob on a medium heat and begin to fry the Pork skin side down to mobilise the fat.  Meanwhile liberally scatter the flesh side with all the herbs, spices and chuck in the bay leaves and whole, lightly-crushed garlic cloves.  At this stage I've even added some over ripe pears, orange peel and left over spices from cake-making!  When the skin begins to brown and crackle turn the whole belly over and pour in the stock until the skin is just above the liquid level.

Smother the skin in soy sauce and wrap the entire dish a couple of times in thick foil to make an airtight seal.

Put the whole lot in a very low oven (my range goes down to gas 1 and I put it on the bottom of the oven, so that's about 100C) for at least 8 hours.  Yep, 8 hours, preferably 10.

After that time, remove the dish from the oven, DO NOT OPEN THE FOIL.  Allow to cool to room temeperature and then chill the whole thing overnight.

When you unwrap the dish, not only will you be assaulted by the most incredible aroma but you will find the fat has formed a solid layer around the pork and you can remove that and discard.  The gravy will be a wonderful jelly which you can strain, reheat, reduce and then chill for use later.

Remove the meat from the dish an divide into portions.  Wrapped in non-pvc cling wrap you can freeze the pork for later or simply keep it covered in the fridge until you need it.

To serve place the portion of pork on a plate, under cling film in a steamer for about half an hour (from the fridge) and when you unwrap the pork it will be a wonderful wobbly, succulent, jellied delight!  Finish off by basting the skin with hoi-sin and placing under a hot grill to bubble and caramelise.

Serve with a sauce made from the jellied gravy, or for a dramatic touch form the jelly in silicone molds and add a pork jelly to the plate as you serve.  The jelly will melt on the heat of the plate and provide the gravy.

Tremendous!