Prep time:
Cooking time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Total time:
Serves: 6
For the pork:
2.5kg pork belly, deboned and scored
1 bunch of thyme, leaves picked
1tbsp good quality fine sea salt
½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
vegetable, or other neutral oil butcher’s string
For the potatoes:
1.2kg pink fir potatoes or other waxy potatoes
½ bulb of garlic
2 large sprigs of rosemary
extra virgin olive oil
1tsp sea salt
For the herb, mustard, and caper sauce:
½tbsp capers
½tbsp Dijon mustard
2 cloves of garlic grated
1 bunch parsley
1 bunch mint
½ bunch fresh oregano
½ bunch of tarragon
1tsp red wine vinegar
300ml extra virgin olive oil
300ml extra virgin rapeseed oil
½tsp sea salt
Pork belly is one of my favourite things to cook and eat, I am obsessed with the gorgeous meat, the flavourful layers of fat, and the constant challenge in making the skin crackle! It’s an endless and generous process. What a forgiving piece of meat! And the great thing is that we produce one of the best, if not the best, breed of pig on our doorstep. Basically, my career is a love letter to British pork.
Ask your butcher to remove bones and score skin for you – a very important step. For the pork: For the potatoes: Turn the oven down to 200°C while the pork is resting and boil the potatoes in well salted water until tender. Drain and tip into a large roasting try and add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Gently crush the potatoes to break the skin, more surface area means extra crispy potatoes. Roast for 20 minutes until crispy. For the herb, mustard, and caper sauce: Combine all the ingredients in a food processor, adding the oils slowly. Taste and adjust seasoning with vinegar and salt. This herby green sauce tastes best when prepared the day before as the flavours relax. To serve: Serves 6 Prep and cooking: Approx. 2 hours. The Union’s team takes pride in hand making as much of their menu as possible in house, crafting ricotta, black pudding, crackers and ice creams by sourcing the very best ingredients they can from the East Sussex and Kentish larders. To find out more about their unpretentious, simple and restrained plates of food, and to book a table, visit theunionrye.co.uk or call 01797 229289.
Carve a thick slice of pork belly per person and plate with the crispy potatoes, herb and mustard sauce and wilted greens of your choice.
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