Dinner

Slow-cooked Wadadli-spiced Cubano Pork Belly

Name: Slow-cooked Wadadli-spiced Cubano Pork Belly
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1050 min
Total time: 1080 min
Ingredients: 175ml olive oil; 4 tablespoons coriander; 4 tablespoons parsley; 6 tablespoons oregano; 6 tablespoons mint; 2 red chilli; 1 green chilli; orange, zested and juiced, Zest and juice of 2; lime, zested and juiced, Zest and juice of 2; grapefruit, juiced, Juice of 1; 40g garlic; 3 tsp ground cumin; 2 tablespoons ground allspice; salt, To taste; black pepper, To taste; pork belly, pork belly

Tender, overnight-marinated pork belly slow-roasted with a vibrant herb, citrus and spice marinade, then finished until richly coloured and served with optional crackling shards.

18 hr
850 kcal

Mellowpan tip: Makes 6 servings. Plan the extras as tomorrow’s lunch.

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Slow-cooked Wadadli-spiced Cubano Pork Belly

Ingredients

For 6 servings

Steps

Step 1:
Blitz all the marinade ingredients in a food processor or with a hand blender.
Step 2:
Lay the pork in a large dish and pour over the marinade.
Step 3:
Turn the meat in the mixture, rubbing the marinade all over so every part of the belly is coated.
Step 4:
Cover the dish and leave overnight in the fridge.
Step 5:
The next day, heat the oven to 140C (120C fan)/275F/gas 1.
Step 6:
Lift the meat out of the marinade, leaving most of the marinade behind in the dish but keeping any that sticks to the joint.
Step 7:
Transfer the pork to a large roasting dish, cover with foil and roast for 4½ hours.
Step 8:
Three or four times during roasting, remove the dish from the oven, lift off the foil and spoon the juices from the bottom of the dish over the meat. Replace the foil and return to the oven.
Step 9:
Remove the foil, raise the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4 and roast for a final 15–20 minutes, until the top is richly coloured and the meat is soft enough to cut with a spoon.
15–20 min
Step 10:
For optional crackling shards, heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6 and line a roasting tray with baking paper.
Step 11:
Lightly score the pork belly skin with a sharp knife, then rub it with three or four fat pinches of salt. Add caraway, cumin or fennel seeds if desired.
Step 12:
Cut the skin into long strips and place them fat-side down on the lined tray, or leave the skin whole.
Step 13:
Cover the skin with a second sheet of baking paper, place a second same-size baking tray on top and roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Continue roasting if needed until crisp.
45 min
Step 14:
Cut or pull the pork apart, top with finely chopped coriander and flat-leaf parsley and the crackling shards, if made, and serve at once.