Recipe: Knuspriger Schweinebauch (Crispy Pork Belly)

With Oktoberfest celebrations not letting up anytime soon at either Munich Brauhaus or the many Bavarian Bier Cafes that dot Australia’s east coast it’s kind of called for that we tap into the German powerhouses for a traditional recipe, right? Around 2.5 tonnes of pork belly will be roasted and served with traditional crackling skin across these venues during the six weeks of their Oktoberfest celebrations, which run up to Sunday 30th October. So it makes sense that we grab their recipe for Knuspriger Schweinebauch, or crispy pork belly. The only downside of cooking one of these bad boys at home is that you probably won’t get to wash it down with the suggested pairing of Paulaner Original Munich Lager – that’s reserved for actually heading along to one of these stalwart bier houses.

Knuspriger Schweinebauch

Serves: 4
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 1.5 hours

Ingredients

  • 800g pork belly, skin on (meat-to-fat ratio 50:50)
  • 5 cloves
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 2tbsp honey
  • 500ml lager (recommended: Paulaner Original Munich Lager)
  • 2tbsp soy sauce
  • 1tsp fresh thyme, chopped
  • 1tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
  • 1tsp yellow mustard
  • Salt and pepper (to season)

Method

Pork Belly

1. Wash the pork belly under cold, running water.
2. Place in a pot with cold water and bring to the boil.
3. In the meantime peel onion, cut in half and stud with the bay leaves and cloves.
4. Once the water boils, skim off any foam and add prepared onion.
5. Simmer pork belly for 40 minutes.
6. While the pork belly is simmering, mix 250ml lager, soy sauce, honey, thyme and rosemary in a small pot and bring to the boil. Set aside.
7. Preheat oven to 220°C.
8. Take pork belly off the water, leave it to cool a little, then slash skin in a criss-cross pattern.
9. Place pork belly on an oven tray, skin-side up, and brush with beer mixture.
10. Roast pork belly for approximately 30-40 minutes, constantly basting with juices in tray.
11. Remove from oven and leave to rest for 5 minutes.

Jus

1. Pour remaining 250ml of lager into roasting pan and dissolve, or rub off, the crust that has formed on the bottom.
2. Strain liquid into a small pot, bring to boil and thicken lightly with mustard.
3. Season with salt and pepper, if necessary.

Serve

1. Cut pork belly into slices and serve with bier jus, braised red cabbage, sautéed or roasted potatoes, and an ice-cold glass of Paulaner Original Munich Lager!

Note: Enjoy the chilled leftover pork belly, thinly sliced with rye bread, horseradish and a German mild mustard.

Click through for a full list of what’s on at Munich Brauhaus (Sydney, Melbourne) and Bavarian Bier Café (Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast) during Oktoberfest.

Image and recipe supplied.

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Chris Singh

Chris Singh is an Editor-At-Large at the AU review, loves writing about travel and hospitality, and is partial to a perfectly textured octopus. You can reach him on Instagram: @chrisdsingh.