Kafir Lime Pork Belly

Crispy, tender, pull apart pork belly.. with a hint of kafir lime and lemongrass, HULLO 🤤. Before nailing this, everyone I went to dinner with would know that if there’s pork belly on the menu, then there’s no point in me looking at the rest of the menu. I would greet the waiter with ‘pork belly thanks’ and skip the ‘hi hello how are you’. But now I can cook it blutty gorgeously at home!

High in beautiful fats (absolutely not to be avoided) which is incredible for your hormones, skin, overall happiness, and if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding - you’ll probably find yourself craving this because your body NEEDS saturated fats right now. Choosing free range pork also means there will be a beautiful dose of vitamin D in your serving, pretty cool hey! ☀️

INGREDIENTS //
1.5kg free range pork belly
1 brown onion
4 cloves garlic
4-5 kafir lime leaves
Optional lemongrass stalk
1.5-2 cups water or bone broth

METHOD //
1. Preheat your oven to roughly 240 degrees Celsius.
2. Score the pork belly skin. I got my local butcher to do this for me, otherwise you need a Stanley knife and be SUPER careful.
3. Place the pork belly on a baking tray with nothing else (yet!). Pat the skin with paper towel to soak up any excess moisture. Generously coat the skin with salt and coconut oil or ghee.
4. Place it into your oven and allow to cook until the skin turns to a beautiful crackle. This takes 45 minutes to an hour - eyeball it and make sure it’s all crackled.
5. Remove from the oven, and pour either bone broth or water to just below the skin. Place in the liquid roughly chopped peeled brown onion, garlic, kafir lime leaves, and even a bruised lemongrass stalk if you wish!
6. Return it back to the oven, reduce the temperature down to 160 and continue to cook for 2 hours. Use a fork to test whether the meat is tender enough for your liking. If you want it a little more tender, continue cooking for a little longer.
7. Remove from the oven + plate up with your chosen veggies, such as cauliflower mash and crispy kale 👏🏻.

Will you give this a try?