Sticky Belly Pork Slices

These would be absolutely fantastic finished off on the barbecue. As the warmer months roll in, my mind always drifts towards warm weather cooking (which you can probably tell based on my last, picnic friendly post), especially those that can be prepared ahead of time. These pork belly strips fit that brief perfectly!Pork belly is a really inexpensive cut of meat because of the high fat content. While this doesn't lend itself to quick cooking, it makes pork belly an ideal candidate for the slow roast. This recipe makes the best of both worlds in that it starts off with a slow cook to leach some of the fat out of the meat and then is finished off under high temperatures to crisp up the fat that is left. Yummy!

This is the first time I have attempted to make anything like this and I am very pleased with the results. The recipe is incredibly easy: it consists of putting the pork in the oven, mixing a few things, and then pouring the mixture over the pork. Easy peasy! You could make it even easier by skipping the mixing bit an pouring over a pre-made BBQ sauce, but I can guarantee you it will be more expensive, and not nearly as tasty. If you want to whip these up on the BBQ (which I definitely do), slow cook them at home then marinate the strips in the sauce until you are ready to finish them off on the BBQ. Serve with a side of potato salad and a corn on the cob and you have the taste of summer.

P.S. I have been looking at switching my blog over to wordpress while looking into learning some html so hopefully, this blog will be able to move to a new (and hopefully better) home sometime soon. Stay posted!

 Serves 2

• 500g pork belly slices
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp white wine or cider
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• pepper

1.  Preheat the oven to 320 F (160C).
2. Pat the pork slices dry with paper towel.
3. Place the pork belly strips on a aluminum foil lined baking tray.
4. Rub the olive oil over the strips and season with pepper. You won't need salt because of the soy sauce in the glaze.
5. Bake the pork for 45 mins. This slow cooking allows the fat to cook down.
6. While the pork is cooking, make the sauce by finely chopping the garlic.
7. Whisk the garlic in with the soy sauce, honey, tomato paste, and cider.
8. After the pork has been cooking for 45mins, turn the oven up to 400F (200C).
9. Evenly distribute the glaze over the pork belly.
10. Put the pork back in the oven for another 25-30 minutes basting frequently.
11. Serve with glazed carrots and enjoy :)