ROASTED PORK BELLY "LECHON"
This is one of my all-time favorite foods, After doing some research I found this recipe and I have made it in the past and it is absolutely delicious!
What You'll Need
- 1.5 kg pork belly slab, skin on
- 3 whole garlic bulbs, peeled and roughly chopped
- ½ cup oregano leaves, washed then chopped
- 3 red onions, peeled and chopped around 4 – 5 lemongrass stalks, sliced the zest from 1 lemon
- juice from 1 lemon
- a little over 1/8 cup salt, plus more for an even rub around the pork
- 4 tablespoons crushed black pepper
How to Make It
- Combine all the aromatics in a bowl and mix well.
- Lightly mash everything together with the back of a spoon.
- Alternatively, use a food processor to bring everything together with only around 2-3 pulses.With the skin side down, rub the mixture all over the meat.
- Roll the slab, carefully invert the meat and secure it with butcher’s twine.
- It’s okay if there are a few pieces of herbs that fall off, you can place it back later.
- Rub coarse salt all over the meat, including the skin.
- With a paring knife or fork, poke the skin of the meat. This will ensure a nice crackling.
- Transfer it to a roasting fitted with a rack and the bottom lined with foil.
- Place it in the refrigerator to chill overnight. This will dry the skin, which helps the crackling form.
- Preheat the oven to 160 C. Just to be sure, pat the skin of the pork dry with a paper towel. Roast the pork for 5 hours.
- Afterwards, increase the temperature to 220 C, and allow the pork’s crackling to form. This will take another 30 minutes to an hour.
- When done, remove from the oven and allow to cool a bit before slicing. Enjoy
