Crispy roast with sauerkraut

Ingredients for 8 servings:

• 2 kg pork belly (wammerl)
• 2 kg white cabbage
• 1 kg mixed vegetables, e.g. onions, carrots, celery, leeks, potatoes
• 400 g salt
• 2 tbsp stock powder
• 1 shot of apple cider vinegar or herbal vinegar
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 3 tbsp spice mix for roast pork

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 45 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 5 minutes

simple and crispy

In this recipe, I explain how to guarantee a particularly crispy roast pork crust. I’ve tried many things, from sous-vide cooking, baking powder/vinegar solutions, marinating for days, etc. This one is the winner. Preparation is incredibly easy thanks to the salt crust. There’s no need to worry about it oversalting the roast. The salt crust is simply lifted off later. There’s no need to score the rind, no constant basting, etc. The roast practically cooks itself. The pork belly can be cut into pieces or prepared as a whole piece. I find smaller slices particularly appealing, which is why I cut the 2 kg piece into three strips. Season the pork belly with the pork roast seasoning on all sides, except for the rind. Then sprinkle the salt over the rind to a thickness of about 3-5 mm. Place the prepared piece of meat in a fairly small baking dish. There must also be enough room for the cabbage later. Salting the pork belly should be done outside of the casserole dish to avoid adding unnecessary salt to the sauce. It is important that the meat lies as flat as possible in the roasting pan. Wash or peel the vegetables for the sauce, depending on the variety, chop them slightly if necessary, and scatter them around the meat. Add the potatoes only halfway through cooking. Add about 2 cm of water. Place the pork belly in the oven at 160°C fan on the middle rack for 60 minutes. Quarter the cabbage head. Leave the stalk on, otherwise the cabbage will fall apart. In a pot of water, mix a stock with deli broth, vinegar, and sugar, season to taste, and simmer the cabbage in it for 45 minutes. Remove the salt crust from the meat and remove any remaining salt. I took the meat out of the roasting pan and scraped off the salt with a knife. Add the cabbage to the roasting pan and season the sauce to taste. I recommend adding a large amount of the stock to the sauce. Place the meat and cabbage in the oven on the middle rack at 230°C (fan oven) for 45 minutes. After just 20 minutes, you’ll see the entire rind begin to pop evenly. Carve the finished meat with a serrated knife or an electric slicer and serve attractively with the white cabbage.