Pork Belly, Black Pudding & Quince

1. 01

   Score and season the belly

   Pat the pork skin dry with paper towels — this is crucial. Using a sharp knife, score the skin in a tight crosshatch, going through the skin but not into the meat. Rub the whole thing with sea salt (focus on the skin), cracked pepper, and a pinch of thyme leaves. Let it sit uncovered on a board for 20 minutes while you prep everything else.

   ~20 min
2. 02

   Braise the belly low and slow

   Heat your oven to 150°C. Place the pork skin-side up in a heavy-bottomed roasting pan or Dutch oven. Pour the stock around (not over) the meat, tuck in 2–3 thyme sprigs, and cover tightly with foil or a lid. Roast for 2.5 to 3 hours, until the meat is tender enough to push a fork through with almost no resistance. The skin won't crisp yet — that's fine.

   ~150 min
3. 03

   Prep the quince and hash components

   While the belly cooks, peel and core the quinces, then cut into 2cm chunks. Toss them with a pinch of salt, sugar if you like, and a splash of cider vinegar in a small pot. Cook over medium heat until they soften and begin to collapse — about 30 minutes. They'll turn from pale gold to deep russet. Dice the potatoes into 1cm cubes. Slice the shallots thin. Dice the black pudding into rough 1cm chunks.

   ~35 min
4. 04

   Crisp the pork skin

   In the last 20 minutes of the belly's cooking time, remove the foil. Crank the oven to 220°C and let the skin crackle and blister — it should sound like popcorn. Keep an eye on it; you want golden-brown crackling, not burnt. If the meat looks like it's drying, splash a bit more stock around the sides.

   ~20 min
5. 05

   Make the hash crispy and golden

   While the skin crisps, heat a large cast-iron skillet or heavy frying pan over medium-high heat with about 2 tablespoons of the pork fat (or good lard). Add the diced potatoes and shallots, season well, and fry without stirring for 4–5 minutes until they pick up colour on one side. Then toss and fry for another 5 minutes until edges are crispy and insides tender. Add the black pudding chunks in the last 2 minutes, just to warm through and let them break down a touch. Finish with a squeeze of cider vinegar.

   ~12 min
6. 06

   Slice and plate

   Pull the pork from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes. Slice against the grain into 2cm steaks — you should hear that crackling knife-against-skin snap. Spoon a generous nest of black pudding hash onto each warm plate, rest a slice of pork on top with skin facing up, and crown it with a spoonful of the collapsed quince. Finish with a twist of pepper and a pinch of fleur de sel.

   ~5 min

First bite: that snap of crackling, then the yield of the belly — rich, almost melting fat and tender meat. Immediately the black pudding and potato ground you in earthiness, and the quince cuts in like a bell: sweet-sour, almost floral, catching the fat and stopping your palate from overload. You keep eating because nothing cloys.

• ·Score the pork skin thin but don't cut into meat — shallow and tight, about 3–4mm apart
• ·Use a meat thermometer if you're nervous: 70°C in the thickest part is your done signal
• ·Make the quince paste a day ahead; it keeps brilliantly and flavours deepen overnight
• ·Black pudding is a binder in the hash — it breaks down and holds everything together; don't oversit it