Jerk marinated pork belly
I made this jerk marinated pork belly as part of my ‘what a chef eats in a day’ series after I was made redundant. I felt so unbelievably awkward filming content but no-one was hiring chefs (due to covid messing it all up) so this was one way I could feel productive…and feed my family. I also tried applying for supermarket jobs but I even got rejected from those. Turns out I’d accidentally clicked the ‘not willing to work nights’ button after applying for a night shift position at Iceland.
When pork belly is cooked correctly, it is INCREDIBLE! If you’re unsure about the size of your pork, check the packet instructions for cooking times. This way you’ll feel confident you’re not under or overcooking it.
As it’s doused it a beautifully spiced jerk sauce, I decided to serve this up with a Mexican bean salad, seasoned wedges and I topped the jerk pork with an extra hit of spice in the form of jalapeños. Then a final sprinkling of coriander for that freshness and a little extra colour. Adding something green gives me the illusion it’s healthier than it may actually be.
Ingredients
- 700g-1kg pork belly
- 1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 scotch bonnet chillies, you can leave the seeds in if you like it extra hot
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 lime
- 1 thumb sized piece of ginger
- 1 tbsp ground allspice
- ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 2 sprigs thyme, picked off the stem
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tsp dark brown sugar
Method
- Prep your pork belly by making lots of little holes in the flesh with a small sharp knife. Score the skin and rub in ½ tbsp flaky salt.
- Add all of the other ingredients to a blender, with zest and juice of the lime. Give it all a good blitz together and season with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Pour this all over the flesh of the pork and rub it in with your fingers, then wrap in clingfilm and pop in the fridge for at least an hour but ideally overnight.
- When you’re ready to cook your pork, preheat the oven to 180ºc/350ºf and get the pork into a large roasting tray skin side up. Get any leftover marinade all over the pork and add a dash of water to the bottom of the tray to stop any juices from burning. Roast for 20 minutes then turn the heat down to 150ºc/300ºf for 50-60 minutes.
- After you take the pork out of the oven, leave to rest for 10 minutes and glaze everything up with any leftover marinade and juices in the bottom of the roasting tray. Serve up with a red cabbage slaw and fries.