crispy roasted pork belly with cider & fennel

• slice and dice 1 fennel bulb (1 cup), 1 onion (1 cup) and crush 2 garlic cloves
• preheat oven to 180°C

note : if your pork is half-salted, let it sit in water (add 1 tbsp of white vinegar per liter of water) for 2 hours before preparing, then rinse and pat dry

• prepare the pork belly by scoring the skin diagonally at 2 cm intervals and 5 mm deep and add salt & pepper and rub well into the top layer of skin
• place the sliced fennel, onion, garlic, bay leaves, and half the spices (slighly crush them) into a roasting pan on the stovetop with 2 tbsp olive oil and cook for 5 minutes, at medium-high heat, until aromatic
• push cooked vegetables to the side, add the pork in the middle, skin side down and cook for 5  minutes until the skins turns golden brown, then turn the pork belly over, skin side up and sprinkle with the remaining spices, working them well into the skin and diagonal cuts and cook for another 3-5 minutes total, searing each side (bottom, 2 longer sides and 2 shorter sides) for 30 seconds - 1 minute each
• add the cider to deglaze the pan, scrape the bottom (avoid wetting the top crispier  skin),  bring to the boil, then pour in the stock (I used pork stock that I had frozen from a previous recipe) until right beneath the top layer of skin and fat (add extra stock if necessary) and bring to a boil again  on the stovetop
• transfer the roasting dish to the preheated oven and cook for a total of 1 hour 45 minutes - 2 hours

note : you will add more vegetables after 1 hour of oven-baking

• prepare your fennel bulbs by slicing off the tops and bottoms and slightly core (if tough) and then slice in half
• in another roasting dish or frying pan, add 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 crushed clove of garlic, salt & pepper and braise the halved fennel bulbs, at medium-high heat, cut-side down for 2 minutes until slightly browned and then turn over and cook for an additional 2 minutes
• after the pork has cooked for 1 hour, place the fennel bulbs on each side of the pork belly, cut-side up, in the same roasting pan, and bake for 1 more hour

note : if there is too much liquid when you add the fennel bulbs, remove some

• after almost 2 hours of total baking time, transfer the meat and large vegetables to a dish and keep warm in the oven (that has been turned off)

note : after 2 hours of baking, the weight of the pork belly will be reduced by 40% so 750 grams of initial weight will equal to 450 grams after baking or 1 kg of initial weight will equal to 600 grams after baking.

• skim off the fat, strain the roasting juices and discard the solids, mix in 1-2 tbsp of grainy mustard and bring to a boil and simmer and reduce to almost half for 10 minutes
• when ready to eat, slice the pork belly into 2 cm slices, serve with the fennel bulb halves and the reduced roasting juices & mustard sauce.