Summary of "Marco Pierre White recipe for Pork belly with cider and cream sauce"

Roast pork belly with cider & cream sauce

Presenter: Marco Pierre White

Bone-in pork belly, skin scored (quantity not specified) — keep the bones in.
Tiny amount of oil (for the skin)
Cider — reduce to a syrup (use equal volume to the apple juice)
Apple juice — reduce to a syrup (use equal volume to the cider)
Double cream (amount unspecified; added after reductions)
Pork stock cube (optional; recommended to add “porkiness” to the sauce)
Calvados — a little (Marco suggests about 1 teaspoon). Substitute: a little brandy if you don’t have Calvados.
Salt and pepper, to taste

Prepare the pork belly
- Leave the bones in and use them as the roasting rack.
- Score the skin deeply enough to render fat and encourage crackling.
- Lightly oil the skin with a very small amount of oil.
Start in a cold pan
- Place the pork skin-side down in a cold pan, then bring the heat up. This helps render fat and develop crackling.
Roast
- Transfer the pork to a roasting tray and cook in a preheated oven at 160°C.
- Roast for approximately 1 to 1½ hours (timing aimed at producing good crackling).
- Remove from the oven and allow the pork to rest before carving.
Make the cider & cream sauce
- Reduce the cider in a pan to a syrup (watch closely — it can go from syrup to caramel quickly).
- Reduce the apple juice (equal quantity to the cider) to a syrup as well.
- Combine the reduced cider and apple reductions.
- Add double cream and whisk to incorporate.
- Dissolve a pork stock cube into the sauce to season and add pork flavor (optional but recommended).
- Finish with a very small amount of Calvados (about 1 teaspoon) to balance sweetness; use brandy if needed.
- Keep the sauce over gentle heat, whisk until smooth and glossy. Shake the pan and remove from the heat when ready to avoid further caramelization.

Score the skin and keep the bones on — they act as a natural rack and add flavour.
Start skin-side down in a cold pan (rather than a hot pan) to render fat properly and promote ideal crackling.
Use only a tiny amount of oil on the skin.
Roast at 160°C for the best crackling according to Marco.
Reduce the cider and apple juice to concentrated syrups (not caramel) so the cream becomes infused with their flavors.
Watch reductions carefully — they can quickly pass from syrup to caramel.
Shake the pan and pull off the heat to preserve apple/cider brightness.
A pork stock cube adds a depth of “porky” flavour that salt alone won’t provide.
Use just a touch of Calvados (or brandy) to cut the sauce’s sweetness.

Removing the bones (loses natural rack and flavour).
Failing to score the skin or starting in a hot pan — both reduce the likelihood of good crackling.
Letting the cider/apple reductions caramelize.
Overusing Calvados — add only a little to balance sweetness.