Slow-cooked, Wadadli-spiced Cubano pork belly

10 hr 15 min all in — 10 min prep, 2 hr 5 min cook, 8 hr rest. That is the time on this recipe, not a guess.

The recipe is written for 4 servings. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.

A bit of work.

Mild.

The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Nut-free.

Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.

Oven, Baking tray, Blender.

The recipe lists Salt at to taste.

chilli (paprika or chilli flakes) → paprika or chilli flakes. Paprika is milder and sweeter. Add cayenne if you still want heat. lime → lemon. Works in most savoury cooking. Desserts may notice. garlic (garlic powder or a pinch of onion) → garlic powder or a pinch of onion. 1 clove ≈ ¼ tsp garlic powder. The fresh bite will be missing.

Times on this listing were inferred from the imported method, not kitchen-tested.

Blitz all the marinade ingredients in a food processor or with a hand blender. Lay the pork in a large dish, pour over the marinade, then turn the meat in the mixture, rubbing in the marinade all over and making sure every bit of the belly is coated. Cover the dish and leave overnight in the fridge. The next day, heat the oven to 140C (120C fan)/275F/gas 1. Lift the meat out of its marinade (don’t wipe off any that sticks to the joint, though; just leave most of the marinade behind in the dish) and transfer to a large roasting dish. Cover with foil, slip into the oven and roast for four and a half hours – every now and then (say, three or four times over the whole cooking period), take the dish out of the oven, lift off the foil lid and spoon the juices from the bottom of the dish over the meat. Return the foil lid, then put back in the oven.

This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.