Crispy pork belly sandwich

Preheat oven to 200°C.

Score the skin of the pork belly in straight lines with a sharp knife. This will help slice the pork after the skin has crisped up.

Season both the skin and under side of the belly with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place on a baking tray, skin side up, and begin roasting in the oven.

Once the skin has crisped up, reduce the heat to 160°C and continue roasting for another hour and 30 minutes. Allow to rest for 20 minutes before slicing.

Heat the canola oil over a medium heat. While the belly is roasting slice thickly slice the onion rings and brown them in the hot oil until soft and translucent.

Season with salt and continue cooking until they are golden.

TIP: To keep the pretzel rolls fresh, wet wax paper and wrap the rolls in the paper, then place in a hot oven for 5 minutes. This allows the rolls to steam inside the wax paper, keeping the inside soft and the outside nice and chewy.

Slice a pretzel roll in half without separating it. Butter both sides and add a good layer of mustard or traditional German senf before adding the pork belly.

Top with the caramelized onions and finally some tangy chutney before close with the other bun half.  

Cook's note: 500g might seem like a lot for 4 sandwiches, but depending on the quality of the pork it will shrink a bit while roasting, so find a butcher that supplies good quality free-range pork or go for Woolworths' delicious pork belly.

You can also use ciabatta, rye bread or crispy rolls, and top with sauerkraut, coleslaw and/or gherkins along with your favourite BBQ sauce. Read more about this delicious sandwich in Clem's article. 

Picture credit:

Credit for this picture goes to blogger David Yates of andBerlin. The pork belly sandwich was created by Big Stuff Smoked BBQ and David sampled it at the Markthalle IX in Kreuzberg, Berlin, Germany.