Twice-cooked pork belly recipe

Level of difficulty: confident cook Chilling time: overnight Combine the brine ingredients in a large stock pot and bring to a boil. Once boiled, take the brine off the stove and let it cool to room temperature before cooling in the fridge for 3 hours, allowing the flavours to infuse.

Place the brine and pork belly in a vacuum pack bag and seal the bag in a vacuum pack machine. Place the bag in a steam oven at 75°C for 12 hours. Alternatively, place the pork in a deep casserole dish, covered and submerged in the brine, at 180°C for 3 hours.

Remove the pork belly from the bag or casserole dish and place a heavy weight on top of the pork belly to press it down and alleviate excess fat. Leave in the fridge overnight with the weight on top.

Heat some olive oil in a large saucepan over a high heat. Add the pork belly, fat side down and cook until golden. Taste for seasoning.

Suggested accompaniments include: veal jus, compressed honeydew, pickled Japanese eggplant, squid ink dukkah, yoghurt foam, shiso cress or micro greens.