Roast Pork Belly

(Serves 4)

Ingredients

• 2 kg piece of pork belly
• ½ C salt
• 4 tbsp smoked paprika (or ordinary paprika if this is not available)
• 5 star anise, crushed
• 2 tbsp fennel seeds crushed
• 3 bay leaves

Method

Finely score the pork skin with a sharp knife, being careful not to cut into the flesh. The closer the scoring, the better the crackling will be.

Put the remaining ingredients in a large container. Pour in enough cold water to be able to cover the pork and whisk to dissolve the salt.

Add the pork, skin-side down, and soak for 24 hours and up to 36 hours.

To roast, remove the pork from the brine and rinse. Place flesh-side down in a parchment-lined roasting tray and add one litre of water. Roast in a preheated 150ºC oven for two to three hours. Timing will depend on the thickness of the pork. It is cooked when a fork pushed into the flesh comes away easily. When the pork is ready, turn the oven to 200ºC and leave for 8 to 10 minutes to crisp the crackling.