Sunshine Coast Party Recipe

Chef Santosh  |  Private Chef/Caterer Sunshine Coast  |  May 22 2018

Sunshine Coast Private Chef, Santosh, shares how to cook this simple and delicious crispy pork belly.

This has been one of the signatures dishes from my work as a Private Chef and for various catering on the Sunshine Coast since the start! It’s offered as party of the Dinner Party Menu but we can also create a custom menu so if you are a lover of Pork Belly, don’t worry I will make sure it’s included!

At many functions I have catered for around the Sunshine Coast including Buderim and Noosa, I have had people coming into kitchen to get their first bite of the crispiest pork they ever had. On a couple of occasions there were some guests at the party who never tried pork in their life but ended up with a belly full of pork.   

I always cook my pork say 70-80 minutes before the service, just depending on size of meat and cook it on high heat to render the fat. The first 15-20 minutes using the fan force grill is a crucial time to get the best crackling combined with juicy meat. You can request your butcher to score the pork to make it easy on you.

Eat the pork on the day as any leftover pork won’t taste the same the next day.

Crispy Pork Belly

Ingredients

• 1kg pork belly

• 2 tbsp  salt

• 2tbsp vegetable oil

• Pepper

• Paper towel

• Baking foil

Method

1. Ask your butcher to score the pork for you. If not, score the skin of the pork with a tip of sharp knife to help the fat escape during cooking, but don’t cut all the way into the meat.
2. Put on 1 ½ tbsp of salt on and rub it on the skin.
3. Cover with cling wrap and leave the pork to room temperature for 30 mins to draw the most of moisture. (Alternately, leave the pork in fridge overnight without covering it to dry out the meat)
4. Heat the oven to 210c on top grill setting with fan force. If you don’t have fan force setting just leave it on top grill setting.
5. Remove the clean wrap and using paper towel dry all the excess moisture. Turn the belly and season on inside with salt and pepper.
6. Turn the pork skin side up and massage the oil over.
7. Prepare the baking tray with baking paper and cooling rack.
8. Cook the pork on top grill setting for 15-20 minutes till you get good even crackling on the pork.
9. Then turn the heat down to 190c conventional setting and cook the pork for 45-50 minutes till internal temperature is 75c.
10. Rest the pork for at least 15 minutes before cutting into portion.

Santosh is a private chef and caterer who lives and works on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland.  His passion is making delicious food that his guests love using the freshest ingredients!  You can see him in action cooking this delicious recipe in the video below.