braised smoked belly of Dingley Dell pork

Steam the pork belly for 12 hours, either in a steamer, slow cooker, or in an oven on a low temperature – just cover the pork with stock. 

Once the pork belly is cooked, it should be very soft, place it on a flat tray between two sheets of parchment paper. Lay another tray on top of the pork and place something fairly heavy, but not enough to crush it, on top of the tray to press the pork. This gives it a uniform shape and also squeezes out any excess fat. Ideally, leave it pressing in the fridge overnight.

To prepare the dauphinoise potatoes, peel and slice the Maris Pipers thinly, ideally on a mandolin, and place them in a bowl. Heat the cream in a saucepan and when it is warm, add a knob of butter, season with salt and pepper, and combine the mix with the potatoes. 

Once this is nicely mixed, line a deep tray with baking parchment and place the potatoes into the tray layer by layer, using up all the cream mixture. Cover with foil and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until you can stab a knife through the potatoes. You can also add cheese or sliced onion to add more flavour. 

This dauphinoise should make roughly four-to-six portions, depending on how large the tray is. You can allow this to go cold in the fridge and then portion it or have it cooking in the oven with the pork if you are going to eat it straight away.

For the black pudding croquette, simply roll the black pudding into 35g balls. Have three separate bowls – one with the flour in, one with the breadcrumbs, and the final one with the egg and milk mixed in. Coat the balls in flour first, then the egg/milk mixture, and finally the breadcrumbs. Set aside until they are ready to be deep fried.

For the burnt apple purée, you can use pretty much any apple. I tend to use a cooking apple and add a touch of caster sugar to balance out the sour notes, but a Granny Smith would equally work well. Quarter and deseed the apple and then place in the oven until almost burnt. It is really up to you how light or dark you prefer the purée to be but allowing it to go darker gives it a great flavour on the finished dish. When you are happy with the apple, blend until you have a smooth purée.

To make the crackling, salt the pork belly skin and place in between two sheets of parchment paper on a tray with another tray on top. Bake in the oven until the skin is golden and crispy. Once cooled, crack into bitesize pieces.

To prepare the broccoli, just trim off a small bit of the base of the tenderstem and it is ready. 

To prepare a simple white truffle jus, sauté the onion, add the calvados and reduce by half. Add the double cream and reduce by half again.
Finally, add the white truffle oil and take off heat.

Now, time to bring it altogether! First, warm a pan with 20ml of vegetable oil on an oven-safe tray. Sprinkle some salt over the now pressed pork belly and place skin side down in the oven for around 15-20 minutes. If you are using the chilled dauphinoise, place it on a tray and reheat in the oven at the same time as the pork as it will take roughly the same time to cook. 

To cook the black pudding croquette, have a pan of oil deep enough to deep fry the croquettes on a medium heat, ideally at 180˚C if you have a probe. 

Start to cook the broccoli roughly five minutes before the pork belly is ready. Boil in water until just done and drain. 

And now, to assemble! Once all the elements are ready place on a plate, add on the apple puree, the crackling, and a jug of the warmed jus.