Crispy Oven-Baked Roasted Pork 脆皮烧肉

I have tried making roasted pork several times, despite there are many recipes around, I still stick to the simplest recipe which I used for my first attempt.

I made this roasted pork on the eve of Chinese New Year. I would say this was my best attempt. The skin was extremely crispy. I could hear the crackling sound when I munched on it. Hmmmm……so yummy (and sinful) !!

There is no secret, the key here is patience. Just prolong the baking, check every 10 mins until the cracklings are all over. Need not worry about certain part get burnt; the charred part can be easily scraped away.

I am using 1:1:1:1 ratio, i.e 1kg of pork belly to 1 tbsp of salt, 1 tbsp of white pepper and 1 tbsp of five-spice powder. Easy to remember right? So if you have 1.5kg of pork belly, just use 1.5 times of the seasonings.

Crispy Oven-Baked Roasted Pork 脆皮烧肉
(Recipe source: Angel of Cook.Bake.Love)

Ingredients:
1 kg pork belly (do not cut into thin strip)
1 tbsp salt (I used fine sea salt)
1 tbsp white pepper
1 tbsp five-spice powder

Method:
1) Clean the pork belly and pat dry all over with kitchen paper towel.
2) Score the meat about 2cm apart both vertically and horizontally (do not score the skin).
3) Prick all over the skin with a sharp skewer (I used the tip of a small knife). Prick as much holes as possible. This step is very crucial to ensure crackling on the skin.
4) Rub skin and meat with salt all over.
5) Mix white pepper and five-spice powder and rub into the meat including the scored areas (do not rub on the skin).
6) Leave the pork belly in fridge uncovered, skin side up, for a few hours. This is to dry up the skin, so that it will become crispy after baking.
7) Take out pork belly 30 mins to 1 hour before baking to thaw in room temperature. Put the pork belly on a grill with skin side up (remember to have a tray lined with aluminium foil below to catch the oil).
8) Bake in preheated oven, upper rack, at 200C for 50 mins, adjust to 220C and continue to bake for another 10 mins. Check the skin, if there is still spot that is not crackling, switch to upper fire (so that the meat won’t be over baked), bake for another 10 mins at 220C. Repeat this step (check every 10 mins), turn the position of pork belly if necessary, until the cracklings are all over. If there is certain spot where the crackling is not so well done after prolonged baking, try to wipe away the oil and rub some salt on the skin before baking. Scrape away the charred part with a tong or knife before serving.

Note:
1) The roasted pork in the picture is yielded from 1.6kg of raw pork belly.
2) The bigger the pork belly usually the longer the baking time.
3) Usually you will need the amount of salt stated in the recipe (if not more) but for the marinade (white pepper + five-spice powder), just use sufficient amount for the entire meat area, need not finish all.

Making roasted pork is not difficult at all, just need time and patience for the baking part. The most challenging part is cleaning. The oil will splash all over the oven. Don’t say I never warn you. Unless I find an effective way to clean the oven or have a helper, I will make this a yearly affair to bake for CNY only.

I am submitting this to Aspiring Bakers #15: Auspicious Dishes for CNY (January 2012) hosted by Wen’s Delight.