Pork belly

A week or so ago, another go at pork belly, on this occasion from Ben the Butcher of Upper High Street, as noticed at reference 1. A cut we have eaten a lot of over the years, but not so much recently. Not least because decent looking pork belly slices are not as readily available as they used to be. Sainsbury's does do them, but they are not very attractive looking; about on a par with their bacon.

With the gold standard in such matters perhaps being the pork belly we bought a couple of years ago at Lyme Regis, noticed at reference 2. Sadly, the butcher's shop concerned has been displaced by some foodie operation, but I think that the butcher survives in nearby Colyton, as at reference 3.

So five slices, cut from a slab as I watched. 1.178 kilos, 2.597lbs or 2lbs 9½oz. Three thin and even, two fat and not so even. First thought was to tie it back up and roast it as a slab, but having consulted recent precedents, settled on slice mode. But I did salt the skins. Then into the oven at 150°C at 11:45, aiming for 13:30.

Turned at 12:45 and turned the oven up to 175°C for the last lap. Plated at 13:25, then back in the oven which I turned off shortly after it had got back to heat.

Washed the roasting tin and trivet with the potato water. Made the gravy with a dollop of the fat from the roasting tin and the enhanced potato water. Mash, carrots and greens. These last from a bag from Sainsbury's and much better than I expected: mature leaves with a bit of texture and taste.

Served a bit late at 13:45 and we did the pork in one sitting, albeit with a fair amount of waste what with the fat, the skin and the bone. But very good; as good as the remembered the stuff from Lyme Regis snapped above.

Carving irons superfluous on this occasion.

Date slice for dessert.

The note does not say, but the balance of the gravy probably went on bread for a teatime snack the following day.

PS 1: the loaf noticed in the last post, reference 4, is now nearly finished. Not bad at all, mostly taken by itself or with a little butter. A strong enough flavour not to need cheese.

PS 2: this afternoon, for the first time for a while, we came close to a combined score of 600 at Scrabble. BH was unlucky not to win, having kicked off with a seven letter word which netted her 72 points. Having had a pretty good run, I was unlucky to pick up the 'Q' very close to the end, which I was unable to place, despite holding a blank. On the upside, BH was not able to go out either, so the penalty was only 10 points rather than the 20 points it would have been otherwise. The only word I was not sure about was 'nacre', which I associated with both mica and mother of pearl, without really knowing what it was. Mother of pearl, according to Bing.

References

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2023/11/trolley-595.html.

Reference 2: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2021/10/holne-one.html.

Reference 3: https://colyfordbutchers.co.uk/.