Round 2 - Slow Roast Belly of Pork

slow roasted pork belly with colcannon, parsnips, carrots, cider gravy and home-made apple sauce.

ingredients



outdoor reared pork belly scored and tied by the butcher. tbh, he could've done a better job with the scoring. but it's always a pleasure to watch a master craftsman take a cut out of half a pig in just a couple of minutes.

make sure the pork is dry, rub lots of sea salt in. put on a trivet in a roasting dish. then hit it hard with 220 degrees C for half an hour. put some water in the roasting dish then turn down to 140-150 for another 2 hours.

apple sauce - peel, core and chop a bramley. add a tablespoon of caster sugar and a couple of cloves and a slash of water. simmer gently for about 20 mins.



colcannon - king edwards steamed for 20 mins or so. put aside when done so the moisture evapourates. heat spring onions gently in milk to infuse, add butter, salt and pepper. mash in spuds then fold in some savoy cabbage that has been steamed for 4 minutes and a load of chopped parsley.



gravy - dice a couple of shallots. fry gently in butter for a couple of minutes. add half a pint of cider and reduce. add a pint of chicken stock (mine was home made- had it in the freezer, it's that big tupperware pot in the ingredients pic) and reduce. add some fresh sage near the end.



parsnips - roasted in olive oil, salt and pepper.

carrots - steamed for 6 mins, then glazed with butter and parsley



the climax



done!

One word.

WINNER

Originally Posted by Bunker Buster

One word.

WINNER

why thank you mr bb. it's far from over yet.

but i had a dream; rather than repeat my rib of beef...i wanted to elevate the most humblest of cuts from the most maligned of sunday sweetmeats and take it to another level.

Did you shave your craclking?

Originally Posted by Sloppy

Did you shave your craclking?

nah, t'was a well groomed pig. no teats on the belly either.

Are you single??

Originally Posted by oldnews

Are you single??

not yet...

you know you don't have to act with me, oldnews. you don't have to say anything, and you don't have to do anything. not a thing. oh, maybe just whistle. you know how to whistle, don't you, oldnews? you just put your lips together and... blow.

Originally Posted by oldnews

Are you single??

Have you seen my crisp sandwich thread?

I'm hungover, crisp sandwishes sound good. I couldn't possibly make it myself though. I'm a complete masterfred fraud, I can't cook for shit, never had to until I became single.

That meat looks the business
Good effort there CT

Originally Posted by hopkins

That meat looks the business
Good effort there CT

no excuse why anyone can't try it either. it's a dirt cheap cut (a fiver and free range!) but tastes sublime if done right.

A fiver? That's a bargain, how much did it weigh?
Your roasting tin looks well used too

Originally Posted by hopkins

A fiver? That's a bargain, how much did it weigh?
Your roasting tin looks well used too

i don't know exactly how much it weighed, about 750g at a guess.

ha ha. yes it's well used. that was a pyrex dish tho. a lot of fat gets rendered and the long cook turns it dark. you should see my wok, too. the missus does the washing up, i should crack the whip more.

I'd eat two plates of that.

Originally Posted by armchair

I'd eat two plates of that.

thank you.

tbh, i'm waiting for my colcannon to be vilified for including savoy cabbage rather than curly kale.

Originally Posted by Bunker Buster

One word.

WINNER

Oi you've not seen mine yet

Will be up tonight

though I'm a little nervous right now.

Forgot to say that that does look very good indeed mate. Top marks.

Originally Posted by Stone Monkey

Oi you've not seen mine yet

Will be up tonight

though I'm a little nervous right now.

bunkers patronage is about as useful as a dog with 3 legs trying to scratch itself. post and be damned.

Originally Posted by CamelToe

bunkers patronage is about as useful as a dog with 3 legs trying to scratch itself. post and be damned.

About 2 hours Pal

superb effort. was going to do a suckling pig but couldn't find one in time....
I just hope theres a strong jewish/muslim/hindu ethnic background amonst the lurking voters out there.


very strong round this one.