Ingredients

• 2.5-3kg pork belly

• 1-2 onions

• 400g prunes

• 100g coarse sea salt

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BBQ RUB:

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• 4 tsp granulated sugar

• 2 tsp paprika

• 2 tsp dried oregano

• 1 tsp celery salt

• Salt

• Pepper

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Method

In the kitchen:

Grind all the ingredients for the rub together using a mortar and pestle until fine.
Score the fat of the pork belly with a sharp knife in a diamond pattern, keeping the cuts quite close together. Peel the onions and dice. Sauté the onion in a pan. Cut the prunes  into 1x1 cm cubes.
Place the pork belly, skin side down, on a cutting board and evenly distribute  the rub onto the meat, leaving the skin free from the rub. Then add the sautéed  onions and prunes  on top of the meat. Roll the belly up and tie it with butcher’s string. Rub the skin with coarse sea salt. Place the pork belly on the spike of the rotisserie and fasten with the forks.

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Equipment:

Rotisserie

At the barbecue:

Prepare the barbecue for indirect heat – approx. 180 °C. Place the spike in the rotisserie  and put a drip pan with water under the pork belly. The fat can drip into this, avoiding flame ups. Put the lid on the barbecue. Roast the pork belly for 1½ hours – until the core temperature has reached 67-70 °C. Let it rest 10-12 minutes uncovered before serving.

Ingredients

• 1-1.5kg pork belly ribs, cut through

• 15ml olive oil

• Salt and black pepper

• 5 large potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters – lengthwise

• 4 Tbs honey

• Handful fresh parsley

• Handful fresh basil

• Handful fresh dill

• Handful fresh mint

• Juice from one lemon

• 1 cup olive oil

• 1 Tsp crushed garlic

Method

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Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Score the skin of the belly and rub the ribs with olive oil and seasoning. Place in a large oven safe roasting tray, cover and roast for 3 hours at 150 degrees Celsius.
Parboil the potatoes for 6 minutes and drain. Set aside. For the green sauce; place the chopped herbs with lemon juice, olive oil and garlic in a pestle and mortar and grind it up until combined. Set aside. After roasting time, remove the lid and leave the pork to crisp up, about 15 minutes – you can set the oven to 180 degrees Celsius for this. Be sure to check it regularly. Remove the meat form the roasting dish, add the potatoes – to roast in the pork fat - and roast for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, turn the potatoes over and add the honey – be sure to cover the potatoes. Roast for another 15 minutes until sweet and sticky. Serve crispy pork belly ribs with green sauce and potatoes.

Ingredients

• Sunflower oil, for frying

• 4 pork steaks or schnitzels

• Seasoning for meat

• 6 piquanté peppers, sliced

• 8 pitted olives, sliced

• 2 spring onions, sliced

• 250ml grated mozzarella or Cheddar

• Baked potatoes or potato wedges and salad or seasonal vegetables, to serve

Method

Heat a layer of oil in the frying pan or use a griddle pan. Rub the meat with a little oil and then sprinkle with meat seasoning on both sides. Fry or cook the meat on a griddle pan until almost cooked.
Remove from the pan and place on a baking tray. Top with the piquanté peppers, olives, spring onions and cheese. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook under the grill until the cheese bubbles. Serve hot with baked potatoes or potato wedges, and salad or seasonal vegetables.

Ingredients

• 500g pork steaks

• 2 cup grated parmesan

• 2 cup desiccated coconut

• 1 handful chopped parsley

• Salt and black pepper to season

• 2 eggs, whisked

• Olive oil for shallow frying

• 2 Tbs butter

• 150g button mushrooms, chopped

• 4 Tbs balsamic vinegar

• 2 Tbs concentrated vegetable stock

• Salt and pepper to season

• Roasted tomatoes to serve

• Cauliflower mash to serve

• Fresh parsley to serve  

Instructions

First off, place each pork steak in a plastic bag and flatten it gently by using a mallet or just use the back of a coffee mug. Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan. Then combine the grated Parmesan, coconut, parsley and seasoning in a mixing bowl. First off, place the flattened steaks in whisked egg, then in the crumbs – be sure it covers the meat. Shallow fry in hot oil for about 8 – 10 minutes each side, until done. For the mushroom gravy, heat the butter in a saucepan and add the chopped mushrooms. Sauté for a few minutes then add the balsamic vinegar and vegetable stock. Allow to reduce. Season and serve with pork schnitzels, roasted tomatoes and cauliflower mash. Garnish with parsley. Serves two with leftovers.

Ingredients

• 2kg pork ribs, cut in half lengthways

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MARINADE:

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• 1 cup tomato sauce

• 2 Tsp chilli flakes

• 2 Tsp tamarind paste

• 50g golden brown sugar

• 2 Tbs brown vinegar

• 1/4 cup wholegrain mustard

• Sea salt and ground black pepper

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Method

Place the ribs in a large dish. Mix together the marinade ingredients and pour over the ribs. Allow to stand for 20 minutes. Braai ribs until cooked through. Serve with fresh coriander and braaied mielies seasoned with chilli salt.

Ingredients

• 500g brown bread dough

• 5ml fresh oregano

• 10ml olive oil

• 6 portabellini mushrooms

• 12 baby button mushrooms

• 200g roasted pork fillet - pulled apart

• 125ml fresh beetroot - sliced into julienne sticks

• 2 rounds of feta cheese - crumbled

• 1 large handful salad greens such as, rocket, watercress and micro herbs

Method

Preheat oven to 200°C. Roll the dough out on a floured surface, until thin, Spread the chilli sauce over the dough and sprinkle with fresh oregano. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and toss the mushrooms in the pan until the sides are just sealed. Arrange the mushrooms, pork, beetroot and feta cheese onto the pizza. Bake in an oven preheated for 12 – 15 minutes or until the pizza is cooked through and golden.

Cook tip:

To make brown bread pizza dough, Add 10ml yeast and 12ml sugar to 750ml lukewarm water, allow to stand for a couple minutes.  Stir in 25ml olive oil and 12ml vinegar.  Then add, 240g brown bread flour 500g whole wheat flour and 10ml salt.  Mix into a soft dough, allow to rise in a warm place unto double in size and then knock down and roll out.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup breadcrumbs

• 1/2 Tsp garlic flakes

• Salt and cracked black pepper to season

• 2 Tsp mild English mustard

• 4 pork chops

• 1kg potatoes, peeled and roughly cubed

• 3 green apples, peeled, cored and roughly cubed

• A few sage leaves, roughly chopped

• Good knob of butter

• Salt and cracked black pepper to season

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Method

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Preheat oven to 220 degrees C. Place the breadcrumbs, garlic, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
Mix to combine and set aside. Rub the mustard over the pork chops and roll in the breadcrumb mixture. Place on a lined oven tray and roast for 10 minutes. Turn the chops over and roast for another 7 – 10 minutes until golden and cooked through. While the pork is roasting, make the mash by placing the potatoes and apples in a large pot with salted cold water. Bring to the boil and then simmer until the potatoes are soft (about 10 – 15 minutes). Drain, return to the pot and mash with the butter. Season to taste and stir in the chopped sage. Serve immediately with the pork chops.

Ingredients

• 2 cup fresh white breadcrumbs

• 20g fresh sage, roughly chopped

• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated

• Sea salt and pepper

• 70g flour

• 2 eggs, beaten

• 4 pork schnitzels

• Oil for frying

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OLIVE BUTTER:

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• 150g butter, softened

• 30g pitted black olives, finely chopped

• Juice of half a lemon

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TO SERVE:

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• Green beans, blanched

• Vine tomatoes, roasted

• Lemon wedges 

Method

In a bowl mix together the breadcrumbs, sage and Parmesan. Season well. Place the flour and eggs into two separate bowls, dip the schnitzels into the flour, then the egg, and finally, the breadcrumb mixture. Place on a lined tray and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Heat oil in pan, pan-fry schnitzels until golden on both sides and cooked through. Remove, drain on paper towel.

For the olive butter:

Mix together the butter, olives and lemon. Shape into a sausage, wrap in Clingfilm and refrigerate until firm. Serve schnitzels accompanied by green beans, roasted vine tomatoes and lemon wedges, and topped with a slice of olive butter.

Ingredients

• 2.5kg pork belly

• Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 1 Tbs fennel seeds

• 2 onions, roughly chopped

• 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

• 1 0stick celery, roughly chopped

• 1 leek, roughly chopped

• 4 cloves garlic, skin on, bruised

• 5g fresh thyme

• 2 Tbs flour

• 375ml dry white wine, verjuice or chicken stock

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Method

Preheat your oven to the highest setting (230°/240°C) Place pork belly onto a clean chopping board and using a sharp knife score skin in strips about 1 cm apart. Place pork, belly side up, in a roasting tray and pat skin dry using some kitchen paper towel. Season the meat as well as the skin liberally with salt and pepper, and insert fennel seeds right into all the scores. Roast in oven for about 25-30 minutes or until the skin has turned to crackling. (Should be golden brown and crisp). Reduce heat to 160°C and continue to roast pork for 1 hour. Remove from oven and place all vegetables (onions, carrots, celery, leeks, garlic and thyme) under the pork. Roast for a further hour or until meat is soft and pulls apart easily. Remove from oven and transfer pork to a board, allowing it to rest for at least 15 minutes before carving. Spoon away any fat from roasting tray and place directly onto the stove top. Add flour and stir, scraping up all the sediment from bottom of tray, until a thick mushy paste is formed from all the vegetables. Stir over moderate heat for 2 minutes to cook out the raw flour. Add wine and bring to the simmer, stirring until a gravy is formed. Season with salt and pepper. Serve pork with garlic creamed mashed potato and roasted root vegetables.

Ingredients

• 4 pork bangers, pan fried

• 3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

• Water to cook the potatoes

• 2 Tbs butter for the sweet potato mash

• Salt and pepper to season

• 2 Tbs butter, to fry the onion and mushroom

• 1 brown onion, cut into rings

• 2 cup mushrooms, sliced

• 2 Tbs balsamic vinegar

• 1/2 cup good quality beef broth/stock

• Micro greens to garnish

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Instructions

Cook (or steam) the sweet potato until soft. Add butter and mash. Season with salt and pepper. Heat the butter in a saucepan and fry the onion until golden, almost caramelized. Add the mushrooms, deglaze the pan with balsamic vinegar and stock. Allow to simmer until reduced. Season. Serve the pan fried bangers with sweet potato mash, gravy, and garnish with greens

Ingredients

• 4 pork loin chops, trimmed of any excess fat

• 1 Tsp wholegrain mustard

• 1 large red apple, cored and sliced

• 1 Knorr garlic & rosemary cook-in-bag

• 4 medium potatoes (about 500g), cubed with the skin on

• 1 Tbs butter

• 3 Tbs warm milk

• 2 handfuls green beans (about 200g)  

Method

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It is not necessary to preheat the oven. Rub the mustard into the pork chops. Place them in the bag along with the apple pieces and the Knorr spice mixture. Seal the bag, then gently massage the spices into the pork chops until they are evenly coated. Place the bag on an oven tray with the pork chops in a single layer. Bake the pork chops at 180°C for 40 minutes on the lowest shelf in your oven. (Note: leave enough room for the bag to expand without touching the sides of the oven and make sure that the grill is off!) While the pork chops are in the oven you can start preparing the veggies. Cook the potatoes in a pot of boiling, salted water until soft. Drain, add the butter and milk and mash until creamy and smooth. (Think of this as your pre-dinner workout!) Season to taste. Top and tail the green beans and cut into 4-5cm pieces. Steam and then season to taste. At this point your kitchen should be smelling amazing! Carefully open the bag and pop the pork chops and apple onto warmed plate. Spoon the juices from the bag over the chops. Serve with creamy mash and steamed beans.

Ingredients

• 2 Tbs butter

• 2 Tbs oil

• 4 thick pork loin chops

• 4 cling peaches

• 75ml runny honey

• 90ml orange juice

• TO SERVE:

• Watercress, mint and mange tout salad

Method

Cut the cling peaches into segments. Heat the honey in a medium pot over medium-high heat, add the peaches and cook briefly, stirring, add the orange juice and simmer briefly until the peaches are just short of tender. Set aside. Heat the oil and butter over medium to medium-high heat in a heavy bottomed frying pan. Add two pork chops and cook for 5 minutes on one side, turn over and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on the other side. Cook the other two chops in the same way. Add the peaches and orange juice to the pan and simmer briefly to deglaze the pan, pour the peaches and sauce over the chops and serve immediately with the salad.

Ingredients

• 1.5kg boneless pork belly

• 3 cup chicken stock for the marinade

• 2 cloves garlic, crushed

• 1 knob ginger, grated

• 1/2 cup orange juice

• Zest of one orange

• 1/4 cup thick soy sauce

• 1/4 cup honey

• 2 cinnamon sticks

• 3 star anise

• 1 Tbs mild chilli sauce

• 2 Tbs palm sugar or brown sugar

• A few drops of sesame oil

• Fresh coriander

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TO SERVE:

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• 200g pak choy

Method

Preheat oven to 160°C. Mix together all the marinade ingredients. Place pork belly in a shallow bowl and pour over marinade. Marinate for 1 hour. Transfer to an ovenproof dish, cover with stock and cook for 2½ hours. Remove from oven. Reserve pan juices. When cool enough to handle, remove skin using a sharp knife. Score fat and brush with reserved pan juices. Place under a low grill, baste with pan juices regularly and grill until golden.

Ingredients

• 2kg pieces of pork neck

• 30ml paprika

• 30ml brown sugar

• 30ml ground cumin

• 10ml salt

• 5ml pepper

• 2 green apples, sliced

• 2 onions, sliced

• 440ml beer of your choice

• 300 ml barbeque sauce

Method

Mix all the spices together and rub into the pork. Leave for a few hours, or, even better, overnight. Place the apples and onions in the base of the slow cooker and then place the pork on top. Pour the beer over the meat, making sure it is all covered. Cook for 8 – 10 hours in the slow cooker. Remove the meat from the pot and shred it, containing it in an oven proof dish. Pour the barbeque sauce over the shredded meat, cover with foil and place in the oven at 180° until it’s heated through. Serve on hot, fresh bread rolls.

Ingredients

• 8 pork rashers

• 60ml piquanté pepper or hot chutney

• 1/4 head of green cabbage

• 1/4 baby red cabbage

• 2 carrots

• 2 large spring onions

• about 100ml tangy mayonnaise

• 30ml sultanas

Method

Place the rashers onto a baking sheet and grill until slightly charred on each side. Brush liberally with the chutney while still hot.  Meanwhile, shred both the green and the red cabbage. Peel the carrots and cut with a julienne peeler, or grate. Cut the spring onions into three and then into julienne strips. Mix the coleslaw ingredients together, then add the mayonnaise and sultanas. Mix well to combine.

Ingredients

• 500g pork fillet

• Olive oil to rub pork fillet

• 4 Tbs balsamic vinegar

• Salt and black pepper

• 15ml olive oil

• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

• 2 birds eye chillies, finely chopped

• 1 tsp grated ginger

• 1 green pepper, cut into strips

• 1 red pepper, cut into strips

• 1 yellow pepper, cut into strips

• 2 carrots, cut into strips

• 1 cup chopped pineapple

• Sprouts to serve

Method

Preheat oven to 190°C. Rub the pork fillet with olive oil, seasoning and balsamic vinegar. Roast for 30 minutes, turning the fillet half way through. Set aside. In a wok, heat the olive oil and sauté the garlic, chilli and ginger. Add the vegetables and pineapple; sauté for a few minutes until soft. Slice the fillet and serve with stir fried vegetables and sprouts. Serve with your choice of starch.

Ingredients

• 500g pulled pork

• 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled

• 30ml olive oil

• 350g shredded cabbage and carrots (coleslaw mix)

• 30ml lemon juice

• 60ml mayonnaise

• 40ml balsamic vinegar

• 5ml sweet basil

• 8 bread rolls

Method

Cut the sweet potatoes into skinny fries. Drizzle in olive oil and roast for 40 minutes at 220°C. Toss the pulled pork with balsamic vinegar, sweet basil and fry together for 3 minutes. Mix the coleslaw together with lemon juice and mayonnaise. Construct your rolls using the pulled pork and slaw. Serve with sweet potato fries. Banting option: Ditch the bun and serve in a bowl!

Ingredients

• 700g pork fillet

• 2 Tbs lard

• Himalayan salt

• freshly ground black pepper

• 2 Tbs grain mustard

• 10g fresh parsley

• 5g fresh basil

• 5g fresh marjoram

• 150g strawberries

• 80g baby spinach

• 50g hazelnuts

• Extra virgin olive oil

• Balsamic vinegar

Method

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Preheat the oven to 180°C. Start by toasting your hazelnuts and halving your strawberries. Season the pork well. Heat an ovenproof pan, add the lard and brown the pork on all sides. Place in the oven and cook for 15–20 minutes. Remove and allow to cool. When cool enough to handle, brush pork with the grain mustard. Mix the basil, parsley and marjoram together, place on a chopping board and roll the fillet in the herbs to cover. Set aside. For the salad: Toss together the halved strawberries, toasted hazelnuts and spinach; drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. To serve: Slice the pork and serve with the salad.

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg deboned pork shoulder

• 1 cup beer

• 3 Tbs honey

• 3 Tbs sweet soy sauce

• 1 Tbs chilli sauce

• 3 star anise

• 3 bay leaves

• 1 tsp hot mustard powder

• 1 tsp chinese 5 spice

• ½ cup water

• 1 thumb size fresh ginger - thinly sliced

• 3 cloves of garlic - bashed

• A few whole peppercorns

Method

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Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a large container and place the meat in it.  Place in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight. Preheat the over to 150ºC.  Place the joint (keep the skin on to protect the meat) in a deep casserole dish and add half of the marinade mixture with all the star anise, bay leaves, ginger, garlic and peppercorns.  Roast for about 4 – 5 hours (cover after about 2 hours to keep the skin from burning) until the pork is very tender.  Remove the skin and fat and shred the meat with two forks. Serve with fresh seasonal sides, chili mayo and fresh coriander/parsley.

Ingredients

• 4 pork loin chops - fat trimmed off

• 16 slices streaky bacon (+- 400g)

• 4 sprigs thyme

• Zest of 1 lemon

• 2 cup shredded red and white cabbage

• ½ red onion - thinly sliced

• 1 granny smith apple - sliced into thin batons - julienned

• Dressing:

• Juice of large 1 lemon

• 10ml Dijon mustard

• 45ml olive oil

• Salt and pepper to taste

• ¼ bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped

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Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Place a sprig of thyme and some lemon zest on each chop. Wrap each one with 4 pieces of streaky bacon. Brown and seal the chops on both sides in a non stick frying pan. Then roast in the oven for +- 15 minutes. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

For the slaw:

Combine the cabbage, onion and apple in a large bowl.  Mix all the dressing ingredients together and add to the salad – making sure everything is well coated. Divide the slaw between four plates and top with a chop each