Serves: six as a main
Cook time: 3.5 hours + drying time
Ingredients
- A ~1.1kg pork belly, not scored.
- Salt
- Baking paper
- Aluminium foil
- A Stanley knife
Method
- Two days before you want to cook, remove the pork belly from its cryovac and pat it dry with paper towels. Put it on some baking paper, uncovered, in the fridge for 48 hours.
- Using the Stanley knife with the depth set to break the skin and cut into the fat below, but not into the flesh, at about four or five millimetres, score 1cm strips. If you’ve hit flesh, then you’ve broken through the subcutaneous tissues, which will allow water to escape during cooking, which will affect your crackling. The belly on all sides with a little bit of salt. It’s easy to get carried away, but try to avoid it.
- Place the belly on another piece of baking paper and then put that onto a sheet of foil. You’re making the belly a little boat and folding the foil up toward the belly on all sides and pinching the corners. Ensure the foil is snug against the flesh to protect it during the long initial cooking time.
- Put the belly in the oven for about two and a half hours, until it’s tender but not breaking down. Turn the oven off and allow it to rest for a further hour inside.
- When it’s dinner time, preheat an air fryer to 200°C, and cook the belly for 20 to 25 minutes. Rest for a further ten minutes.
