Crisp Pork Belly With a Spicy Citrus Sauce

evelyn/athens's Note:

Pork Belly has become one of our favourite Sunday Roasts.

• Total Time: 3 hrs
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 2 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

Pork Belly

• 2 kg pork belly
• 2 tablespoons sea salt
• fresh ground black pepper

Spicy Citrus Sauce

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup soya sauce (I like mushroom soya)
• 1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 orange, juice of
• 1 lemon, juice of
• 1 orange, zest of
• 1 lemon, zest of
• sea salt
• fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

1. For the pork belly: Score the skin of the pork belly in a criss-cross pattern with a sharp knife. Rub the sea salt into the pork skin and set aside for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 220°C Wipe the salt off the pork skin with kitchen paper and dry well. Put the pork belly in a metal roasting pan, large enough to fit it and season with salt and pepper.
3. Roast for 30 minutes. Reduce temperature to 190C and roast for another 2 hours, brushing generously with Spicy Sauce every 1/2 hour. Carefully turn the pork over, brush generously with sauce and roast for another 20-30 minutes, or until the skin is crisp.
4. Remove the pork from the oven, cover loosely with foil and set aside to rest for 15 minutes. Slice the pork and drizzle with whatever Spicy Citrus Sauce is left, as desired.
5. Spicy Citrus Sauce: Put all the Sauce ingredients into a mini-processor and zap them together to finely chop garlic. Pour into a small saucepan and cook, stirring, over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 10, or until syrupy. Season to taste.