THE BUTCHERS CUT
BY STEPHEN MUFF
Stephen Muff of Muff’s of Bromborough
shares with us his delicious slow cooked
pork recipe.
Show Stopping Chinese
Belly Pork with Crackling
Ingredients
Whole belly pork. Ask the butcher to remove
and score the skin and saw through the middle
of the bones to make it easier to carve.
2tbsp light soy
1tbsp dark soy
2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
1 tsp chilli paste
2 tsp Chinese five spice
2 star anise
3 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
For the sauce
Bunch spring onion
Knob of ginger
4 clove garlic
2tbsp sugar
2tbsp yellow bean sauce/paste
2tbsp hoisin
2tbsp oyster sauce
2tbsp chilli paste
2tbsp Shaoxing wine
1tbsp sesame oil
2tbsp honey
Method
• Take the skinless belly and score the fat
deeply in a criss cross pattern and place
on a large baking tray. Place the scored pig
skin on a seperate tray.
• In a pestle and mortar, grind star anise
then combine all the ingredients to make a
paste.
• Rub in the paste all over the belly getting
into all the cuts.
• Season the pig skin with salt.
• In a preheated oven at 180 o C place both
trays in for 15 minutes. Then take the
belly out and cover with foil. Reduce
temperature to 160 0 C and put back in.
Depending on how dry the crackling is, it
should take a further 30 – 40 minutes. The
belly pork will take a further 1hour 30min.
• When finished remove and let it cool.
The Sauce
• Stir fry the ginger garlic and spring onion
in some oil. Flambé the wine. Then add all
other ingredients and simmer for a couple
of minutes while stirring.
To Finish
• Slice through the ribs on the belly and
either pan fry/BBQ for a minute each side
and liberally brush with the sauce. Arrange
on a platter and break up the crackling and
scatter around. Garnish with spring onion.
30
28 wirrallife.com
wirrallife.com