Pork belly

By Spencer Watts and Robert Jewell

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4H 20 Mins

Ingredients

2 kilograms pork belly, skin-on
1/4 cup (60 milliliters) canola oil
1/4 cup (60 milliliters) kosher salt
1/4 cup (60 milliliters) brown sugar / plus ½ cup (120 ml) brown sugar for sauce
1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) cinnamon
1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) cumin
2 tablespoons (30 milliliters) paprika
2 tablespoons (30 milliliters) smoked paprika
1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) garlic powder
2 cups (480 milliliters) dark rum
2 cups (480 milliliters) coke
1/2 cup (120 milliliters) molasses
1/2 cup (120 milliliters) maple syrup
1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) black peppercorns
3 bay leaves
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped.

Rub the pork belly skin with canola, and season with salt. Set aside.
In a large dish, mix paprika, smoked paprika, garlic powder, brown sugar, cumin and cinnamon.
Rub the sides and bottom of the pork belly with the spice rub.
Refrigerate marinated pork belly until ready to use.
Preheat oven to 300F (150C).
In a deep baking dish place onions, carrots, celery and garlic.
Meanwhile, in a medium-sized pot, heat rum over high heat.
Boil for eight to ten minutes to reduce and burn off the alcohol.
Add coke, molasses, maple syrup, brown sugar, peppercorns and bay leaves.
Bring to a boil once again, and cook for eight to ten minutes to reduce and dissolve all sugars.
Pour sauce over vegetables in the bottom of the deep baking dish.
Place grill rack over top the sauce, and add pork belly pieces skin side up.
Bake in the oven for four hours, or until meat is tender and skin is bubbly and crispy.
Remove from the oven.
Strain sauce, discarding all vegetables and aromatics.
Slice pork as desired, and serve sauce on side.