Lechon Kawali

A slab of belly boiled, dried, fried, and only then cut.

Pork. Not vegetarian — contains pork.

Ingredients

• 1.2 kg pork belly, skin on, in one slab
• 6 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1 whole head of garlic, halved
• 30 g salt
• 1.5 litres water, for boiling
• 1.5 litres oil, for deep frying, which is poured off

Method

1. Boil the belly slab whole with the bay, peppercorns, garlic and salt for 45 MINUTES — half the time a crispy pata needs, because belly is a thinner cut without a joint in it.
2. Lift it out and dry it. Then DRY IT UNCOVERED IN THE FRIDGE FOR 12 HOURS. As with crispy pata, a damp skin will not blister, and no amount of hotter oil fixes it on the day.
3. Prick the skin all over with a fork or a skewer, which lets the fat underneath render out.
4. Heat the oil to 180C and lower the slab in skin side down. Fry 8 to 10 minutes until the skin has puffed and gone golden and crackles under a knuckle.
5. DRAIN IT AND LET IT REST 10 MINUTES, THEN CUT IT INTO CUBES. Cutting before frying opens the meat and it dries to strings in the oil; cutting straight out of the pan loses all the juice onto the board.
6. Cut with a heavy knife through the skin in one stroke so the crackling does not shatter.
7. Serve with a vinegar dip, or with lechon sauce. Pour the oil off once cooled.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Philippines · All recipes