Crispy pork belly with chimichurri

Name: Crispy pork belly with chimichurri
Total time: 10800 s
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 kg pork belly; 1 large lemon, cut into 1 cm slices; 1 large onion, cut into 1 cm slices; 2 bay leaves; 2 tsp kosher salt; 2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper; 1 tsp garlic powder; 1 large handful fresh Italian parsley; 1 shallot, finely chopped; 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped; 1/2 tsp dried oregano; 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes; Juice of 1/2 lemon; 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce; 1 tbsp red wine vinegar; 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Robert Gonzal @robert

Vancouver BC

Most recipes recommend using the hi-low method for roasts, where the meat is given an initial short blast of high heat and then turned down to low for the remainder of the cooking. I always found it a little problematic, especially if I had sides in the oven also (such as roast potatoes) which always seemed to throw off the timing. I've since switched to the low-hi method, which is the exact opposite, and allows me to leave the crisping of the meat or skin until the very end. This works especially well with pork belly, which is very forgiving when it comes to cooking time due to its high fat content.

Robert Gonzal @robert

Saved

Ingredients

3 hours

6 servings

Pork belly
1 kgpork belly
1large lemon, cut into 1 cm slices
1large onion, cut into 1 cm slices
2bay leaves
2 tspkosher salt
2 tspfreshly cracked black pepper
1 tspgarlic powder
Chimichurri
1large handful fresh Italian parsley
1shallot, finely chopped
2 clovesgarlic, finely chopped
1/2 tspdried oregano
1/2 tspred pepper flakes
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbspWorcestershire sauce
1 tbspred wine vinegar
3 tbspextra virgin olive oil

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Steps

3 hours

1

The day before, use a sharp knife to score a diamond pattern into the skin of the pork. You want to cut down into the fat but not into the meat. Sprinkle the skin liberally with salt (at least 1 tbsp for a kilo of meat), making sure it gets inside the cuts you just made. Put the pork belly in the fridge, uncovered with the skin-side up, for at least 12 hours.
2

Preheat your oven to 325 F. Lay the lemon and onion slices in an alternating single layer on a baking sheet. Lay the bay leaves on top. Mix together the kosher salt, black pepper and garlic powder and sprinkle it onto the meat side of the roast. Put the roast skin-side up on top of the lemon, onion and bay leaves. Roast for 2 1/2 hours.
3

While you're waiting, put the parsley, shallot, garlic, oregano and pepper flakes in a pestle and mortar. Add a good pinch of salt and smash into a chunky paste. Add the lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar and olive oil and whisk lightly to combine everything. Refrigerate the chimichurri until you're ready to serve.
4

Pull the pork belly from the oven and turn the heat up to 450 F. Once it reaches temperature, put the pork back in and roast for 30 minutes until the skin is super crispy. Let the pork rest for 15 minutes before carving. Don't forget the chimichurri.