Belly-good: Why India loves it paunch. That, was the name of a recent article published on CNNGo who were trying to get a grip on India's relationship with midriff rotundity. Albeit it was done through pictures and, it actually focussed on the human paunch, it did give me an idea for my current post. Everybody loves a good belly. People worship gods with bellies eg. Buddha, Ganesha and, a well endowed belly is meant to signal prosperity and wealth. Heck, they all like my pot belly too, so that must be something. I like bellies too but, not the six pack kind, no way.
It is no secret my love for anything porky or pork related. Even more so, a celestial reaffirmation when you realise that my Chinese Zodiac sign is the Pig. It's almost as if it was just meant to be. A love-affair so strong and deep that even the zodiacs aligned to confirm it.
To me, the perfect cut of the pork resides within the belly. Pure happiness. The origin of bacon, crackling, numerous braised pork dishes, rolls, did I mention bacon and for these financially conscious times, real good value for money. If there is any cut of meat that is always stacked in my freezer, its the humble belly. Nothing says comfort food to me, or at least one of them at least, like a nice roasted pork belly. The soft almost melting meat with its heavenly taste that seems like bacon on steroids, but more so, the crisp crackled skin. Mmmmm, the crunch and crackle when you first bite into a piece of crackling is music to any pork aficionado's ears. Sweeter than any Bach or Mozart composition and definitely tastier that any sheet music.
So, on a balmy autumn Friday, I said to myself, Rohit, time to rekindle your romance with the belly - pork belly. To me, a perfectly roasted belly of pork has to be moist to the point, the meat flakes off without any effort while the skin on top is at its crackalicious best. Two different textures and sensations within the same cut of meat? Impossible you'd think. In fact, the curse of many a cook is trying to find the perfect harmony where both are achieved without any compromises. But, with a few simple steps, pork belly or more importantly, crackling nirvana can be achieved.
Firstly, the belly itself. For heavens sake, if you are worried about calories and fat and all the gibberish, then I suggest you cook something else. There is nothing called a lean pig. that is a crime against nature. Its akin to creating a midget giraffe because you couldn't bear to have it so tall. Pigs are meant to be fat and that is it. The end! But back to the belly, the belly has to be have a nice layer of fat. If you want the first secret of a moist belly of pork, this is it. The thickness of the layer of fat in between the skin and meat is the difference between getting a dry or moist roast. You need a good layer of fat. Next, your meat has to be room temperature. If it's been in the fridge make sure you take it out well in advance to bring it back up to temperature, oh and the skin needs to be dry. Wet skin and you aint gonna have crackling. Wiped it dry? good, now sprinkle a bit salt and pepper and that's your crackling ready to crackle in the oven. Some say you need a bit of oil to rub on to the skin, but I say if you have a good enough cut of meat, you don't need any.
Oh, while you're doing all that, make sure you have switched your oven on and cranked it up to 200C, gas mark 4. You need the high temperature for the first half hour sizzle. Back to the belleh. Anything from now is optional and totally personal, but this is when I usually cut up a few red onions in half and halve and entire bulb of garlic, halved fennel, bay leaf and add it to the roasting dish with the belly. You can put pretty much any seasoning you fancy. Like Rick Stein said, "a recipe should be like a tune to which you can sing". There is no right way or wrong way, just your way and different other ways. So don't get stressed and follow everything to the T.
Well anyway, by now the oven should be primed and ready for action. Put your belly in and the last trick, put a bit of water into the tray. How much? Enough so it doesn't dry out, but, not much so everything is submerged. The idea is the water in the tray will create steam and not only stop the belly from burning, but keep the meat moist. That my dears, is the secret to perfect moist meat. Plus, when you are done, you have instant gravy/jus/sauce, whatever you call it, with all the porky infusions. So leave it for half and hour and then turn the temperature down to 150C and cook it for 15min for every 500gms. Just make sure the water never dries out and for the last 15min cycle, turn the temperature up to 180C so the skin crackles up. If at the end of the cooking time, its not fully crackled, just crank the oven a bit more and leave it in there keeping a constant check to make sure you don't burn it. All up my belly took 1.5hours and it came out all cracklingy and moist.
Take it out and leave the meat to rest for a good 10-15 mins. DO NOT attempt to cut the meat straight away or else you are nothing but a fool. The meat needs to rest, so that all the juices go back in to meat and its relaxed. So take it out, leave it on the bench and forget about it. Perfect time, to make the glaze for the pork. See, easy way to keep you busy and distracted from hacking into that piece of deliciousness. Take a small pot/pan whatever, put in some coriander seeds, star anise and some fennel seeds. Dry roast them for a bit and then just bash them up gently to release the flavours. Then add some honey into the dry spice mix and let it infuse on a low heat for 5-7mins. Take it off the heat and you are ready for the final step.
Take the meat out of the tray and put it on a serving dish. Take the aromatic glaze and brush it all over the crackling. Arrange the roasted veggies that were on the side of the roast as they would have caramelised to perfection. Drain the gravy from the tray to a bowl/gravy boat. If you have any of the glaze left over, add a teaspoon of it and check for seasoning. If it needs a bit of salt, add a bit of salt, a bit of pepper, put some in, your choice. Taste it as you go. Then slice the belly into chunky portion, no wafer thin slices please. You should have got on with the program by now?! Put it on the table, unleash your hungry diners and then just listen to the pin drop silence in the room only to be interspersed with the harmony of crackling.
Belly-Belly Happy.
It is no secret my love for anything porky or pork related. Even more so, a celestial reaffirmation when you realise that my Chinese Zodiac sign is the Pig. It's almost as if it was just meant to be. A love-affair so strong and deep that even the zodiacs aligned to confirm it.
To me, the perfect cut of the pork resides within the belly. Pure happiness. The origin of bacon, crackling, numerous braised pork dishes, rolls, did I mention bacon and for these financially conscious times, real good value for money. If there is any cut of meat that is always stacked in my freezer, its the humble belly. Nothing says comfort food to me, or at least one of them at least, like a nice roasted pork belly. The soft almost melting meat with its heavenly taste that seems like bacon on steroids, but more so, the crisp crackled skin. Mmmmm, the crunch and crackle when you first bite into a piece of crackling is music to any pork aficionado's ears. Sweeter than any Bach or Mozart composition and definitely tastier that any sheet music. So, on a balmy autumn Friday, I said to myself, Rohit, time to rekindle your romance with the belly - pork belly. To me, a perfectly roasted belly of pork has to be moist to the point, the meat flakes off without any effort while the skin on top is at its crackalicious best. Two different textures and sensations within the same cut of meat? Impossible you'd think. In fact, the curse of many a cook is trying to find the perfect harmony where both are achieved without any compromises. But, with a few simple steps, pork belly or more importantly, crackling nirvana can be achieved.
Firstly, the belly itself. For heavens sake, if you are worried about calories and fat and all the gibberish, then I suggest you cook something else. There is nothing called a lean pig. that is a crime against nature. Its akin to creating a midget giraffe because you couldn't bear to have it so tall. Pigs are meant to be fat and that is it. The end! But back to the belly, the belly has to be have a nice layer of fat. If you want the first secret of a moist belly of pork, this is it. The thickness of the layer of fat in between the skin and meat is the difference between getting a dry or moist roast. You need a good layer of fat. Next, your meat has to be room temperature. If it's been in the fridge make sure you take it out well in advance to bring it back up to temperature, oh and the skin needs to be dry. Wet skin and you aint gonna have crackling. Wiped it dry? good, now sprinkle a bit salt and pepper and that's your crackling ready to crackle in the oven. Some say you need a bit of oil to rub on to the skin, but I say if you have a good enough cut of meat, you don't need any. 
Oh, while you're doing all that, make sure you have switched your oven on and cranked it up to 200C, gas mark 4. You need the high temperature for the first half hour sizzle. Back to the belleh. Anything from now is optional and totally personal, but this is when I usually cut up a few red onions in half and halve and entire bulb of garlic, halved fennel, bay leaf and add it to the roasting dish with the belly. You can put pretty much any seasoning you fancy. Like Rick Stein said, "a recipe should be like a tune to which you can sing". There is no right way or wrong way, just your way and different other ways. So don't get stressed and follow everything to the T. Well anyway, by now the oven should be primed and ready for action. Put your belly in and the last trick, put a bit of water into the tray. How much? Enough so it doesn't dry out, but, not much so everything is submerged. The idea is the water in the tray will create steam and not only stop the belly from burning, but keep the meat moist. That my dears, is the secret to perfect moist meat. Plus, when you are done, you have instant gravy/jus/sauce, whatever you call it, with all the porky infusions. So leave it for half and hour and then turn the temperature down to 150C and cook it for 15min for every 500gms. Just make sure the water never dries out and for the last 15min cycle, turn the temperature up to 180C so the skin crackles up. If at the end of the cooking time, its not fully crackled, just crank the oven a bit more and leave it in there keeping a constant check to make sure you don't burn it. All up my belly took 1.5hours and it came out all cracklingy and moist.
Take it out and leave the meat to rest for a good 10-15 mins. DO NOT attempt to cut the meat straight away or else you are nothing but a fool. The meat needs to rest, so that all the juices go back in to meat and its relaxed. So take it out, leave it on the bench and forget about it. Perfect time, to make the glaze for the pork. See, easy way to keep you busy and distracted from hacking into that piece of deliciousness. Take a small pot/pan whatever, put in some coriander seeds, star anise and some fennel seeds. Dry roast them for a bit and then just bash them up gently to release the flavours. Then add some honey into the dry spice mix and let it infuse on a low heat for 5-7mins. Take it off the heat and you are ready for the final step.
Take the meat out of the tray and put it on a serving dish. Take the aromatic glaze and brush it all over the crackling. Arrange the roasted veggies that were on the side of the roast as they would have caramelised to perfection. Drain the gravy from the tray to a bowl/gravy boat. If you have any of the glaze left over, add a teaspoon of it and check for seasoning. If it needs a bit of salt, add a bit of salt, a bit of pepper, put some in, your choice. Taste it as you go. Then slice the belly into chunky portion, no wafer thin slices please. You should have got on with the program by now?! Put it on the table, unleash your hungry diners and then just listen to the pin drop silence in the room only to be interspersed with the harmony of crackling.
Belly-Belly Happy.
