Home hog roast with chilli pig sauce

We’ve roasted a chilli sauce to go with the hog at the same time, but you can buy one to make this even easier.

QQServes 10 Cook 4 hrs

QPrep 40 mins plus up to 48 hrs chilling

3kg boneless, skin-on pork belly,

skin well scored (see tip)

4 garlic cloves small bunch of thyme, leaves picked

8 bay leaves

1 tbsp sunflower oil soft bread rolls, to serve

FOR THE CHILLI PIG SAUCE

2 red peppers, roughly chopped

4 red chillies, deseeded if you like, tops removed 2 banana shallots, peeled and roughly chopped 4 garlic cloves, peeled but left whole

1 ripe tomato, quartered

3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 tsp honey

1 Up to 48 hrs before, season the pork all over with 2 tbsp sea salt. Cover and chill. Very finely chop the garlic, thyme leaves and bay together to a make a paste. Season well.

2 Lay the pork skin-side down on a board, score the flesh and massage in the herby seasoning. Tightly roll from longest side to create a joint surrounded by the skin. Tie tightly at 2cm intervals with kitchen string to secure it.

3 Heat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Put a wire rack over a large roasting tray and sit the pork on top. Massage the pork skin with the oil and some salt. Roast for 3 hrs, basting in the fat every 30 mins after the first hour. Remove from the oven and turn up the heat to 240C/ 220C fan/gas 9. Carefully pour out most of the fat and add the peppers, chillies, shallots, garlic and tomato for the chilli sauce. Put the pork back on the wire rack and roast for a further 30-40 mins, turning the joint with tongs to expose different parts of the skin to crisp up the crackling. Lift onto a board and rest for 10 mins.

4 Scrape all the vegetables and pan juices into a food processor with the vinegar, honey and a pinch of salt. Pulse to a sauce. Carve the pork into slices and serve in buns with the chilli sauce for spreading over.

PER SERVING 600 kcals, fat 42g, saturates 14g, carbs 5g, sugars 3g,

fibre 2g, protein 49g, salt 1.9g