* this recipe is adopted from Donna Hay. Easy to do just some preparation in advance. Yummy and the pickled pear is a real good compliment to the pork!
Ingredients:
Boneless Belly Pork around 7" x 7" or around 1.5kg
2 tbsp sea salt flakes
2 tbsp 5 spice powder
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup (250ml) apple cider
1 cup (250ml) apple cider vinegar
thyme sprigs x 6
bay leaves x 2
1/2 cup (110g) caster sugar
3 cups (750ml) water
6 small firm pears, peeled
balsamic vinegar to serve (optional)
How to Make:
1. The night before your dinner, wash and wipe dry belly pork. If you have really sharp knife, score into pig skin at 1 cm intervals with the help of a metal ruler, i..e. really cut into the skin but not the meat. If no sharp knife to help out this job, then just use those meat poker to punch into the skin and meat all over.
2. Rub the sea salt flakes into the cuts in the skin or on top of the skin and the bottom of the meat. Rub some 5 spice powder to the meat too.
3. Place pork skin side down on a baking tray, place a kitchen towel on top (ie. meat side on top), then place another baking tray on top of the pork, place some heavy cans on top to press down - purpose of this is to make the belly pork as flat as possible, gives you better shape to cook and cut afterwards. Also, no need to put any cling film wrap so that the skin of the pork can dry out in the fridge for a better crackle at cooking. Refrigerate overnight.
4. On the day of cooking, then out pork to room temperature for 1 hr before cooking. If you have a metal hook, hang it up so that all extra moisture in the skin will be released, Otherwise, use kitchen towels to wipe and absorb all extra moisture from the pork.
5. Pre-heat oven to 180'C.
6. Rub some more sea salt flakes to the pork, black pepper and any spice you like. Brush olive oil to skin and meat. Place the pork, skin side down on a baking tray and roast for 1 hour.
7. After 1 hour, turn the pork to skin side up, increase oven heat to 200'C, roast for another 1 hour. You can put the baking tray at 1 level up inside the oven.
8. While the pork is roasting, make the pickled pears. Place the cider, vinegar, sugar, thymes, bay leaves, water in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the pears, cover with non-stick baking paper and top with a small lid to submerge the pears. Poach the pears for 20 mins or until they are tender. Then set aside on the pickling liquid until ready to serve with the pork.
9. Once the pork is done, remove from oven, drain the oil from top of skin (if any), then cut and serve with the pickled pear.
Enjoy!
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