Lechon belly
This lechon recipe by Budgie Montoya adapts a famous, celebratory Filipino dish. While it’s usually made with a whole suckling pig roasted over an open fire, this pork belly version is practical yet deliciously rich and full of aromatic garlic, chilli and lemongrass.
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
- 2.5kg pork belly with skin on
- 5 garlic cloves, crushed
- 25g of fresh ginger, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp of soy sauce
- 2 tbsp of cane vinegar
- 4 spring onions
- 2 sticks of lemongrass, bruised
- 3 red chillies, stem removed
- salt to season
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
To serve
- Mang Tomas to taste
Lechon Sawasan
- 125ml of cane vinegar
- 30ml of soy sauce
- 12g of brown sugar
- 1 red onion, finely diced
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
Equipment
- Butcher's string
- Wire rack
Method
Preheat the oven to 160C fan/Gas 4
Make the lechon sawasan by combining all the ingredients in a bowl and whisking until the sugar is dissolved. Refrigerate until the pork is ready
- 125ml of cane vinegar
- 30ml of soy sauce
- 12g of brown sugar
- 1 red onion, finely diced
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1 red chilli, finely chopped
Prepare the pork belly by placing it on a flat surface with the skin facing down. Score the meat with a sharp knife, then season liberally and evenly with salt and black pepper
- 2.5kg pork belly with skin on
- salt to season
- black pepper to season
Rub the scored flesh with the crushed garlic, finely chopped ginger, soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of the vinegar. This is easiest using your hands
- 4 garlic cloves
- 25g of fresh ginger
- 1 tbsp of soy sauce
- 1 tbsp of cane vinegar
Place the spring onions, lemongrass and chillies in the middle of the belly, horizontally
- 4 spring onions
- 4 sticks of lemongrass
- 3 red chillies
Roll the belly up and tie using butcher's string. Both ends of the belly should meet and not overlap
Place the rolled belly on a rack inside a roasting tray. Rub the skin with the remaining tablespoon of vinegar and season liberally with salt
- 1 tbsp of cane vinegar
- salt to season
Place in the oven and cook until golden brown, roughly 3 to 3.5 hours
Remove from the oven and rest for around 10 mins, to allow the skin to become crisp
Transfer to a chopping board and remove the string before slicing and serving with the Mang Tomas and lechon sawasan dipping sauces
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