Indulgent Winter Meals: Thyme Roast Pork Belly

Perfect Thyme Roasted Belly Pork

For the Apple Sauce (not pictured)

? 2-3 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, halved and thinly sliced;
? squeeze of lemon juice and 1 tsp of grated zest
? 1/2-1 tbs caster sugar (or to taste - depending on how sweet your apples are and whether you like your applesauce sweet or tart)

As you can see, I served mine with some mashed potatoes and wilted spinach, but I will leave the choice of sides up to you.

Preheat your oven to 220C, and have your meat near or at room temperature.

Rest your piece of pork belly on a work surface and pat the skin dry with a piece of kitchen towel. Using the sharpest knife you have, very carefully score the skin. I like to score mine in thin strips straight across the joint of meat. Be careful not to cut too deeply - you just want to cut through the skin and expose the fat. Here is my secret to the best crackling:

No, you are not mistaken - that is a scalpel! Some chemists have these on display, otherwise you may have to ask at the pharmacy. Be prepared to be looked at strangely when you ask for a scalpel - I tend to receive wary looks, as if the person serving me thinks I might keep corpses in my freezer. The strange looks don't change once I explain I need it to score the skin on my roast pork, either. If you can't get your hands on a scalpel, a Stanley Knife works pretty well also (a box cutter, for my American friends). Either way, you want something dangerously sharp (which means, please take extreme care!).

Place the pork in a baking tray and rub sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and the thyme leaves into the scored skin, making sure the seasoning gets down in the cracks where you have scored. Because you have exposed the fat under the skin, you will not need to rub any oil into the skin or oil your meat in any way - this type of meat joint does all that work for you.

Place the pork in the hot oven and roast for 30 minutes. The skin should start blistering and crackling in this time. After 30 minutes, turn the heat down to 180C and roast for another 45 minutes or so, until the juices run clear when the meat is pierced with a skewer at the thickest part. Sometimes when I do this, the skin is reluctant to crackle in the first stage of cooking - never fear, you can leave the heat up for a bit longer until the blisters appear or, if you wish, you can remove the crackling at the end of cooking and place it under the griller (I prefer just to keep the meat in the oven at a high temp until the skin has crackled - the benefit of having this cut of meat with its thick layer of fat means you can't really overcook it).

Once your meat is done, remove it from the oven and leave to rest in a warm place (I don't cover the meat during this time because I like to serve mine with the crackling still attached, and I don't want the crispy crackle to get soggy). If you like, you can drain off the fat from your baking tray and make a little gravy like I have in the picture above. Simply add a tablespoon or so of flour to your pan juices and mix in a splash of wine or verjuice or stock. Be sure to scrape the bottom of your pan to get all the tasty bits into your sauce! Allow the gravy to reduce a little, season to taste, and serve on the side.

I serve my roast belly pork in slices, with some creamy, buttery mash and English spinach leaves which have been wilted in some butter and garlic (but you can be much more healthy than me and have some steamed greens, if you prefer!)

As for the apple sauce, I guess everyone has their favourite way of making it, but mine is a variation on my mum's. Simply toss your slices of apple into a saucepan and add a small amount of water - not enough to cover the apples, but maybe a half a cup, if that. Add the lemon juice and zest and sprinkle over the sugar. Stir together lightly to combine and allow the sauce to sit, covered, over low heat for about ten minutes (checking to make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan and stirring a few times) until it softens to a rough puree. Taste it at this point and test for sweetness/tartness - you may need to adjust for your taste by adding a little sugar. Keep the sauce warm, or reheat before serving.

This was a hit with Mum and Dad last weekend, and it remains one of Mr W&W and my favourite weekend indulgences, when we want top quality food but don't feel like stepping out of the door - perfect for cold, lazy, wintery weekends!

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Emperor's Garden Meat Market is located at 211 Thomas Street, Haymarket, Sydney (over the road from Market City) - Telephone 02 9281 2206.