Slow-Roast Pork Belly with Popcorn Crackling & Apple Chutney

preparation 15 minutes, plus overnight brining
cook time 3 hours 30 minutes, plus resting
Serves 2

Want to know how to make perfect pork crackling? Orlando Murrin recommends roasting pork, then frying it skin side down in bubbling fat, making it pop and crackle! It's served with a piquant apple chutney, and obviously we recommend doing some roast potatoes on the side!

Recipe taken from Two’s Company: The Best of Cooking for Couples, Friends & Roommates (Ryland Peters & Small, £18.99) Photography: Clare Winfield

Ingredients Method

For the pork belly:
A 400–500g piece of pork belly, with skin, no bones
2 tsp flaky salt
2 tsp sugar, plus a little extra to finish
¼ tsp table salt
100ml oil
For the apple chutney:
A little oil, for frying
1 shallot, roughly chopped
1 small eating apple, peeled and cut into 1.5cm chunks
1cm piece of fresh ginger, grated
2–3 tsp soft brown or caster sugar
100 ml cider (hard), or white wine
A pinch of ground coriander, or ground cloves
½ tsp mustard seeds (optional)
2 tsp raisins or sultanas (optional)

Sharpen your knife and make diagonal cuts across the skin of the pork belly, about 1 cm apart, cutting through the skin to the fat below. These cuts will later serve as your guide for carving the pork. Now cut the pork belly in half lengthwise, to make 2 strips, each about 6 cm in width. Mix the flaky salt and sugar and rub all over the meat sides of the pork, then rub the table salt over the skin. Put the pork in a dish or bowl (to catch any juices) in the fridge, uncovered, for up to 24 hours.

Set a small rack over a roasting tray and grease the rack or spray with oil or non-stick spray. Put the pork on the rack (discard any juices) and roast at 130°C/ Fan 110°C/ Gas 1 for 3–3.5 hours. The meat should be very tender when poked with a knife and if you have a digital thermometer, it should read 90°C when inserted into the thickest part of the meat. Remove the pork to a plate, cover with foil and leave for up to 1 hour.

For the apple chutney, heat the oil in a medium saucepan and cook the shallot, apple and ginger gently, stirring often, till beginning to soften (it depends on the apples, but about 5 minutes). Stir in 2 teaspoons of sugar, the cider, spices and raisins (if using) and cook for 4–5 minutes longer, till the mixture is saucy and glistening. Season with salt and extra sugar if necessary and set aside, covered.

To crackle the skin of the pork, put the oil into a small frying pan and add the pork, skin-side down. Raise the heat and fry steadily for about 8 minutes, moving the pork occasionally, until the skin blisters (‘popcorns’) and turns golden and crisp. Leave to rest for 5–10 minutes, then sprinkle the crackling with a little salt and sugar to finish. Remove to a plate and carve (or cube) along the cuts you made previously, and serve with the warm apple chutney.

Ingredients