Recipe: Reinventing Cebu's classic Lechon
MANILA, Philippines — Cebu has always been known for its exquisite lechon. No one makes lechon the way the Cebuanos do, so it always comes out perfectly golden and crispy. But since it is roasted on an open pit, it can only be done commercially.
There is, however, a version that one can prepare at home. It’s the more manageable rolled pork belly lechon stuffed with the flavors of Cebu, as created by Cebuano celebrity chef Michael Giovan Sarthou III, better known as simply Chef Myke "Tatung" Sarthou.
This Stuffed Rolled Lechon Belly was one of the recipes he featured when he did a Revisiting Pinoy Classics cooking demo for The Maya Kitchen’s Culinary Elite Series.
Stuffed Rolled Lechon Belly
INGREDIENTS:
For the lechon:
3 kgs. whole pork belly, deboned, preferably a wide slab that can be rolled
Annatto oil, for brushing
For the marinade:
2 cups pineapple juice
3 tbsps. sea salt
6 cloves garlic, crushed
For the stuffing:
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 cups onion leeks, white and green parts, sliced
PROCEDURE:
1. Marinate the pork belly in pineapple, salt and garlic for at least 3 hours or overnight. You may want to poke holes in the inside of the pork belly to allow the marinade to seep into the meat.
2. To roll the pork belly, discard the marinating liquid. Lay the pork on a board, skin-side down. Rub with salt and pepper. Then arrange the garlic and leeks on top of the pork. Neatly roll the meat along the grain of the pork until the ends meet. Tie the joint tightly with a butcher’s string at regular intervals to hold the roll together.
3. Preheat the oven to 250°C/475°F, or as high as it will go.
4. Place the rolled belly on an oiled roasting tray. Roast for 30 minutes to brown and crisp the skin. Then bring down the oven temperature to 177°C/350°F and roast for another 2 hours. Brush with annatto oil every now and then.
5. When the pork is cooked, carve it into slices. Serve with vinegar on the side.
*Serves 12.
