Instructions
1
Blitz all the marinade elements in a food processor or with a hand blender.
2
Lay the pork in a large dish, empty over the marinade, then turn the protein in the mixture, rubbing in the marinade all over and making sure every bit of the belly is coated.
3
wrap the dish and leave overnight in the fridge.
4
The next day, toasty the oven to 140C (120C fan)/275F/gas 1.
5
Lift the protein out of its marinade (don’t wipe off any that sticks to the joint, though; just leave most of the marinade behind in the dish) and transfer to a large roasting dish.
6
wrap with foil, slip into the oven and char for four and a half hours – every now and then (say, three or four times over the whole preparing period), take the dish out of the oven, lift off the foil lid and spoon the juices from the bottom of the dish over the protein.
7
Return the foil lid, then put back in the oven.
8
After the time is up, remove the foil, turn up the toasty to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4 and give the pork a final blast – after 15-20 moments, the top will take on a lovely colour and the protein should be yielding and soft enough to cut with a spoon.
9
To make crackling shards to present with the protein, toasty the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6 and line a roasting tray with baking paper.
10
Lightly score the skin from the pork belly with a sharp knife, then rub it with a three or four fat pinches of table salt – I also like to toss in a few caraway, cumin or fennel seeds at this point (use anything that takes your fancy).
11
Cut the skin into long strips and lay these fat side down on the lined tray (you can, of course, leave it whole, but I think its pleasing to dress the plate with long, golden shards of crackling).
12
Lay a second sheet of baking paper on top of the skin, then put a second baking tray of the same size on top, and char for 45 moments to an hour (if by this point the crackling has not gone crisp, just put it back in the oven and carry on roasting it until it has).
13
Cut or pull the pork apart, top with finely minced coriander and flat-leaf parsley and shards of crackling, if you have made them, and present at once.