Recipe: Tasty Vickys Roast Belly of Pork w/ Apple & Cider Gravy GF DF EF SF NF

Vickys Roast Belly of Pork w/ Apple & Cider Gravy GF DF EF SF NF. Vickys Roast Belly of Pork w/ Apple & Cider Gravy GF DF EF SF NF Vicky@Jacks Free-From Cookbook Scotland. I saw a fabulous piece of pork belly on special and just couldn't turn it down! Mix the thyme, sea salt and black pepper together in a bowl.

Use a very good pair of sharp kitchen scissors to cut into the skin of the pork belly. Cut into the side of the fat, rather than snipping from the top. Aim a scissor blade just beneath the skin to make a very. You can cook Vickys Roast Belly of Pork w/ Apple & Cider Gravy GF DF EF SF NF using 15 ingredients and 15 steps. Here is how you achieve it.

Ingredients of Vickys Roast Belly of Pork w/ Apple & Cider Gravy GF DF EF SF NF

1. Prepare of boneless pork belly slab (3lbs), skin/rind on.
2. It's of olive oil.
3. It's of coarse / crystal salt.
4. Prepare of onion, chopped.
5. It's of carrot, chopped.
6. Prepare of garlic, peeled.
7. Prepare of fresh sage leaves.
8. You need of fresh thyme.
9. Prepare of bay leaves.
10. Prepare of sharp apples such as Braeburn or Golden Delicious.
11. It's of apple cider.
12. You need of water.
13. You need of apple cider VINEGAR.
14. It's of hot chicken stock.
15. It's of brown sugar.

Pork belly needs a combination of slow, gentle heat to tenderise the meat, plus a shorter blast at a higher heat to crisp up the skin. Leave the pork uncovered in the fridge overnight to dry out the skin. Carefully score the pork skin with a sharp knife or scalpel. Apple and Onion Pork Belly (Pauper's Roast Pork) is a community recipe submitted by kgw and has not been tested by Nigella.com so we are not able to answer questions regarding this recipe.

Vickys Roast Belly of Pork w/ Apple & Cider Gravy GF DF EF SF NF step by step

1. Preheat your oven to the highest temperature it will go to.
2. Score the pork skin very well right through the fat with the sharpest knife you have, or ask your butcher to do it for you. A Stanley blade or craft knife works best as pig skin is like cutting through leather on top of jelly.... Don't cut into the meat though.
3. Rub the olive oil all over the pork, then pat dry and rub in the salt, especially getting into all the cuts you made on the skin. This will make your crackling crunchy. It's good to do this the day before cooking. If you set this aside in the fridge overnight it will get even better as the skin will dry more but you can roast straightaway if pressed for time.
4. Place the pork in a roasting tin, skin side up. Roast for 20 minutes or until the fat puffs up and starts bubbling.
5. Remove the pork and set aside. Drain off the liquid fat collected in the tin then toss the onion, carrot, garlic and herbs together in the tin.
6. Reduce the oven temperature to gas 4 / 180C / 350°F.
7. Peel the apples (keep the skins) and cut into wedges. Set them aside in a bowl of cold water with a squeeze of lemon juice to stop them going brown.
8. Mix the apple skins, cider, vinegar and water into the roasting tin with the veg. Lay the pork on top, skin side up. Tent loosely with foil and cook for 2 hours or until the meat is very tender.
9. Remove the foil from the pork and add the drained, sliced apples to the tin.
10. Now increase the oven temp to gas 8 / 220C / 425°F.
11. Return the tin to the oven and roast, uncovered for another 20 minutes, or until the crackling is crispy and golden. Remove the tin from the oven and set the pork aside to rest on a warm plate while you finish the gravy.
12. Put the roasting tin with the vegetables etc in it on the stove and cook over a medium heat for a few minutes.
13. Remove the apples with a slotted spoon when they're soft. Set aside but keep warm. If the liquid in the tin evaporates too quickly before the apples are done, add a little more cider. Bring to the boil and reduce the liquid by half.
14. Stir in the stock and brown sugar and reduce down again. Mash the veggies in the tin well to thicken the gravy. Mix in then strain to get rid of the herb sprigs, bay leaves and any lumps. Discard those.
15. To serve, cut the pork into 6 even pieces and serve with the apples and gravy and some mashed potatoes and seasonal veg.

A slowly roasted pork belly can't fail to lift the mood. A cheap, easy and forgiving cut, pork belly is at it's best when cooked lazily in a low oven, the fat allowed to melt away, the skin to crisp and the flesh to gently cook. A one kilo joint will be enough for four, or two with enough left over for some first-rate. Arrange sliced onion in the bottom of a roasting tray. Rub the sage leaves and lemon zest all over the pork.