Ideas and Inspiration ...

Asian Pork Belly with
Sticky Caramel Sauce

Ingredients:
  • 1kg piece pork belly
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • Sea salt flakes
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 5cm piece ginger, peeled & finely grated
  • 1 long red chilli, finely chopped
  • 1 bunch coriander, chopped
  • 2 cups caster sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • 2 tbsp lime juice
Method:
  1. Preheat oven to 240 degrees. Place pork belly in a roasting pan. Rub skin with oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast for 10 to 15 minutes until crackling starts to "bubble".  Reduce heat to 200 degrees and cook for approximately 1 hour or until crackling is crisp and meat is cooked. Transfer to a chopping board. Cover with foil to keep warm. Stand for 10 minutes before slicing.
  2. While pork is cooking, heat oil in frying pan over medium heat. Add onion & cook until soft. Add garlic, ginger and coriander. Cook for 2 minutes then add caster sugar and water. Stir until sugar dissolves. Bring to boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add fish sauce and lime juice. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes, or until slightly thickened.
  3. Transfer pork to a serving dish and cover with sauce.  Serve with Asian greens. 

Sea Salt Caramel Pork Crackling

Picture
I ripped this recipe out of a magazine recently (sorry I can't remember which one).  It is unusual and very, very nice.  A few things to note:
  • If you have time, dry out the pork rind for 24 hours by leaving it uncovered on a tray in the fridge.
  • Allow at least two hours for preparation, marinating and cooking.
  • Be careful not to overcook the caramel (mine turned into toffee).
Serves 8 to 10
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Ingredients:
  • 750gm pork rind (scored)
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 2 tbsp sea salt
  • Olive oil
  • 100gm caster sugar
Method:
  1. With a mortar and pestle, grind the chilli, fennel and sea salt into a fine powder.
  2. Slice the rind into large strips and massage in the chilli mix, rubbing in a little olive oil as you go.  Leave to marinate for an hour.
  3. Preheat oven to 220 degrees.  Place rind on a baking tray and roast for 20 minutes (keeping watch so it doesn't burn).  The crackling should be golden, crisp and bubbled.  When the crackling is ready, remove from oven and break into bite sized pieces and spread on a tray lined with greaseproof paper.
  4. Place sugar in a heavy based saucepan with 50ml water and gently bring to boil.  Boil for 8 to 10 minutes until golden and caramelised.  Drizzle over the crackling and leave to set.  Serve and enjoy.

Roasted Pork Rack
with Apple cider gravy

Absolutely heavenly!  Thanks to Taste.com for the inspiration.
Serves 4
Cooking + preparation:  1 hour 45 minutes
Ingredients:
  • 2 tsp sea salt flakes
  • 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1kg (4 cutlets) pork loin rack, rind scored
  • 1/2 cup sparkling apple cider
  • 165gm packet liquid roast chicken with gravy
Method:
  1. Preheat oven to 220C (200C fan-forced).  Grind salt and fennel seeds in a mortar and pestle then stir in olive oil.  Rub all over pork. Place pork in a large deep oven dish and roast for 20 to 30 minutes or until rind is golden and bubbling.  Reduce heat to 180C (160C fan-forced).  Roast for a further 35 to 40 minutes or until golden and just cooked through.
  2. Remove pork from oven and transfer to a large plate.  Cover loosely with foil and set aside for 10 minutes to rest.  Retain the pan juices for the gravy.
  3. Meanwhile, drain any excess fat from the roasting dish then reheat the pan over medium heat.  Add apple cider then cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, for 2 minutes or until reduced by half.   Stir in gravy and continue to cook, stirring, until gravy is heated through.
  4. Serve pork with roast potatoes, apple cider gravy and green beans.