Slow Roast Pork Belly with Sautéed Savoy Cabbage and Smoked Bacon, PX & Honey Dressing

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Introduction

1 Pork Belly will serve 6 hungry folk, or 9 less greedy ones. Bare in mind that this is so yummy everyone will look for seconds.

At this point I should point out my love for Maldon sea salt. I love using it, I love the look of it, and the flavour. It’s almost soft in flavour if that makes any sense. Go to the web site on Maldon Salt

Ingredients

• Dry Rub for pork Belly
• Smoked Paprika, 2 tablespoons
• Maldon Sea Salt, 2 tablespoons
• 10 cloves crushed garlic
• Olive oil 2 tablespoons

Method

Buy the Pork Belly with the fat on and the bones in. It might be a bit hairy and will even have nipples on it! You have to singe the hair and cut off the nipples. Now when you have picked yourself up off the floor and stopped reeling in horror, finish this almost awful task and score the fat from side to side, on the shortest depth of the belly, and then rub in the dry mix with the oil. Best to leave this over night.(regarding scoring the fat, it’s not easy, you’ll need a really sharp knife, sometimes I use a carpet cutter)

Bake

Put you oven on low, about 100°C. You’ll cook the belly for 4 hours very slowly. Pour a pint of beer or cider in the Roasting Tin. Roughly cut some large onion slices and perhaps some bits of carrot, basically you’re making a plinth upon which to sit the belly while its cooking. Transfer the belly to the tin.

Four Hours Later

Let the meat sit for a good twenty minutes to half hour and then remove the bones from the underneath, these are the short ribs. Make sure to eat any of the meat that comes off the bones.

Savoy Cabbage

Shred one cabbage. Bring a large pot of water to boil and then add some salt. (If you add the salt first it will take longer to boil)

Pop the washed cabbage into the pot. Do not cover it, this will preserve the lovely green colour.

When it comes back to the boil, remove the cabbage immediately and immerse in cold water to stop the cooking process. You can do this much earlier in the day and leave it ready.

Just before serving the pork, sauté some smoked bacon lardoons in a pan. Use the Gubbeen lardoons here. They have a wonderful smokey taste, a true taste.

Then add the shredded cabbage, no salt, but some white pepper and a knob of butter.

Serve this with the Pork Belly and of the PX Honey Dressing or indeed with the Cider Sauce I’ve put with the Scallops, either will do … or anything with a hint of sweetness to it.