The ultimate Hairy Bikers Pork Belly Recipe is made with a beautiful slab of pork belly, seasoned simply with coarse sea salt and thyme to achieve the most amazing crackling. This recipe creates a perfectly tender and succulent roast with a magnificent, bubbly, and ultra-crispy skin, making it the star of any Sunday dinner. It’s the perfect main course for a traditional family roast or any meal when you crave pure comfort food, serving 4-6 people.
Hairy Bikers Pork Belly Recipe Ingredients
For the Pork Belly:
- 1.5kg (about 3.3 lbs) boneless pork belly, rind deeply scored
- 2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
- 2 tsp sea salt flakes
- 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
For the Roasting Bed & Gravy:
- 3 medium apples, peeled, cored, and cut into thick slices
- 2 medium onions, sliced
- 1 large handful of fresh sage leaves
- 2 tsp plain flour
- 200ml (about 7 fl oz) cider
- 100ml (about 3.5 fl oz) water
How To Make The Hairy Bikers Pork Belly
- Prepare the oven and pork: Preheat your oven to its highest setting, 240°C (220°C Fan) / 475°F / Gas Mark 9. Place the pork on a board and pat the rind completely dry with paper towels.
- Season the meat: In a small bowl, mix together the chopped thyme, sea salt, and black pepper. Rub this seasoning mixture generously all over the pork, making sure to get it deep into the score marks on the rind and on the underside of the meat.
- Roast at high heat: Place the seasoned pork belly in a sturdy roasting tin. Roast in the hot oven for 25–30 minutes. This initial blast of high heat is crucial for making the rind bubble up and start to become really crisp.
- Reduce heat and continue cooking: Turn the oven temperature down to 180°C (160°C Fan) / 350°F / Gas Mark 4. Continue to roast the pork for another hour.
- Prepare the apple and onion bed: While the pork is cooking, toss the sliced apples, onions, and whole sage leaves together. Make a compact pile of this mixture in the center of a separate, smaller roasting tin.
- Combine and cook further: After its first hour at the lower temperature, remove the pork from the oven. Place the pork directly on top of the pile of apples and onions. This allows the apples and onions to cook in the pork drippings. Keep the original roasting tin with its juices to one side.
- Final roast for tenderness: Return the pork (now on its apple and onion bed) to the oven and cook for a final hour, or until the meat is completely succulent and tender.
- Make the gravy: While the pork finishes cooking, skim any excess fat from the juices in the first roasting tin. Place the tin over a medium heat on your stovetop. Stir in the flour and cook for a minute, scraping up any tasty browned bits. Gradually stir in the cider and the 100ml of water, and bring to a simmer. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring, then strain the gravy into a small saucepan.
- Rest the pork: Transfer the cooked pork to a carving board and let it rest, uncovered, for at least 15-20 minutes. Scoop the cooked apples and onions into a warm serving bowl. Reheat the gravy just before serving.
Recipe Tips
- Dry Skin is Everything: The absolute key to perfect crackling is starting with bone-dry skin. If it feels at all damp, pat it relentlessly with paper towels before you add the salt rub. Moisture is the enemy of crispiness.
- Use Coarse Sea Salt: Fine table salt will just dissolve. Coarse sea salt flakes are essential for drawing moisture out of the rind and creating those beautiful, crunchy bubbles. Be generous and really work it into the scores.
- Don’t Skip the Rest: Resting the pork after roasting is non-negotiable. It allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat, ensuring every slice is tender and succulent. If you carve it too soon, the juices will run out, and the meat will be dry.
- Level the Pork: For the most even crackling, try to keep the pork belly as level as possible in the roasting tin. The apple and onion bed helps with this in the later cooking stage, ensuring hot air circulates evenly over the rind.
What To Serve With Pork Belly
This Hairy Bikers Pork Belly is the heart of a classic roast dinner. Serve it with creamy mashed potatoes, traditional apple sauce to cut through the richness, and the simple cider gravy made from the pan juices. Roasted root vegetables like carrots and parsnips, along with some steamed greens like cabbage or kale, complete this perfect comfort meal.
How To Store Pork Belly Leftovers
- Refrigerate: Store leftover pork belly in an airtight container or wrapped tightly in foil in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The leftovers are fantastic!
- To Reheat: The best way to bring leftover pork belly back to life is in a hot oven or an air fryer. This will warm the meat through and, most importantly, re-crisp the crackling, making it almost as good as when it was first cooked.
Hairy Bikers Pork Belly Recipe Nutrition Facts
- Serving Size: 1/6th of the roast
- Calories: 685 kcal
- Total Fat: 52g
- Saturated Fat: 19g
- Total Carbohydrate: 18g
- Sugars: 15g
- Protein: 35g
Frequently Asked Questions
- My crackling is chewy, not crispy. What did I do wrong? This is almost always due to moisture on the skin or the initial oven temperature not being high enough. Ensure the skin is completely dry and that your oven is fully preheated to the maximum temperature for that first 25-30 minute blast.
- Is this recipe different from the Hairy Bikers Porchetta? Yes. Porchetta is a stuffed and rolled pork belly (often with the loin attached), creating a round roast with a swirl of herby filling. This recipe is for a simple, flat slab of pork belly, which focuses purely on achieving tender meat and a perfect sheet of crackling.
- Does my butcher need to score the pork skin? It is highly recommended. Butchers have very sharp, specialized knives and can score the skin safely and evenly. If you do it yourself, use a brand new craft knife or Stanley knife, and be very careful not to cut all the way through to the meat.
- Can I cook this recipe faster? It’s not recommended. The long, two-stage roasting process is what makes the meat so tender and allows the fat to render down properly. Rushing it with a higher temperature for a shorter time will likely result in tough meat.
Try More Recipes:
- Hairy Bikers Porchetta Recipe
- Hairy Bikers Halloumi Tray Bake Recipe
- Hairy Bikers Cassoulet Recipe
Hairy Bikers Pork Belly Recipe
Description
The classic Hairy Bikers Pork Belly recipe is the ultimate guide to achieving perfectly tender, melt-in-your-mouth meat with a flawless sheet of crispy, bubbly crackling. Cooked over a bed of apples and onions which help create a delicious cider gravy, this is the perfect centerpiece for a traditional Sunday roast.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Prep and season: Preheat oven to 240°C (220°C Fan). Pat the pork rind completely dry. Mix thyme, salt, and pepper, and rub it all over the pork, especially into the scored rind.
- Initial high-heat roast: Place the pork in a roasting tin and roast for 25-30 minutes to crisp the skin.
- Lower heat and cook: Reduce oven to 180°C (160°C Fan) and roast for another hour.
- Add apples and onions: Place the pork on a bed of apples, onions, and sage in a new tin. Roast for a final hour until the meat is tender.
- Make gravy: Use the juices from the first tin. Skim the fat, add flour, then gradually whisk in the cider and water. Simmer until thickened and strain.
- Rest and serve: Rest the pork for 15-20 minutes before carving. Serve with the cooked apples, onions, and hot gravy.
