Lechon Pork Belly is a dish widely known all around Cebu. It became popular because unlike its close counterpart–the lechon–it is easier to cook since a smaller portion is needed.
People also say the pork belly is much more flavorful than a whole lechon because the spices we stuff in the pork belly are absorbed much easier.
There are a lot of techniques on how to cook lechon pork belly but here in this article, we are going to learn a simpler method of making it. That way, we can easily bring the flavors of Cebu right inside your homes!
Truly, there’s hardly anything more special than celebrating special occasions with your own homemade lechon pork belly.
What is Lechon Pork Belly?
Lechon is a type of pig dish which has been passed onto the Filipinos back when we were largely influenced by Spain. It is actually a Spanish word which roughly translates to roasted baby pig.
But contrary to its meaning, lechon much more commonly refers to roasting adult pigs here in the Philippines. This is probably due to the fact that Filipinos have been familiar with roasting pigs since pre-colonial times.
The most prominent place where lechon is being made is in the city of Cebu. It requires meticulous work of roasting the pig over charcoal for a gruelling 8 hours or so.
Thus, it is mostly reserved for the most treasured occasions such as weddings, celebrations, or any other large gatherings. And of course, it is not practical to roast a whole pig every time you crave for one. This is where lechon belly rises to stardom.
Lechon Belly, obviously, is only made from the belly part of the pig. The belly part is known for its rich flavor and tenderness. As said earlier, it’s much easier to cook and so this is the more practical way of having it for small gatherings.
In this recipe, we are going to roast the pork belly using an oven, instead of the traditional way of roasting it in a charcoal. Sounds easy, right? Let’s get into it.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Pork Belly
Get a fresh belly as much as possible. A fresh one usually looks pinkish and is firm when touched. When you buy at your local supermarket, you can ask for the butcher to remove the bones of the pork belly to make things easier when preparing.
Herbs And Spices
We won’t really get a lot of flavors from the pork belly itself. That’s why we will be needing herbs and spices, and a LOT of them goes into this recipe. We will be using some basic as well as some not so basic ingredients here:
- scallion
- lemongrass
- rosemary
- thyme
- all-spice
- garlic powder
Brushing Ingredients
Brushing the pork belly skin plays a large role in perfecting this dish. For this recipe, we will be needing oil and milk for brushing.
Aside from these, we will also be using several pantry ingredients like salt, sugar, black pepper, and bay leaves. If you are filling up your pantry, here’s a handy shopping guide:
Equipment You’ll Need
- Oven- The oven is the single cooking equipment we will be using for this dish. You may opt to use a rotisserie oven, but a basic convention oven will do. Make sure the oven you will be using can be used for a longer cooking time and that it’ll fit the size of your belly roll.
- Roasting Rack- We will also use a roasting rack which will serve as a vessel of the pork belly while it is roasting. If you don’t have one, you can use a wire rack and place it over a baking pan (this is what we used).
- Kitchen Twine- You might not have a kitchen twine around, so make sure to get this since we will be using this to tie up our belly roll.
In need of kitchen tools and equipment? Read this before you buy:
How To Cook Lechon Pork Belly
First thing we need to remember when preparing the lechon pork belly is to plan ahead of time. It requires a long oven time and we also need to prepare other ingredients preferably the day before.
Now, there are two key things we are going to talk about here that we need to do in order to make our lechon pork belly. First is the brining, and then second is the stuffing for the dish.
Let’s start with the brining. Brining is basically soaking your meat into a salt solution. In a large pot, all you have to do is to combine the water, scallions, lemongrass, peppercorns, rosemary, thyme, sugar, and salt.
So here, all you need to do is combine all the brine ingredients and then add water into it. Boil the ingredients for about 5 minutes and let it cool. Once that’s done, soak in the pork belly and proceed to seal and refrigerate overnight.
Once we’re done with the first part, bring out the pork belly once again. We’re now going to prepare the stuffings for the pork belly. A good technique here is to start rubbing the filling ingredients all over the meat of the belly and let it sit for about 10 minutes. This way the flavors are even more absorbed into the meat.
Roll the entire slab into a spiral figure and then tie with a kitchen twine, to make sure it will hold its shape.
That’s about it for the preparation. Now, the lechon pork belly is set to be roasted.
Try our recipe below and read on how to roast it perfectly in the oven! Enjoy!
Cooking Tips & Secrets To Crispy Skin
- Dry brining or curing – This method can also be used when brining the pork belly. What you need to do is pummel all the combined ingredients using a mortar and pestle and rub it all over the meat of the belly. Seal the pot or transfer the belly into a ziplock bag, and refrigerate it overnight.
- Don’t overstuff the belly and don’t tighten the kitchen twine too much.
- Remember that a dry skin results to crispy skin. Pricking the skin, refrigerating, and pat drying with paper towel are techniques that can help.
- Milk Brushing- Brushing the pork skin with milk while halfway of roasting will help achieve that crispier skin we want.
- After cooking, allow the meat to rest before cutting. This will allow the juices in the meat to redistribute.
How To Serve Lechon Pork Belly
Lechon is a festive dish, and chances are you will be eating this alongside other dishes as well. Lechon is usually served with dinuguan, but is optional. In case there are no other dishes, I suggest to pair it with freshly cooked white rice and a vegetable dish.
Serve this with a dipping sauce like spiced vinegar, lechon sauce, or all-around sarsa.
How To Store and Reheat Lechon Pork Belly
In case you have leftovers, you can either store it in a refrigerator and make it last longer for a few days or store it in a freezer, and make it last for months.
To reheat, you need to place the leftover pork belly in a 200 C (392 F) convention oven or air fryer and wait until the skin gets crispy again.
Another popular option is to create a whole new dish with the leftover meat. One popular option is the Lechon Paksiw, and another is to turn this into Pork Sisig.
Other Recipes You Can Try
For a quick reference about this recipe, see the recipe table below:
Lechon Pork Belly Recipe
Equipment
- Oven
Ingredients
- 2 kg (4.4 lbs) pork belly, bone removed
- oil, for brushing
- milk, for brushing
For the Brine
- ¾ cup salt
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tbsp whole peppercorns
- 3 pcs scallion
- 3 stalks lemongrass
- 1 tsp rosemary
- 1 tsp thyme
For the Filling
- Black pepper, whole and ground
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 6 pcs bay leaves (laurel leaves)
- 1 tbsp salt
- Dash of all-spice powder, thyme, rosemary
- 3 stalks lemongrass
Instructions
- In a large bowl or container (that fits the pork belly), add-in all the brine ingredients.
- Add-in the pork belly and brine overnight.
- Before roasting, dry the pork belly with paper towels.
- Fill the pork belly with the filling ingredients then roll and tie with kitchen twine.
- Dry again with cloth or paper towels then brush with oil.
- Cover with aluminum foil then place over a wire rack with a baking sheet beneath (to catch liquids).
- Roast for 2 hours at a 175 C (347 F) preheated oven.
- Take out the pork belly and remove the foil.
- Brush with milk and roast for another 1 ½ to 2 hours until crispy.
- Transfer to a serving board, remove kitchen twine, then cut crosswise.
- Serve with spiced vinegar, lechon sauce, or all-around sarsa. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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Enjoy po 🙂