Dinner · 120 min · filipino

Twice-Cooked Lechon Kawali

Pork belly does the heavy lifting here, with bay leaves rounding it out. A Filipino dinner that takes 120 minutes, start to finish. Each serving lands at 620 calories with 36g of protein, so it eats like a much heavier meal. Leftovers keep well, so it doubles as next-day lunch without any extra work.

Ingredients

• 3 lb Pork belly
• 4 Bay leaves
• 1 tbsp Black peppercorns
• 1 head Garlic
• 2 tbsp Salt
• 6 cups Cooking oil

Steps

1. Simmer the whole pork belly slab with the bay, peppercorns, crushed garlic, and salt, 60 minutes, until a knife slides in with no resistance.
2. Chill the slab uncovered in the fridge at least 2 hours, ideally overnight — cold, dry skin is the entire secret to the crackle.
3. Score the skin in a tight crosshatch, barely breaking the surface; the cuts let the fat bubble up and crisp.
4. Heat the oil to 350°F in a deep, heavy pot — a thermometer is not optional with this much hot oil.
5. Lower the slab in skin-side down with a splatter screen ready; fry 12 to 15 minutes, until the skin blisters into golden armor.
6. Flip once and fry 5 minutes more for the meat side.
7. Drain upright on a rack 10 minutes so the skin stays shattering crisp. Chop into bite-size pieces and serve with spiced vinegar or liver sauce. Rest the oil completely before handling it.

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