Pork Belly {with Crispy Crackling}

4 standard portions

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Ingredients

• 750 g Pork belly joint (Skin on)
• 1/2 tsp Black pepper
• 1/2 tsp Fennel seeds (Lightly crushed)
• 1/2 tsp Dried thyme
• 1 Garlic clove (Crushed)
• 2 tsp Sunflower oil (Or another flavourless oil)
• 1 tsp Flaky sea salt

Method

1. Dry the pork overnight: Pat the pork belly dry with kitchen paper, especially the skin, and place on a wire rack on top of a baking tray in the fridge overnight. (See notes below.)
2. On the day: Heat the oven to 220°C fan/240°C/475°F/Gas Mark 9.
3. Prepare the joint: If the skin is not already scored, or only scored a few times, lightly score it using a sharp knife, cutting only through the skin and not into the meat. We like to score it every 1cm or so to make sure our crackling gets super crispy.
4. For the rub: Mix the black pepper, crushed fennel, thyme and garlic with the oil to make a thick paste and rub into the underside of the pork belly. NOT ON THE SKIN. Rub the skin with the salt.
5. Cook on high, then low: Keeping the pork on the wire rack over the baking tray, roast for 25 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 160°C fan/180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 and cook for 1 hour -1 hour 30. Check the temperature of the meat is 88-90C (190-195F) and the crackling should be hard and crispy. (See notes below.)
6. Rest before serving: Leave the pork to rest uncovered for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.