Roasted pork belly and pears

Roasted pork belly and pears
Serves: 
6
Preparation Time: 
10 mins
Cooking Time: 
2 hours
Ingredients: 
  • 2kg piece Tasman pork belly, rind on
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 1 tsp sea salt

Glazed pears:

  • 6 ripe Corella pears, peeled
  • 300ml pear cider
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • ½ tsp nutmeg, ground
  • ½ tsp ginger, ground
  • 2 strips lemon peel
Method: 
  1. Lay pork belly flat on a board and score the pork rind with a sharp knife or Stanley knife into thin, even lines. Take note of pork belly weight.
  2. If time allows, leave the scored belly uncovered in the fridge for 1 hour, or ideally overnight. This process further dries out the rind and helps the crackling process.
  3. When you’re ready to cook, preheat the oven to 240°C. Place the pork belly on to a wire rack in the sink and pour a jug of boiling water over the rind. Pat dry thoroughly with paper towel.
  4. Rub oil and salt into the scored area, massaging well.
  5. Place the pork belly on the wire rack into a shallow roasting pan and roast the pork belly in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Do not open the oven door during this period to ensure the oven remains hot.
  6. Reduce oven temperature to 170°C for a further 40 minutes per kg.
  7. While the pork is cooking, prepare the pear glaze. Pour the cider, brown sugar, spices and lemon peel into a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the peeled pears and simmer for a further 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow pears to cool in the glaze.
  8. Remove pork from the oven and allow to rest on the wire rack for 10 minutes prior to slicing and serving.
  9. Slice pork belly into squares or slices, serve with glazed pears and vegetables or salad.

Tips:

  • Glazed pears may be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated until required. Just reheat and serve.
  • The dryer the pork rind is, the better your pork will crackle. To achieve great crackling, getting the oven temperature right is critical.  We recommend using an “oven thermometer” to check the temperature.
Results may vary.