Roast Pork Belly & Tostones
My boyfriend has this obsession with pork. I realized why this came to be the moment I tried his mom’s costillas guisadas (the most delicious, tender ribs). And I knew I just had to share this roast pork belly recipe when he said this was the next best thing. Let me tell you, I took that as a huge compliment.
Large cuts of pork, like pork shoulder or the belly, often seem like a huge, impossible project. But it’s actually one of the easier meals to prepare because it is already so flavorful. Now this is not one of those quick meals you can make on a week night (even though these photos were taken on a Thursday…), since it does take a bit of time to cook through. But the prep is simple; all you need to do is lightly season it, toss it in the oven, and go about your day. This is great for a Saturday lunch, where you do all the prep in the morning and lunch is actually ready in the afternoon for once. You can even get a few bites of this throughout the week; panfrying the sliced leftovers is an absolute treat. I enjoy eating this with tostones, to a point where I find myself craving this perfect pair from time to time. Let’s get started…
A few notes before jumping in…
This dish takes approximately 2 1/2 hours to make from start to finish.
It is important that the meat is nice and cold in order to seamlessly cut through the skin. If not, you will have a hard time slicing through it and just end up ripping the skin.
If this is your first time cooking plantains, please take your time when you are peeling them! This is not a simple task since skin is pretty tightly adhered to the plantain and you will feel a bit of resistance as you try to peel it. Be careful and use your fingers when you finally start to peel them.
Usually the butchers do a great job with removing any ink from the skin of the pork, but sometimes you might come across a cut of meat with a blue or purple stamp on it. Don’t worry about this though, the stamps are edible. However, if it does bother you, trim off the part of the skin that was stamped and use it to render fat for the next thing you want to fry in your kitchen!
Our Ingredients
2 pounds pork belly, whole (make sure you keep it in the fridge until right before you start to cook it. It is important that the meat stays very cold, for easy handling.)
3 green plantains (unripe, the greener the better. This serves 2 to 3 people.)
4 whole garlic cloves, smashed and halved + 2 minced garlic cloves
2 limes
1 navel orange
1 tablespoon of garlic granules (or garlic powder)
1 tablespoon of onion powder
1/2 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of coriander
Canola oil (or any neutral oil)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
Pork Belly Prep
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Wash the pork belly and pat dry.
Using a sharp knife, score the skin of the pork belly diagonally, to form a checkered pattern. Do not cut all the way through the meat, just through the skin.
Flip the meat over so that the side without the skin is facing you. Poke a few holes into the meat using the tip of a sharp knife, and push the garlic halves into each hole.
Squeeze the lime and orange onto the pork and drizzle a bit of canola oil across the meat. Massage it into all parts. Season with a generous amount of salt and pepper all around.
Mix your cumin, coriander, onion powder and garlic granules into a small bowl until well incorporated. Sprinkle the seasoning mix onto all sides of the belly and press it into the meat. Do not rub!
Drizzle a light amount of canola oil onto the bottom of baking sheet and carefully place the pork belly onto the baking sheet, skin side up.
Place the pork belly into the oven at 300 degrees for 2 hours. After 2 hours, crank the heat up to 400 degrees for 15 minutes. You’ll want to make your tostones toward the end of the your pork belly’s cooking time, when there is around 30 minutes left.
Tostones
Place a frying pan on medium-low heat and add a generous amount of canola oil, about 1/2 inch deep.
Carefully peel the plantains. Cut the ends off of the plantains and slice through the skin only lengthwise, try not to puncture the plantain. Use your finger to pry open the skin starting from where you cut it. Peel off and discard of the skin.
Cut the plantains into 1 inch pieces, you can cut them diagonally for a fancier look.
Combine water, 1 lime, minced garlic and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. This step is optional! The tostones will still taste delicious without the garlic lime soak. Now would be a good time to crank the oven heat up to 400 degrees, so that the pork belly can develop its crunchy, crispy, crackling skin.
Once the oil in the pan starts to ripple, add your plantain slices and fry until soft and golden all over, about 3 minutes on each side. Note, your oil should not be boiling aggressively, if it is, lower the heat to adjust the temperature.
Place your fried plantain slices onto a plate lined with paper towel, and lower the heat.
Once the oil is lightly drained out of the plantain, use the back of a wooden spoon or small bowl and press down against the fried plantain to flatten each one into circles (or ovals if you cut them diagonally). Just rub a little oil on the tool you end up using to flatten the plantains so that the plantain does not stick to it.
Soak each of the flattened plantain slices in your lime and garlic mixture for about 10 seconds each, then set aside.
Place the soaked slices back into the pan, one by one, to briefly fry them for a second time. About 1 minute per side, until the edges are crisp. Do not crowd them! They will not cook evenly.
Remove the plantains (well, at this point, let’s call them tostones) with tongs or a slotted spoon, and place them back onto the plate lined with paper towel. Sprinkle with salt (sea salt or Maldon is best).
Take the pork belly out of the oven and let it rest for about 10 to 15 minutes before carving. We're ready to plate!
Using a sharp knife, slice the pork belly into 1 - 2 inch thick pieces, diagonally is easiest since you can follow the lines from the scoring we did earlier. Be sure to remove the pieces of fresh garlic from earlier.
Place 2 to 3 pieces of our roasted pork belly onto a plate with a few tostones on the side. Squeeze some lime juice over the top, and we’re done! Enjoy.
