John Torode’s signature five-hour pork belly recipe is well worth the wait and the roast potatoes cooked in pork fat are quite simply to-die-for.
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Ingredients
- 2 tbsp sea salt
- 8 garlic cloves, smashed with the back of a knife
- 4 tbsp smoked paprika
- 60ml vegetable oil
- 2 lemons, halved lengthways and thickly sliced
- 3.5-4kg British free-range pork belly, bone in, skin on, scored in a small diamond pattern (ask your butcher to do this)
- 2kg potatoes, peeled and quartered
For the salsa verde
- Bunch fresh flatleaf parsley leaves
- Large handful fresh basil leaves
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 large free-range hard-boiled egg
- Handful fresh white breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp capers in brine, rinsed and patted dry
- 50ml olive oil
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Method
- Start the day before you want to eat. Mix the salt, garlic, paprika, vegetable oil and lemon pieces in a bowl. Rub the mix into the pork meat (not the skin), then sit the joint skin- side up in a baking tray, on top of the lemon pieces, to infuse the meat.
- Leave the pork to marinate in the fridge uncovered for 12-24 hours (keep away from other food). You may need to cut the pork into 2 pieces if it’s very large.
- Heat the oven to 160°C/140°C fan/ gas 3. Put the potatoes in a very large roasting tin (to act as a trivet). Put the pork, skin-side up, on top of the potatoes and pour any marinade left in the tray around it. Pour a large cup of water into the tray.
- Cover the pork with baking paper, then foil, folding and crimping it around the outside of the tin to seal. Roast in the oven for 4 hours.
- Take the pork out of the oven and carefully remove the foil and baking paper. Turn the oven up to 200°C/ 180°C fan/gas 6. Toss the potatoes that surround the pork in the juices and fat (leave the ones underneath), then return the roasting tray to the oven for a further hour. Turn the surrounding potatoes every 20 minutes or so, making sure they don’t burn on the bottom of the tray.
- Remove the pork from the oven (see tips) and rest in a warm place for 30 minutes. Turn the oven as low as it will go to keep the potatoes warm.
- For the salsa verde, put the parsley, basil and garlic in a food processor and pulse but keep it a little chunky. Add the rest of the ingredients, season well, then pulse for 30 seconds or until the mixture has a roughly chopped texture. (You could use a pestle and mortar to make a coarse paste, or chop the herbs, garlic, egg and capers, then mix with the rest of the ingredients).
- When the pork has rested, lay it skin-side down on a board. Gently pull or cut out the bones – they should come away easily. Cut the pork in half lengthways, then cut each half into 5 or 6 slices. Serve with the salsa verde and the potatoes.
Nutrition
- 1020kcals Calories
- 64.3g (20.2g saturated) Fat
- 74.2g Protein
- 33.8g (2.5g sugars) Carbs
- 4.9g Fibre
- 3.8g Salt
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