Add this recipe to your go-to basket of tricks when you’re feeding a crowd and want something delicious and fail proof. Did I mention it’s about as easy to make as can possibly be and you can enjoy a drink or two and some good company while it cooks???
All you need is a Weber style BBQ with a lid, mine is gas so that’s what I’m used to. If you have a charcoal BBQ you probably already know how to adjust the cooking time and manage the heat from the coals. Grab your pork belly, a disposable foil tray, and some root vegetables and you’re all set.
what you need
- a pork belly, whatever size suits, with the skin scored {I like to score mine where I’ll be cutting the slices, that way every serve has crackling 😉 }
- olive oil
- seasoning: I use salt and pepper with some ras el hanout
- a couple of large brown onions, thickly sliced into 1cm slices, unpeeled is fine
- 2 or 3 carrots, halved lengthways
- 1 whole garlic, halved
- a disposable foil tray that just perfectly fits the pork
what to do
Preheat your BBQ to around 250C, with all burners on.
Season the pork belly well with the olive oil, salt, pepper, and any other seasonings you are using, but only on the fleshy side, not on the scored skin. Rub it all in well.
In the foil tray add some olive oil, the onion slices, carrots, and garlic halves, spreading it out to form a base. The pork will sit on the veg to stop it from burning while cooking. Place the seasoned pork on top, fleshy seasoned side down. Rub some salt into the scored skin, but nothing else. Make sure it’s free of any other seasoning or olive oil.
Place the tray on the BBQ grills, turning the middle burner/s down to low. Cook with the lid down for thirty minutes.
After thirty minutes turn the middle burner/s off, all you want for the rest of the cooking time is a burner on each outer side of the BBQ. From this point keep the temperature between 180 and 200C, and cook for a total of two hours. You might need to rotate the tray around if the BBQ is cooking hotter towards one side or another. And believe it or not, by mostly ignoring it and keeping that lid down, you will get perfect crackling every time.
After two hours cooking time {and I swear it’ll be perfect as I have cooked various sizes of pork belly in the same way and for the exact same amount of time}, take your foil tray inside and turn the BBQ off. Allow to rest for five to ten minutes, then carve into slices. You will most likely need kitchen scissors to cut through the crackling.
what ana cooks 