Filipino Porchetta
Lechon! If you’ve seen Anthony Bourdain’s visit to the Philippines in his show Parts Unknown, you’ll know that he loved Filipino roast pork or Lechon. I have to agree, having spent time in the Philippines, that roast pork is seriously amazing.
Now, being in Canada, not everyone’s got a backyard where you can just dig a pit to roast a whole hog over coals. And even if you did, I’m not quite sure if the neighbours would be fine with it. So here’s an oven friendly version for all to enjoy!
Ingredients:
Cook time 3.5 hours
3 kg whole boneless pork belly
1 cup ground star anise
1/4 cup garlic powder
1/4 cup salt
1 tbsp chili flakes
1/4 cup Black maple
6 stalks lemon grass
Butcher’s twine
Instructions:
Score the flesh side of the pork. Make about 1 cm cuts on the meat to work the spices in. Pour the Black Maple evenly and work it in. Then, rub the star anise, garlic powder, chili powder and salt into the meat. Now place the lemon grass stalks in the middle of the pork belly, lengthwise. This is what the pork will wrap around
Using the butcher’s twine, tie the belly into a log. Keep it tight so that it cooks evenly. For this much pork, I would tie about 5-7 loops. Once tied, sprinkle more salt on the skin. This will extract moisture from the skin and help it dry. Now leave it in the fridge for at least 2 days, uncovered. The hard part is done!
The cooking is quite straightforward. Cook at 175C/350F for 3 hours. If you have a convection oven, it may be done in a bit less time. If the skin doesn’t turn crispy, turn the oven to 230C/450F and keep the lechon in for another 30 minutes
Once done, let the pork rest for 15 minutes before slicing. Enjoy the sounds of shattering cracklings and laughter!
Tip: The key to crispy skin is making sure it is dry. It’s arguably necessary to prepare the Porchetta a few days in advance and just letting it sit in the fridge before it even sees the oven! Crispy cracklings are half the joy of Porchetta.