The phrase “magpapa-lechon ako” is a really nice thing to hear among Filipinos. Not only do you get a yummy meal, but more importantly, it means celebrating a milestone. It may be a birthday, an anniversary, a wedding, a fiesta, or may be a simpler event, but one thing is for sure, the celebrator wanted to share a meal with his family and friends.
Now, we may not always have a big event to celebrate or a big budget to spend, but this shouldn’t prevent us from enjoying Lechon. We can always go for a smaller Lechon Pork Belly. And fortunately, this recipe helps us do that:
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 & 1/2 kg pork belly slab (with skin on)
- 3 whole garlic bulbs, peeled and chopped
- 3 red onions, peeled and chopped
- ½ cup oregano leaves, washed and chopped
- 4 – 5 lemongrass stalks, sliced
- Lemon juice and lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
- 4 tablespoons crushed black pepper
- 1/8 cup salt
- Extra salt (to rub around the pork)
HOW TO COOK:
- Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
- Lightly mash ingredients together with a spoon. You can also use a food processor to bring everything together (use 2 to 3 pulses).
- Place the slab with the skin side down then rub the mashed mixture all over the meat.
- Invert the slab carefully and secure it with butcher’s twine. (If pieces of ingredients fall off, just put back later).
- Rub the extra salt all over the meat and the skin.
- To have a nice crackling, poke the skin of the meat with a paring knife or fork.
- Transfer to a roasting fitted with a rack and line the bottom with foil.
- Refrigerate and chill overnight. This will dry the skin, which helps the crackling form.
- Preheat the oven to 160 C.
- Pat the skin of the pork dry with a paper towel. Roast the pork for 5 hours.
- Increase the temperature to 220 C, and allow the pork’s crackling to form (30 minutes to 1 hour).
- When done, remove from the oven and allow to cool before slicing. Enjoy!
IMAGE: thehungrygiant.wordpress.com
Also try: Cebu Lechon Pork Belly
