Secret to flavor-rich crispy ‘lechon’ belly

Let the marinating mixture stay in the belly overnight

Crispy lechon belly is becoming a staple in most Philippine get-togethers and celebrations. In place of whole pig, people now settle for roasted Filipino-style porchetta because of its extra crispy skin and tender, juicy and aromatic meat.

This easy-to-make lechon belly is slow roasted in the oven for a couple of hours to ensure a super crunchy skin and moist meat. It’s liberally stuffed with lemongrass stalks to further infuse flavor and add bulk to the rolled belly.

“It’s best that you choose a good pork belly slab from your reliable or trusted butcher from the supermarket,” says celebrity chef and culinary instructor Zhe Jacinto. “Just have the butcher remove the rib part for you.”

It’s also best to marinate the meat for a long period in the refrigerator prior to roasting the pork belly.

“The secret here is to let the mixture in the pork stay overnight so that the meat can absorb the flavor better and make the skin really crunchy and crispy,” adds Jacinto, who’s also chair of the Culinary Team Pilipinas.

You can serve the pork belly with store-bought liver sauce or you can mix together vinegar with soy sauce, chopped onions and garlic, chilies and calamansi juice.

Crispy Lechon Belly

2 k pork belly

1 head garlic, chopped

6 pc red chilies, finely chopped 50 g fresh lemongrass stalks, chopped ½ c soy sauce

5 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp brown sugar Calamansi juice

Rock salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Kitchen twine Lemongrass leaves

—PHOTOS BY LEO M. SABANGAN II Crispy Lechon Belly

Cover meat with aluminum foil.

Preheat oven to 180°C. Roast pork for one hour.

Remove foil and poke skin with fork. Put it back in the oven, increasing temperature to 220°C. Continue roasting for 30-45 minutes or until skin is brown and crispy. Allow to cool for a few minutes. Remove lemongrass stalks when ready to cut.

In a bowl or saucer, combine garlic, chilies, lemongrass, soy sauce, oil, sugar, calamansi juice, salt and pepper. Mix well and set aside.

Arrange lemongrass leaves in the middle of the pork belly to add bulk.

Carefully roll the slab to form a log.

Rub rock salt all over meat skin.

Spread the liquid mixture on the scored meat.

Secure rolled meat with twine.