Mark Aisthorpe's braised pork belly and apple sauce recipe
Pork and apple are a classic flavour combination, and with good reason. Here, the sweet-yet-tart apple sauce balances out the savoury, fatty notes of the pork belly, while a mustard-flavoured mash and sweet, buttery glazed carrots complete the dish.
The pork belly may take a while to roast but, for the most part, this is a hands-off recipe. Make it as an alternative Sunday lunch or as a midweek treat. Either way, the leftovers will be delicious in a sandwich or shredded and thrown into a stir-fry.
It's one of several dishes created by chef Mark Aisthorpe, who competed in the 2022 series of Great British Menu, in partnership with JAZZ apples. For the campaign, Mark wanted to create a series of creative and affordable recipes that highlight the many culinary uses of apples in order to reduce food waste. "We all need to make sure we utilise apples to their maximum, especially during the British season,” he says.
Ingredients
- 1.2 kg pork belly
- 570 ml apple cider
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
- 4 sprigs of thyme
- 4 sage leaves, picked
- 1 large carrot
- 1 apple (We like Jazz apples for this recipe)
- 1 splash of olive oil
- 1 tbsp sea salt
- 2.6 lbs pork belly
- 20.1 fl oz apple cider
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
- 4 sprigs of thyme
- 4 sage leaves, picked
- 1 large carrot
- 1 apple (We like Jazz apples for this recipe)
- 1 splash of olive oil
- 1 tbsp sea salt
- 2.6 lbs pork belly
- 2.4 cups apple cider
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
- 4 sprigs of thyme
- 4 sage leaves, picked
- 1 large carrot
- 1 apple (We like Jazz apples for this recipe)
- 1 splash of olive oil
- 1 tbsp sea salt
- 1 pork belly cooking liquid
- 200 ml double cream
- 2 apples (We like Jazz apples for this recipe)
- 1 pork belly cooking liquid
- 7 fl oz double cream
- 2 apples (We like Jazz apples for this recipe)
- 1 pork belly cooking liquid
- 0.8 cup heavy cream
- 2 apples (We like Jazz apples for this recipe)
- 500 g carrots
- 150 g butter
- 75 g sugar
- 4 star anise
- 500 ml water
- 17.6 oz carrots
- 5.3 oz butter
- 2.6 oz sugar
- 4 star anise
- 17.6 fl oz water
- 17.6 oz carrots
- 5.3 oz butter
- 2.6 oz sugar
- 4 star anise
- 2.1 cups water
- 1 kg Yukon Gold potatoes
- 50 g butter
- 20 ml milk
- 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
- 1 tbsp salt, to taste
- 2.2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes
- 1.8 oz butter
- 0.7 fl oz milk
- 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
- 1 tbsp salt, to taste
- 2.2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes
- 1.8 oz butter
- 0.1 cup milk
- 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
- 1 tbsp salt, to taste
Details
- Cuisine: British
- Recipe Type: Pork
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 30 mins
- Cooking Time: 300 mins
- Serves: 4
Step-by-step
For the pork belly
- Pre heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/gas mark 6.
- Roughly chop vegetables and place them in a deep baking tray and drizzle with a little oil. Roast the vegetables until golden. Give it a shake every 10 minutes.
- While the vegetables are roasting, allow the pork to come up to room temperature. Then score the fat with a sharp knife in a criss-cross pattern every 2 cm (0.8 in). Pat dry and season heavily with sea salt.
- Once the vegetables are nicely browned, place the pork on top and pour in the cider until the liquid is just under the rind.
- Roast for 45 minutes, then turn the oven down to 170°C/150°C fan/325°F/gas mark 3 and roast for 4 hours, until you have nice crackling on top and the pork is beautifully soft and succulent.
For the apple sauce
- Strain the liquid from the pork belly and place in a pan. Cook at high heat until the liquid has been reduced by three quarters.
- Chop the apples into 1 cm (0.4 in) square pieces and place in with the liquid, add the cream and boil down again until it has a thick, coating consistency. Season to taste.
For the glazed carrots
- Peel the carrots and remove the tops, shape them until nice and round.
- Place all the listed ingredients in a pan and bring to a simmer until the carrots are soft enough but still have some texture, approximately 10-15 minutes depending on the size of your carrots
- Remove from the liquid and then brush with the buttery glaze. Roast for 5-10 minutes to colour them up.
For the mustard mash
- Peel the potatoes and cut into 2 cm (0.8 in) square cubes. Place in a pan and rinse with cold water for 5 minutes until the water runs clear.
- Add a good pinch of salt and boil for 20-25 minutes.
- Mash until smooth and transfer to a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Add the milk and butter and whip for 5 minutes on full until smooth, light and airy, add the wholegrain mustard and mix through.
To Serve
- Cut the pork into 4 pieces, place in a bowl and serve with wholegrain mustard mash, greens and glazed carrots. Pour over the apple sauce to serve.
Recipe courtesy of JAZZ Apples, in collaboration with Mark Aisthorpe.
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