Jenny Flynn, the head chef at Faithlegg House Hotel, joined Maria McCann on The Saturday Café for Food at Faithlegg. Jenny had a super recipe for crispy pork belly, with apple and vanilla marmalade.

 

Crispy Pork Belly, With Apple And Vanilla Marmalade

The secret to the crispy skin or the crackling is to have the skin dry and to finish on a high temperature. The apple and vanilla marmalade creates a complex, rich flavour. I use the shallots for a deeper umami base.

 

Recipe for Crispy Pork Belly

You will need the following for 6 people. This will need cooking time of approx. 2.5-3hour cooking time

  • 1-1.5kg of pork belly skin on
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 5 cloves of crushed garlic
  • 1 tsp of white wine vinegar
  • 100ml apple juice

 

Method:

  1. Score the skin lightly in a crisscross fashion with a sharp knife, careful not to score the meat.
  2. Flip the meat and rub in half the salt, pepper, and garlic. Flip back over and pat the skin dry, and rub with the vinegar and remaining salt.
  3. Place in the fridge uncovered, skin side up, for 8-24 hours to dry out the skin.
  4. Preheat your oven to 150 °C
  5. Place pork belly in the oven on a rack in a roasting tray, add 100ml of apple juice to stop it drying out and pour directly into the tray, not over the pork.
  6. Roast for 2 hours
  7. Increase the oven temperature to 230 °C for the next 20 minutes until the skin puffs up and crisps up.
  8. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool slightly before serving.

 

Apple and Vanilla Marmalade

This recipe is so versatile that it can be used as an accompaniment to a starter dish like pate, great with roast meats and excellent with cheese.

This recipe makes about 750g so a nice size jar. You will need:

  • 30g of butter
  • 200g peeled, sliced shallots or onions
  • 450g Granny Smith’s apples, peeled, cored and diced
  • 200g sugar
  • 60ml High-bank orchard apple cider vinegar
  • 60ml water
  • 2g salt
  • ½ Vanilla pod or vanilla extract

 

Method:

  1. In a large heavy-based saucepan, on medium heat, add the shallots and butter and cook for 10- 15 minutes until soft and golden.
  2. Add the apples, sugar, vinegar, water, vanilla and salt,
  3. Bring to the boil and reduce the heat to low and allow it to simmer for 30- 40 minutes, stirring occasionally until apples are softened and it will thicken due to natural pectin in the apples.
  4. I blend for a smooth texture, but you can leave rustic if you like.
  5. Transfer to sterilised jars and keep in the fridge. It will last about three weeks!