Counter 02 · Pork
Oven-Roasted Crackling Pork Belly
A thick slab of pork belly dried overnight, slow-roasted until juicy, then blasted at high heat until the skin puffs into a crackling you can hear across the kitchen.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 3 hr
- Serves
- 6
- Level
- Medium
Crackling is all about moisture control. The skin needs to be bone dry before it sees the oven, so score it, salt it and leave it uncovered in the fridge for a day. A low roast renders the fat and cooks the meat through; a final blast at 475 F makes the dried skin bubble and shatter. Level the slab with a crumpled foil nest so the skin sits flat and browns evenly. Carve it skin side down with a heavy knife, pressing straight through.
Method
-
Score the skin in a tight 1/2-inch crosshatch with a sharp blade, cutting through the skin but not into the meat.
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Mix 1 tbsp salt with the fennel, pepper, garlic and rosemary and rub it only into the meat side and edges. Turn the slab skin side up, brush the skin with vinegar, rub in the remaining salt and refrigerate uncovered for 12 to 24 hours.
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Heat the oven to 325 F. Brush off the excess salt from the skin, pat it dry, and set the belly on a rack in a foil-lined roasting pan, propping the thin end with foil so the skin is level.
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Roast 2 hours 15 minutes, until the meat registers about 190 F and the fat is sputtering.
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Brush the skin with the olive oil, raise the oven to 475 F and roast 25 to 35 minutes more, rotating the pan once, until the skin is fully puffed and blistered with no leathery spots.
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Rest 15 minutes on the rack, then flip skin side down onto a board and cut into thick slices with a heavy knife.
