Roasted Pork Belly

Roasted Pork Belly

3-4 pound pork belly

1 tablespoon grape seed oil

Kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

1 cup yellow onion, peeled and sliced 

1 cup fennel, sliced

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and cut into thick slices

1 star anise

1-2 cloves

2 cups white wine

½ cup Pernod

zest of 1 orange

5-6 sprigs thyme

1 quart chicken stock (or more as needed)

Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat.  Score the fatty side of the belly in ½-inch crosshatches.  Don’t cut too deep into the meat.  Generously season with salt, pepper and fennel seed.  Sear the belly fat side down for about 3-4 minutes.  Remove from the pan and set aside.  Keep the pan on the burner and add the onion, fennel, apple, star anise, fennel seed and cloves.  When the vegetables are soft, add the wine and Pernod, reduce by half.  Add the orange zest, thyme and chicken stock. 

Pour the vegetables and broth into a roasting pan, lay the belly on the veggies making sure the liquid only reaches about ¾ of the way up the belly.  Roast in a 350˚F oven for about 2 hours or until tender, making sure you add a little stock or water if needed.  When very tender and crispy, remove the belly from the oven and the pan; pour the contents of the pan into a smaller container.  Cool over ice water to remove all the fat from the top that congeals. Serve the belly sliced with a little of the soft vegetables and juice.