Oven Lechón Asado (Crispy Roast Pork Belly)
Garlicky pork belly roasted in the oven until the skin is glassy and crisp, chopped into chunks and served with pique.
Recipe in testing: I'm cooking it in my TM7™ and will update the steps and the photo with my own.
In Puerto Rico, lechón asado means a whole pig turning slowly over charcoal, and a weekend drive up to the lechoneras of Guavate, in the mountains of Cayey. At home, a slab of skin-on pork belly gives you the same two treasures from your own oven: juicy, well-seasoned meat and a glassy, crackling skin.
The Thermomix® TM7™ grinds garlic, oregano, salt and sour orange juice into an adobo for the meat, while the skin stays bare and dries overnight in the fridge. The oven roasts the pork low to make it tender, then high to make the skin crackle. Chop it into chunks and pass the pique.
Made in the Thermomix® TM7™
Oven Lechón Asado (Crispy Roast Pork Belly)
Makes: 6 servings
- Prep20 min
- Cook2 h 40 min
- Total3 h
- Serves6
Ingredients
For the adobo
To serve
Instructions
- Place the garlic, salt, oregano, pepper and sazón (if using) in the mixing bowl and chop 5 sec/speed 7. Scrape down the sides, add the sour orange juice and oil and mix 5 sec/speed 3.
- Pat the pork belly dry. Turn it skin side down and cut a crosshatch 1 cm (1/2 in) deep into the meat, without reaching the skin. Rub the adobo into the meat side and the edges only.
- Turn the pork skin side up on a rack set in a roasting pan. Dry the skin well with paper towels, prick it all over with the tip of a sharp knife without reaching the meat, and rub it with 1 tsp salt.
- Refrigerate uncovered at least 12 hours, or up to 24 hours, so the skin dries out.
- Heat the oven to 160°C (325°F). Wipe any moisture off the skin and roast the pork 2 hours, until the meat is very tender when pierced with a knife.
- Raise the oven to 220°C (425°F) and roast 30 to 40 minutes more, until the skin is puffed, bubbly and crisp all over. Watch it closely during the last 10 minutes.
- Let it rest 15 minutes, then place it skin side down on a board and chop it into 4 cm (1 1/2 in) chunks with a heavy knife. Serve with pique and tostones or guineítos.
Tips
- Quick pique: fill a clean bottle with 4 to 6 small hot peppers cut in half, 2 garlic cloves, a pinch of dried oregano, a few black peppercorns and white vinegar. Close it and refrigerate at least 2 days before using.
- No sour oranges? Look for bottled sour orange juice in the Latin aisle at Publix, Sedano's or Walmart, or mix equal parts lime and orange juice.
- If the belly is uneven, tuck a ball of foil under the thin side so the skin sits level and crisps evenly.
- Leftovers keep 3 days in the fridge. Reheat them in the oven at 200°C (400°F) for 10 minutes so the skin crisps again.
