Pork Belly

      Pork belly is a favourite of mine; if I had to choose a favourite cut of meat from any animal then this would be a strong contender! I bought a whole belly the other day, used half of it to make some dry-cured bacon and planned to cook the rest of it, slowly braised to create that unctuous melting texture that only pork belly can give. Indeed as pork belly is a tough part of the animal, it must be slowly cooked like this in order to tenderise it. Unlike many other braising meats (beef shin, for example), pork belly tends not to dry out when being cooked as it contains a lot of fat. And as far as I'm concerned, lots of fat means lots of flavour!

      I have done pork with ale before, in my pig's cheeks recipe, and this dish is quite similar, but worth trying as pork belly has quite a different flavour from cheek. I cooked the belly in ale and water, with the ribs included so that the cooking liquid turns into a pork stock, ready to reduce down and thicken to make the gravy. The crunchy crackling skin is a highlight here, something unobtainable from a cheek! To contrast the texture of the crackling I garnished it with humble yet excellent mashed potato. Seasonal vegetable choice today was brussel sprouts, which I adore, and they add a nice contrast in colour on the plate.

Slow Cooked Pork Belly with Ale Gravy Recipe (Serves about 8)

      Firstly take 500ml of strong dark ale and boil for 5 minutes to remove the alcohol. Cut off the ribs from a 2kg piece of pork belly and separate into individual ribs. Now to cook the pork belly; line a suitably sized roasting tray with greaseproof paper and put the pork belly in skin side down. Place the ribs around the edge of the belly. Pour the ale, plus 200ml of chicken stock around the pork and top up with  water until all of the meat is just covered. Wrap the roasting tray tightly with 2 layers of tin foil and place in the oven at 140C for about 5 hours, or until the pork is soft and tender (the handle of a spoon should pass through the meat without resistance). Once the pork is ready, put another layer of greaseproof paper on top, followed by a flat tray and press with a heavy weight (about 3kg). Leave to cool slightly, then refrigerate overnight.

      Carefully remove the belly from the tray and portion into squares. Score the skin in a criss cross pattern, being careful not to cut the whole thickness of skin. Store in the fridge whilst making the sauce. Take all of the braising liquid (which has probably turned to jelly) and place in a pot. Gently heat, and remove the bones. Dice 1/2 a carrot, 1 small onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 3 very ripe tomatoes 1/2 stick of celery and 1/2 bulb of fennel and add to the sauce along with another 150ml of strong dark ale. Simmer gently for 1 hour, then strain through a fine sieve. Reduce by half, then thicken with a little beurre manie. Season to taste with sea salt.

      To crisp the skin of the pork belly you will need a non-stick oven-proof pan. Pre-heat the oven to 230C. Put 3-4 tablespoons of vegetable oil into the pan and place the portioned pork belly in skin side down (you may have to do this in batches) then simply put in the oven until the skin is golden and crisp. Sprinkle the skin lightly with sea salt.