My crispy pork belly with Calvados apples, seeded mustard mash, and apple cider gravy. Overnight dry-brined, slow-roasted, then finished in rendered pork fat for proper puffed crackling.
Crispy Pork Belly, Apples and Mustard Mash
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Category
Lunch
Servings
6
Prep time
40 minutes
Cook time
3 hours
Crispy pork belly with mustard mash, Calvados apples, and apple cider gravy. This is a slightly elevated pork dish you can make for date night or a special dinner. It's built around the flavours and texture of the pork, adding element to the dish that work really well with it.
The pork is cooked using three techniques: an overnight dry-brine to draw moisture from the pork skin, a long slow roast at 140°C to render the fat and cook the belly through, and a final skin-side-down finish in the rendered pork fat to puff and crisp the crackling. A dry skin going into that final step is the foundation of good crackling, any remaining moisture turns to steam and prevents the skin from blistering. The 3½-hour roast does most of the work with almost no attention required.
The accompaniments each provide a specific counterpoint to the richness of the pork. The seeded mustard mash adds spice and body. The Calvados apples bring sweetness and a flambéed brandy note. The apple cider gravy extends the pork-apple combination into the sauce. The fennel and apple salad, dressed simply with lemon and oil, provides freshness and crunch. Each element is made separately and can be timed around the pork roast, which is the longest and most hands-off component.
Ingredient Notes
Pork belly: Ask your butcher for a centre-cut piece with even thickness so the belly cooks consistently across its length, and ask for it unscored so you can score it yourself at home in controlled 5mm lines. A 1.25kg piece serves 6 when sliced into portions after cooking. Consistent thickness matters: a piece that tapers at one end will have overcooked meat at the thin end before the thick end is done. Look for a good fat cap and a firm, even layer of skin.
Calvados: Calvados is an apple brandy from the Normandy region of France, made by distilling fermented apple cider. It has a warm, fruity character with a clear apple note and a brandy backbone, and it pairs well with both the pork and the apple elements in this dish. It’s available at good bottle shops and specialty liquor retailers. Regular brandy is a straight substitute: the flambé effect is identical and the flavour is very similar, though slightly less apple-forward.
Seeded mustard: Seeded (or wholegrain) mustard gives the mash both flavour and texture: the whole seeds remain mostly intact after stirring through and provide intermittent pops of heat through the potato. It has less heat than Dijon but more complexity than standard yellow mustard. Two tablespoons into 1kg of potato is enough to be clearly present without dominating. Adjust up or down to your preference before the final seasoning.
Equipment
- Chopping board
- Chef’s knife
- Wire rack and roasting tray
- Small bowl (for sage rub)
- Large saucepan (for potatoes)
- Potato ricer or masher
- Medium saucepan (for gravy)
- Fine sieve
- Blender with coffee filter or muslin cloth (for parsley oil)
- Large frying pan (for apples and crackling finish)
Ingredients
Pork belly and salad
- 1.25kg pork belly
- sea salt, to season
- 1 tbsp finely chopped sage leaves
- freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 fennel bulb, finely shaved
- 1 green apple, peeled, julienned
- ½ cup flat leaf parsley leaves
- juice of 2 lemons
Mustard mash
- 1kg brushed potatoes, peeled and halved (or any mashing potatoes)
- 85g butter, diced and chilled
- 80-125ml (⅓ - ½ cup) milk
- 2 tbsp seeded mustard
Apple cider gravy
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 shallots, finely sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 7 sprigs thyme
- 375ml dry apple cider
- 300ml chicken stock
Parsley oil
- 1 bunch flat leaf parsley, leaves picked
- 160ml (⅔ cup) extra virgin olive oil
Calvados apples
- 3 green apples, peeled and cored
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 20g butter
- 3 sprigs sage
- 2 tbsp Calvados
Directions
Prep the pork
Place the pork on a wire rack over a tray. Score the skin on top in 5mm thick lines.
- Season the skin generously with salt, then place in the fridge, uncovered, overnight to dry out.
- The next day, remove the pork from the fridge and brush off the excess salt and pat dry really well with a paper towel.
- Slice the pork into 6 equal portions.
Cook the pork
Preheat the oven to 140°C fan forced (285°F).
- Combine the sage, pepper, some salt and 1 tbsp of the oil in a small bowl.
- Rub all over the underside of the pork, then place the pork portions skin side up back on the rack.
Place the pork in the oven and roast for 3½ hours. While the pork is cooking, prep the potatoes, gravy, parsley oil and apples.
Prep the mashed potatoes
Place the potatoes in a large saucepan of salted water over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook for 35 minutes, or until fork tender.
- Drain well, then place the colander over the hot saucepan to steam for a few minutes.
- Push the potatoes through a ricer into a large bowl, or use a masher. Stir in the butter and enough of the milk until you reach a smooth consistency that you want.
- Fold through the mustard and season to taste with salt, then cover to keep warm.
Make the gravy
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook the shallots for 2-3 minutes until translucent.
- Add the garlic and thyme, continue to cook for a further 2 minutes. Pour in the cider and cook until reduced by two thirds.
- Add the stock and cook until the sauce has reduced by half. Pass through a fine sieve into a small saucepan and keep warm over low heat.
Make the parsley oil
Blanch the parsley leaves in a saucepan of boiling water for 30 seconds, then plunge into a bowl of iced water.
- Drain well then transfer to a blender with the oil and process until smooth. Pass through a coffee filter or some muslin into a jug and set aside.
Cook the apples
Slice the apples into 2.5cm thick rounds. Heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan on medium heat.
- Add the sage and apples and saute the apples for 3-4 minutes on each side. Pour in the Calvados and flambé until the apples are almost cooked through then set aside.
Finish and serve
Remove the pork from the oven and allow it to rest for at least 15 minutes.
- Combine the fennel, julienned apple and parsley leaves to a medium bowl. Put the lemon juice, remaining oil and a pinch of salt in a screw top jar and shake vigorously until emulsified.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well.
- Drain the pork fat from the tray into a large frying pan and place over medium heat. Add the pork to the pan, skin side down, and cook until the skin is puffed and crunchy.
- Place a mound of mash potato on serving plates, then add the pork on the side with the apples and some fennel salad. Drizzle with the cider gravy and a small drizzle of the parsley oil.
Recipe notes
Origins
Pork and apples are a classic flavour combination, so this dish builds on that to make a restaurant quality meal.
Cook support
To flambé the apples, gently tilt the pan just enough to allow the flame to reach the alcohol and it will ignite. The apples will continue to cook once taken off the heat from the residual heat, hence we take them off undercooked.
Sourcing
Ask your butcher for a centre piece of belly with an even thickness, which will help with even cooking throughout and ask for it unscored.
Substitutions
If you can’t source Calvados then it can be substituted with regular brandy.
Storage
This is best eaten straight after cooking while the skin is crispy, as it will lose it’s crunch if refrigerated and reheated. The mashed potato and gravy can be made ahead of time and reheated very slowly on the stove, covered. If needed, the pork will keep for up to 3 – 5 days refrigerated and to reheat, it is best to separate the crackling. Reheat meat in the microwave, and crackling in a hot oven to retain crispiness.
