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pork belly roast

main courses | serves Serves 4

The lovely thick layer of fat on this particular cut keeps the meat really moist as it roasts, and also gives you an incredible even layer of delicious crackling. Belly is a very underrated cut in the UK, but it is becoming a favourite on gastropub menus, and rightly so. If you’re worried about scoring the crackling yourself, ask your butcher to do it for you, that’s what he’s there for.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 2.5 hours

Preheat your oven to full whack, it needs to be at least 220°C/425°F/gas 7.
Place your pork on a clean work surface, skin-side upwards. Get yourself a small sharp knife
and make scores about a centimetre apart through the skin into the fat, but not so deep that
you cut into the meat. Rub salt right into all the scores you’ve just made, pulling the skin apart a little if you have to. Brush any excess salt off the surface of the skin and turn it over. Season the underside of the meat with a little more salt and a little black pepper. Place your pork, skin side-up, in a roasting tray big enough to hold the pork and the vegetables, and place in the hot oven.

Roast for about half an hour until the skin of the pork has started to puff up and you can see
it turning into crackling. Turn the heat down to 180°C/350°F/gas 4 and roast for another hour.
Take out of the oven and baste with the fat in the bottom of the tray. Carefully lift the pork up and transfer to a chopping board. Add all the veg, garlic and thyme to the tray and stir them into the fat. Place the pork on top of everything and pop the tray back in the oven. Roast for another hour. By this time the meat should be meltingly soft and tender. Carefully move the meat to a serving dish, cover with tin foil and leave to rest while
you make your gravy.

Spoon away any fat in the tray, then add the water or stock and place the tray on the hob.
Bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to
scrape up all those lovely sticky tasty bits on the bottom of the tray. When you’ve got a nice, dark gravy, pour it through a sieve into a bowl or gravy boat, using your spoon to really push all the goodness of the veg through the sieve. Add a little more salt and pepper if it needs it. Serve the pork with the crackling, gravy, some creamy mashed potato, nice fresh greens and a dollop of English mustard.

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ingredients

• 1.5kg pork belly
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 red onions, halved
• 2 carrots, peeled and halved lengthways
• 2 sticks of celery, chopped in half
• 1 bulb of garlic, skin on, broken into cloves
• a small bunch of fresh thyme, leaves picked
• 600ml water or stock

user comments

45 comments

1. Orlin Thu 22 Oct 2009 @ 20:58 i just cooked this... best roast ever.... had suddenly remberd this dish from when he cooked it on 'jamie oliver saves our bacon' and had to cook it and taste it! so nice, so easy to cook, such an underated cut of pork. <3 :D

2. Rick Sat 17 Oct 2009 @ 22:30 Wonderful meal and cracking crackling. Just a word of warning however; my wife went nuts after I cooked it as the whole oven was covered in pork fat and the taste of roast pork continued to dominate everything cooked in it for a week afterwards. Be prepared to pull on some rubber gloves and get out the oven spray if you're going to try this one - oops!!

3. milky cheese with oregano Mon 05 Oct 2009 @ 11:57 i recently had a beautiful pork belly at jamie's Italian restaurant in brighton, is this the recipie?

4. happylucy Wed 01 Jul 2009 @ 18:54 I am just trying this recipe now. I bought the pork but I noticed that there are bones going through it. Did anyone else notice same? I am hoping to serve this at a dinner party at the weekend but not sure now.

5. Ian Tue 16 Jun 2009 @ 23:43 I have read a few comments saying meat was tough or crackling didnt crisp up as well as expected,if you want the best from this recipe you must use very good quality belly pork,it is still as cheap to buy from a farm shop or good butcher and has not been messed with by the supermarkets,far superior.The tastes in this dish are amazing.

6. felixernie Fri 22 May 2009 @ 05:59 Cooked this and am eating it right now. So delicious. My pork was smaller so I cooked it only slightly over 90 minutes. And the vegies only go in in the last 30. Used the sticky stuff and some stock to cook some macaroni for side. Lovely dinner.

Thank you so much, Jamie!

7. Merv Sun 17 May 2009 @ 07:35 Great recipe. Caution: I used a gas bbq (with hood, of course); I'd reduce cooking times by about a quarter, so as not too overcook. For some reason, a gas bbq is hotter than a conventional convection oven.

8. leenie Sat 16 May 2009 @ 19:57 i am trying this tomorrow, hope it turns out like all the reviews. will get back to you

9. stephanie Thu 30 Apr 2009 @ 17:21 I have roasted pork belly before and it turned out as tough as old boots, even though I cooked it for at least the time reccomended here. I found this recipe this morning and went straight to the butchers, I threw it in a hot oven (250) for 15 minutes added the veg etc and it has now been cooking since 9.30am this morning at 75 degrees occassionaly popping it up to 200 for about 7 minutes. It is now 17.20 and I am going to pop it back up really high to make sure the crackling is crisp, but I can already see the meat looks like its melting cant wait.

10. Sarai Thu 30 Apr 2009 @ 09:10 I made this tonight and it was sooooooooo yummy. Is there anyone as good as Jamie? Everything he does is so easy! And you can actually find the ingredients in a supermarket.

11. tori Sun 26 Apr 2009 @ 19:42 Have just cooked this belly of pork, it was absolutely delicious, I am not usually a fan of slow cooked meat but cooking this recipe the meat certainly didnt lose its flavour, the gravy also was very tasty and added alot of flavour to this dish.
Well recommended!!!

12. Heather Fri 10 Apr 2009 @ 21:18 Gravy delicious! Pork went a little stringy/fibrous but crackling was cracking! Used the gravy veg. as side dish and they yummy too,!

13. Patrick H Wed 08 Apr 2009 @ 03:48 Help for JohnS (15 March). I made the same mistake first time round. You leave the liquids out until after you have baked the vegs for a good hour. The first half hour must be in a very hot oven. I persisted after my first effort and now I can't wait till my next baking session. My comments may help kay as well.

14. beccy Sun 05 Apr 2009 @ 19:31 This is amazing! Just cooked a whole pork belly for 8 and everyone said how delicious it was, even my 3 year old son. The gravy is fantastic and even my father-in-law who normally doesn't eat anything with garlic said he loved it. Got my pork from a local Gloucester old spot farm and it was fantastic. Thanks Jamie x

15. Anto Murray Sat 28 Mar 2009 @ 21:05 Oh Man. I'm just sitting down after having cooked and eaten this damn tasty meal. So easy to prep and cook. I was worried the pork wouldn't have been soft enough after only 2.5 hours but it was so tender and juicy, then there's the crackling.....then there's the GRAVY!! Had it with creamy mash, brocolli, mushy peas and a can of Pepsi. A meal fit for a king!! I'm going to give it a half an hour and have a chocolate eclair for dessert.

16. JohnS Mon 16 Mar 2009 @ 08:59 Meat was delicious. Gravy was a complete failure. After an hour in the oven the vegetables were quite solid and there was virtually no liquid around them. Did I have a low fat pork belly?

Next time I would put a lot of water in the pan for the last hour, or ignore the gravy part altogether and make my own from stock.

Frankly, I was disappointed that it didn't all come together as Jamie described it.

17. Sue Sun 15 Mar 2009 @ 09:57 I had this recipe last week, and it was just amazing.
the whole family enjoyed it.
thank you Jamie.

18. viki mckechnie Sat 14 Mar 2009 @ 19:44 not keen on belly pork but this just melted in my mouth, so lovely! i have most of jamie's recipe books all the recepies work and delicious!!!!! i love him he makes cooking easy and delicious, the best to watch is 'jamie at home ' those food are just havenly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

19. Dani Fri 13 Mar 2009 @ 20:56 I did this the other night and it turned out brilliantly, enough for every1 and the expected fights over the crackling was entertaining ! A must try and very cheap meal too, my pork cost £3.89 for 4 people or something silly like that with all the veg & trimmings it was great value, bring on Sundays ! Ta Jamie

20. bayu Wed 11 Mar 2009 @ 04:31 article in this site very grade and benefit for me,am will be to visit again to here

21. saddam Sun 01 Mar 2009 @ 13:45 my pork belly was really juicy and wet i served it with cream crackers and rice crispys

22. Alan Sat 28 Feb 2009 @ 09:09 I have tried many, many different methods of cooking ribs. I find that whenever i boil the pork first it gets very tough. This is one of the better recipes i've used, the hot oven for the crackling and then the lower oven to release the fat and baste the meat - delicious!

One thing I picked up somewhere else, which in my mind just lifts the dish a bit... mix up a basting liquid comprised of 50% veg. oil and 50% apple juice. Rub this all over the skin before you first put it in the oven. It adds a subtle apple flavour to the meat and the oil gets the skin up to a higher temperature which makes for better cracking.

My problem now though - I have a 6kg side of pork as i'm cooking for 10 people tonight. I'm not sure what impact this will have on the cooking times though. I don't want to be eating at midnight so any ideas would be appreciated! :-)

23. JUAN RAMIREZ Fri 27 Feb 2009 @ 21:19 hey jamie , im your fan, but guess what!!! i dont have a tv show program to see all your recipes.....

24. Rosanne Woodcraft Wed 25 Feb 2009 @ 17:24 I'm so hooked on this! I've made it every week since the program aired!!! Thanks for this Jamie!!!

25. Teresa Rose Tue 24 Feb 2009 @ 17:42 Hiya I never ued to like pork belly but i love it now, my partners dad is a small business butcher so we have all are meats off him never supermarket meats and i love having pork belly after your show he said every body has been coming in to the shop for cheaper cuts of meat they can't get enough of them, he got alot more custom after your show, i just want to say thank you for doing that show it help him keep his business.
Teresa Rose, Dudley, West midlands.

26. Oinky Mon 23 Feb 2009 @ 21:22 We are cooking this right now - it looks and smells delicious! I'll let you know how it tastes :)

27. Jill Sun 22 Feb 2009 @ 21:35 I made this tonight and was really looking forward to it, but it didn't look like Jamie's did when he took it out of the oven and pulled the soft meat from the joint. Mine was slightly rubbery and the crackling nearly broke my teeth. I followed the recipe exactly and although it was very tasty I think needed longer cooking. I seem to recall Jamie said on the TV programme he cooked it for 7 hours, is this correct?

28. Mike Clayton Sun 22 Feb 2009 @ 15:00 Hi Jamie,
Bought a lovely looking pork belly from Brindon Addy, So we are following you to a TEE!!! By the way the timing of this dish means you can do other stuff like assembling flat packed furniture at the same time. Just to show us guys can multi-task after all!
Cheers mate Mike.

29. anita Thu 19 Feb 2009 @ 18:32 Where would I place the pork in an aga. I am scared that it will burn in top oven.

30. marje and john Sun 15 Feb 2009 @ 21:39 hi jamie just to say what a wonderful chef you are we tryed your belly pork dish tonight what a lovely meal we had 10/10 all your dishes we have tryed so far have been the tops thanks jamie love john and marje xx

31. Samantha Parkin Sat 14 Feb 2009 @ 19:15 I am doing the roast belly pork as per the recipe but I wondered whether I was supposed to cover the pork with tin foil from the beginning at all because my kitchen is now full of smoke?! The overn is clean before anyone comments so the only reason it is smoking I think is because of the fat. any suggestions? thanks

32. Adam Sat 14 Feb 2009 @ 17:19 Cooked slow roast sholder last weekend it was great so easy! So Im giving pork belly ago tonight for the wife for V day using some local Cornish Pork. Love it. served up with mash and green beans it's a winner. Don't just buy British buy local if you can from your butcher x

33. Kelly Fri 13 Feb 2009 @ 11:39 I'm making this for Valentines dinner and so looking forward to it. I would also love to get a Save or British Bacon T-shirt as well. Does anyone know where to get one?

34. debgern Thu 12 Feb 2009 @ 23:53 I bought some pork belly earlier today- my mum is worried it will be really fatty but I am going to try this recipe tomorrow night- can't wait to find out what it tastes like!
The tesco packet label specifically said it was from outdoor reared British pigs- I was worried about trusting the label and I hope it was ok!

35. felicity Sun 08 Feb 2009 @ 17:20 im not a big pork fan, but we had a hog roast for my wedding and the meat was soooooo good but i wasnt sure about cooking pork myself. this was really easy and came out almost as good as on my wedding day!! tahnk you jamie x

36. di Sun 08 Feb 2009 @ 15:24 Do you cook for the recommended time regardless of size of joint? Ive got small roast just half k.gram
Jamie's slow roast lamb was a bit hit too.

37. Tom Willliam Sun 08 Feb 2009 @ 13:31 I'm Jewish so pork is a new thing for me.... tasted great though! really regretting all those years i've missed out on pork. Thanks a lot Jamie.

38. Kerry Sat 07 Feb 2009 @ 20:13 I cooked this today and it was fantastic! This is so easy to do, so there is no excuse.
The only thing I would point out is if you get a smaller bit of meat don't do the extra hour e.g. I had a small piece and cooked it on 220 for 30 min and then for 1hr on 180 and it was perfect.
Also, the gravy from this is to die for - Jamie is brilliant!!

39. sue Sat 07 Feb 2009 @ 13:52 I'm looking forward to this tonight. Thank you, and all the other cooks involved in this latest initiative, for your absolute determination to improve the lot of our animals, our farmers, and all of us who eat the food. I live on a restricted budget, and have always eaten organic and local food where I could, but time and money have meant that I have bought most of my food through supermarkets. I have now, because of you lot, got so angry that I no longer use a supermarket; I buy everything from a local organic company that sources all food from local farmers and has the farm of origin on the wrapping. I make one order a week, which I can adapt every time, and that is delivered and I simply make that last until the next one. So not only have I saved time shopping, but I have lovely food, albeit a bit less of it,and I am doing something about the problem. Keep going - you really are making a difference. Thank you.

40. LUCILA MILES Thu 05 Feb 2009 @ 18:42 MY HUSBAND IS DIAGNOSED WITH LUNG CANCER, WE'RE REALLY SO DEVASTATED. MY HUSBAND IS ASKING ME TO COOK THIS BELLY PORK (ROAST) ON VALENTINES DAY, HOPE IT WILL TASTE AND TURN THE WAY YOU COOK. THANK YOU SO MUCH, IT WILL DEFINETELY GIVE A SMILE TO MY HUSBAND INSPITE OF HIS ILLNESS.

41. Rosanne Woodcraft Tue 03 Feb 2009 @ 19:23 I made this tonight...and not only was it easy...but it was superb!!!
I'm Cuban so pork is not a new thing for me... but this recipe gave it a whole new twist!
Thanks Jamie!!
Save our bacon everyone!
Jamie...I want a tshirt that says save our bacon...where can I get one!??

42. James McLernon Tue 03 Feb 2009 @ 19:02 I made this recipe today and it was beautiful. We regularly have rolled belly pork stuffed with sausage meat and seasonal vegetables. It is a really tasty meal but the meat must be roasted quickly to begin with but then slowed down to be cooked properly. Very tasty, even when cold.

43. Kate Tue 03 Feb 2009 @ 16:25 I made this last night and it was so delicious. The crackling was thin and crispy, so didn't break your teeth as you bit into it. The meat was so nice and moist and had absorbed the flavours of the seasoning and the vegetables. The most delicious pork I've ever tasted, not too fatty (as some would expect of pork belly) and so succulent. Then to top it off, the gravy recipe was fantastic. I doubt i'll ever buy a tub of Bisto ever again. So easy to make and the flavour is sublime.

Pork belly is a very cheap cut of meat as well. I bought a small piece which cost me £3.50 and it fed 4 adults. I will definitely be cooking again as I was so impressed.

Definitely worth a try!

44. Tony Soprano Sun 01 Feb 2009 @ 18:37 Went to a friends Saturday night for Dinner and they cooked this!!!!!!! Buon Appetito. Molto Grazia, Deano & Guiliana

45. kay Sun 01 Feb 2009 @ 13:50 I recently had the most delicious pork belly at a restaurant in Truro, the chef informed me that he boiled the pork for at least an hour and a half then roasted in a very hot oven.
I have tried it but it wasnt as good as his, can you advise please?