Lemon and thyme pork belly

House~and~Garden

Cooking time: More than 2 hours

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Serves: 8

Type: Pork belly

Tools

Kitchen friendly view

Photography John Paul Urizar

By Recipe Loukie Werle

Ingredients

1 tsp salt
1 tbsp fennel seeds
2 large cloves garlic
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1½ tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1kg boneless pork belly, skin scored

Preparation method

1 Place salt, fennel and garlic in a mortar and pulverise with the pestle until garlic has broken up. Add lemon zest and juice, and thyme leaves and lightly pulverise. Stir in oil. Rub marinade all over both sides of pork and set aside to marinate for at least 1hr, preferably overnight.

2 Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Rub pork skin with paper towels until dry. Place pork in a shallow roasting tray, skin-side up, and cook for 1½hrs. Increase temperature to 200°C (180°C fan) and cook a further 30mins or until skin is crisp. If crackling is not crisp enough, place pork under a grill until crackling is done to your liking (watch very closely). Place pork on a board, tent loosely with foil and stand 15mins. Cut into bite-size pieces and serve.

Wine match: The 2010 Innocent Bystander Chardonnay $23 is a stunning and complex wine – well priced too. If you're after a red, try the berry-laden 2009 Stonier Pinot Noir, $28.

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