Three-hour pork belly

Three-hour pork belly

Still a relatively cheap cut, pork belly yields beautiful soft flesh and crisp crackling when slow-roasted

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 6

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 10 mins

Cook time

Cook 3 hrs

Plus marinating

Method

  1. Toast the fennel seeds and peppercorns in a dry frying pan for a couple of mins. Pound them together in a pestle and mortar with some flaked sea salt, the thyme and garlic to make a paste. Mix with 2 tbsp olive oil and rub all over the flesh of the pork. Cover and chill, leaving to marinate for a few hours or overnight.
  2. When ready to cook, rub the skin of the joint with plenty of salt and 1 tbsp more olive oil. Sit on a wire rack in a roasting tin and roast at 200C/180C fan/gas 6 for 30 mins. After this time, squeeze the lemons over the skin and turn the heat down to 180C/ 160C fan/gas 4. Roast for a further 2 hrs. Finally, turn the heat back up to 220C/ 200C fan/gas 7 and give it a final blast for another 30 mins or so, to finish the crackling. Allow to rest somewhere warm for 20 mins. Carve up into chunks or slices and serve with the braised cabbage (below) and bay-infused potatoes (see 'Goes well with', right).
Try

Braised red cabbage with apple

Slice 3 onions into half-moons and sweat in 2 tbsp olive oil until soft. Add 4 peeled and roughly diced Bramley apples and 1 shredded large red cabbage to the pan. Season, stir and cover with a lid. Turn the heat down and stew for 1 hr, or until cabbage is tender. Check every now and then, adding some water if the pan is looking a bit dry. Remove the lid and stir in 100g soft brown sugar. Add 100ml red wine vinegar, cook for 10 mins until evaporated, season to taste and serve.

Per serving

585 kcalories, protein 45.0g, carbohydrate 2.0g, fat 44.0 g, saturated fat 16.0g, fibre 0.0g, salt 0.83 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, October 2010.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 1-20

  • Binder photo Scrumpy Jack Flash

    27 September 2010

    Scrumpy Jack Flash rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Had this for our sunday dinner last night and oh my word was it beautiful. The meat and crackling were amazing and the red cabbage was the best i have ever eaten. I served it with roast potatoes, apple sauce and gravy. Can't wait to cook it again.

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  • Binder photo James Ponter

    28 September 2010

    James Ponter rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Absolutely loved this, perfect crackling and super tasty.

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  • Binder photo DrFabio

    05 February 2011

    DrFabio rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    We had this as a (very!) belated Christmas meal last week and it was amazing. I don't think I'll ever cook pork another way!

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  • Binder photo sevy

    21 March 2011

    sevy rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This was absolutly gorgeous and will definitly be cooked again, made gravy with it as well and the marinade in the gravy was great

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  • Binder photo Michelle Diane Hewgill

    06 May 2011

    Michelle Diane Hewgill rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I have cooked this twice now and the flavours are very tasty, my only criticism is that the underside of the pork goes as crispy as the top - so I think next time I make this I will try filling the baking tray with some water, wine or stock to steam the underside and hopefully keep it moist. I serve mine with roasted new potatoes, the red cabbage, cauliflower cheese mash and gravy.

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  • Binder photo Claire

    05 June 2011

    Claire rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Absolutely fantastic. Why haven't I discovered belly pork before?

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  • Binder photo bouncingzed

    17 July 2011

    bouncingzed rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Absolutely fantastic. The family want this one as a regular now! I used garlic, rosemary and olive oil to rub into meat instead and was still fantastic!

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  • Binder photo llifon

    30 August 2011

    llifon commented on this recipe

    So tasty and soft, with the crispiest crackling. Will definitely make again maybe without the fennel seeds. Well worth the effort.

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  • Binder photo jadiecakes

    21 September 2011

    jadiecakes rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo LozBott

    25 November 2011

    LozBott rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This is the tastiest Pork I have ever eaten! I scored the pork itself as well as the fat so that the garlic mixture could soak right into the meat. I rubbed extra salt on the fat so that I got extra crispy crackling too. We have had this three Sundays in a row as it is so good! Excellent recipe!

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  • Binder photo Penny

    04 December 2011

    Penny rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Wow. That was the first time I ever cooked pork belly and it was brilliant. Will make again.

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  • Binder photo Julie Smart

    19 January 2012

    Julie Smart rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This turned out so gorgeous. Easy and fun to make and the results were well worth the wait. I also made the red cabbage and that went down well too.

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  • Binder photo Lizzie

    02 February 2012

    Lizzie rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I have cooked this three times and it is fabulous. Easy to cook and impressive for a dinner party. Yum!

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  • Binder photo Dawn

    28 April 2012

    Dawn commented on this recipe

    Absolutely gorgeous. I used lemon thyme for the marinade and this gave the pork and crackling a really lovely flavour! I cooked this for some friends and will definitely be cooking it again in the near future - YUMMY!!! I served with Italian herb roast potatoes and veg - perfect!

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  • Binder photo sarah b

    29 April 2012

    sarah b rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    As many have said, absolutely gorgeous. My husband said its the best pork he has ever had.Halved and made it just for the two of us forgetting to adjust the cooking time and it was still great. Served with the red cabbage, leek gratin and new pots.

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  • Binder photo Heather Keen

    19 August 2012

    Heather Keen rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I love this recipe, the tastyest pork ever! I didn't 't think I'd like the fennel, but glad I went with it and added it, it's delicious!

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  • Binder photo Alecia

    07 September 2012

    Alecia commented on this recipe

    Delicious! This is a really easy dish and a real dinner party pleaser. I cooked it last night for friends and they were all asking for the recipe. I added more salt to the skin for extra crispy crackling. Served with greens and the new potatoes cooked in bay infused milk as per the serving suggestion (the consensus around the table was that these weren't amazing and boiled tats would have been just as nice).

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  • Binder photo Alecia

    07 September 2012

    Alecia rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo shannobank

    22 September 2012

    shannobank rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Please tell my family they cannot have this every day!!!! Its fab and easy to make with new pots or roast and any veg you like

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  • Binder photo Stela

    14 October 2012

    Stela rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Fantastic dish. I normally struggle to get nice crackling but this was perfect. Half way through cooking I added potatoes, carrots, garlic cloves and shallots to the pan and they were scrummy (kept it covered with tin foil until last 30 mins). Can highly recommend it.

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 6

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 10 mins

Cook time

Cook 3 hrs

Plus marinating

Ingredients

Print this recipe
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Per serving

585 kcalories, protein 45.0g, carbohydrate 2.0g, fat 44.0 g, saturated fat 16.0g, fibre 0.0g, salt 0.83 g

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