Stuffed pork belly

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 1 ½ kg pork belly
• 500 g minced pork
• 1 red bell pepper(s), finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 large onion(s), finely chopped
• 3 tbsp mustard
• 1 chili pepper(s)
• 2 small eggs
• 2 tsp sweet paprika powder (if possible “Pimenton de la Vera”)
• 2 tbsp breadcrumbs
• 100 g cheese, grated
• some thyme stalks
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 bottle of beer, dark
• salt and pepper
• n. B. Oil
• 2 cups water
• possibly soup vegetables, chopped

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 2 hours 10 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 30 minutes

First, cut a diamond-shaped cut into the pork belly rind, then create a large pocket roughly in the middle of the meat (or have your butcher do both). Sauté the finely chopped bell pepper, onion, garlic, and chili pepper in a pan with a little oil. Mix the minced meat with the spices (without the bay leaf and only half the mustard), the eggs, breadcrumbs, cheese, and the sautéed vegetable mixture well, and season to taste. Stuff this mixture into the pork belly pocket. Slightly close the pocket with 2-3 large stitches of kitchen string. Rub the belly with the remaining mustard, salt, and pepper, and stud the rind side with the bay leaves. Pour 2 cups of water into a roasting pan and place the belly, rind-side down, in an oven preheated to 170°C (350°F). After about 40 minutes, turn it over, add a little beer and continue cooking for about 90 minutes at 150°C. Add a little more beer if necessary. The rind should be nice and brown and crispy. If it browns too early, cover it with aluminum foil so it doesn’t have any blisters when it’s done. Place the roasting pan on the top rack and switch on the grill (top heat only). If you like, add some soup vegetables to the roasting pan; this makes a wonderful aromatic sauce afterwards. To get an evenly crispy rind, the roast should be the same distance from the top heat all around. You can achieve this easily with crumpled aluminum foil. It also tastes great cold, thinly sliced.