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Slow-Cooked Wadadli-Spiced Pork Belly

Name: Slow-Cooked Wadadli-Spiced Pork Belly
Total time: 300 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Antigua and Barbuda
Ingredients: 1.5kg whole pork belly piece; 175ml olive oil; 4 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped; 4 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped; 6 tbsp oregano; 6 tbsp fresh mint, chopped; 2 red chillies; 1 green chilli; Zest and juice of 2 oranges; Zest and juice of 2 limes; Juice of 1 grapefruit; 40g garlic (approx. 1 head); 3 tsp ground cumin; 2 tbsp ground allspice; 1 tsp salt; 1 tsp cracked black pepper

Melt-in-the-mouth Caribbean spiced pork belly bursting with tangy citrus juices and fiery Scotch bonnet kick.

300 min serves 6 Easy

Ingredients

1.5kg whole pork belly piece1.5kg

175ml olive oil500ml

4 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped30g

4 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped30g

6 tbsp oregano20g

6 tbsp fresh mint, chopped30g

2 red chillies60g

1 green chilli60g

Zest and juice of 2 oranges5 pack

Zest and juice of 2 limes4 pack

Juice of 1 grapefruit1 pc

40g garlic (approx. 1 head)3 pack

3 tsp ground cumin40g

2 tbsp ground allspice35g

1 tsp salt750g

1 tsp cracked black pepper50g

Method

Blitz all the marinade ingredients in a food processor or with a hand blender. Lay the pork in a large dish, pour over the marinade, then turn the meat in the mixture, rubbing in the marinade all over and making sure every bit of the belly is coated. Cover the dish and leave overnight in the fridge.
The next day, heat the oven to 140C (120C fan)/275F/gas 1. Lift the meat out of its marinade (don’t wipe off any that sticks to the joint, though; just leave most of the marinade behind in the dish) and transfer to a large roasting dish. Cover with foil, slip into the oven and roast for four and a half hours – every now and then (say, three or four times over the whole cooking period), take the dish out of the oven, lift off the foil lid and spoon the juices from the bottom of the dish over the meat. Return the foil lid, then put back in the oven.
After the time is up, remove the foil, turn up the heat to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4 and give the pork a final blast – after 15-20 minutes, the top will take on a lovely colour and the meat should be yielding and soft enough to cut with a spoon.
To make crackling shards to serve with the meat, heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6 and line a roasting tray with baking paper. Lightly score the skin from the pork belly with a sharp knife, then rub it with a three or four fat pinches of salt – I also like to add a few caraway, cumin or fennel seeds at this point (use anything that takes your fancy). Cut the skin into long strips and lay these fat side down on the lined tray (you can, of course, leave it whole, but I think its pleasing to dress the plate with long, golden shards of crackling). Lay a second sheet of baking paper on top of the skin, then put a second baking tray of the same size on top, and roast for 45 minutes to an hour (if by this point the crackling has not gone crisp, just put it back in the oven and carry on roasting it until it has).
Cut or pull the pork apart, top with finely chopped coriander and flat-leaf parsley and shards of crackling, if you have made them, and serve at once

Cost to cook

serves 6 · I have the cupboard staples

Mostly estimated prices. Full-pack shop cost · about £9.37 of it is what this recipe actually uses.

Find it in store

Search the ingredients at your stores:

Tesco Asda

£12.38 est. · serves 6

Ingredients

1.5kg whole pork belly piece1.5kg

175ml olive oil500ml

4 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped30g

4 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped30g

6 tbsp oregano20g

6 tbsp fresh mint, chopped30g

2 red chillies60g

1 green chilli60g

Zest and juice of 2 oranges5 pack

Zest and juice of 2 limes4 pack

Juice of 1 grapefruit1 pc

40g garlic (approx. 1 head)3 pack

3 tsp ground cumin40g

2 tbsp ground allspice35g

1 tsp salt750g

1 tsp cracked black pepper50g

Method

Blitz all the marinade ingredients in a food processor or with a hand blender. Lay the pork in a large dish, pour over the marinade, then turn the meat in the mixture, rubbing in the marinade all over and making sure every bit of the belly is coated. Cover the dish and leave overnight in the fridge.

The next day, heat the oven to 140C (120C fan)/275F/gas 1. Lift the meat out of its marinade (don’t wipe off any that sticks to the joint, though; just leave most of the marinade behind in the dish) and transfer to a large roasting dish. Cover with foil, slip into the oven and roast for four and a half hours – every now and then (say, three or four times over the whole cooking period), take the dish out of the oven, lift off the foil lid and spoon the juices from the bottom of the dish over the meat. Return the foil lid, then put back in the oven.

After the time is up, remove the foil, turn up the heat to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4 and give the pork a final blast – after 15-20 minutes, the top will take on a lovely colour and the meat should be yielding and soft enough to cut with a spoon.

To make crackling shards to serve with the meat, heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6 and line a roasting tray with baking paper. Lightly score the skin from the pork belly with a sharp knife, then rub it with a three or four fat pinches of salt – I also like to add a few caraway, cumin or fennel seeds at this point (use anything that takes your fancy). Cut the skin into long strips and lay these fat side down on the lined tray (you can, of course, leave it whole, but I think its pleasing to dress the plate with long, golden shards of crackling). Lay a second sheet of baking paper on top of the skin, then put a second baking tray of the same size on top, and roast for 45 minutes to an hour (if by this point the crackling has not gone crisp, just put it back in the oven and carry on roasting it until it has).

Cut or pull the pork apart, top with finely chopped coriander and flat-leaf parsley and shards of crackling, if you have made them, and serve at once