Crispy Belly Pork with Cider & Sage

Ask for a nice flat belly pork joint and give this a go – it’s absolutely delicious and easy to make.

Ingredients:

800g belly pork

2 carrots, roughly chopped

1 leek, sliced

2 onions, peeled & chopped

4 garlic cloves, peeled

400g dry cider

1 tsp dried sage

1 tbsp cider vinegar

Salt and ground black pepper

Method:

1.  Heat oven to 180C.  Place all vegetables in an ovenproof dish.
2. Place the pork belly in a large colander and pour hot water from the kettle over the pork.  This will make the skin crispier.  Dry well and rub cider vinegar all over the belly pork.
3. Rub in pepper, sage and a generous amount of salt.
4. Place the pork on top of the vegetables.  Add half of the cider and put it in the hot oven.  Roast for 2.5 hours, adding the rest of the cider after around 1.5 hours.
5. Remove from the oven, cover with tin foil and leave the meat to rest for 10 minutes.
6. Slice and serve.  This is lovely served with creamy mashed potatoes and savoy cabbage with apple and cider sauces.