I never thought it would be possible to make Lechon in an oven but it was. Real crunchy, authentic-tasting Cebu-style Lechon. In an oven. Yes. Lechon de Cebu right here in Canada! :)
If you want to impress your Filipino-Canadian guests on Thanksgiving or on Christmas Eve, this is definitely one way to do it. I've made it several times now and the key to making it Cebu-style, in my opinion, is to make it extra salty and to completely remove that "baboy-smell" with tons of garlic, onion, ginger and, my non-cook secret, celery. And to make the skin crunchy (not the bubbly chicharon skin crunchy, but real thin lechon skin crunchy), keep heat low (extend cooking time until you can feel that the skin is thin and tough enough by tapping it with a fork or knife), baste with oil every 15 minutes then raise the temperature for the last 30 minutes.
INGREDIENTS:
1 whole slab pork belly (like the one in the picture above)
Silver Swan soy sauce
Black Pepper
Salt (lots)
Lemon grass
1 large onion
1 head garlic
1 celery stalk
Small piece of ginger
1 bunch green onions
STEPS:
(Note: baking time is about 3-4 hours)
1. Rub salt and black pepper generously all over the meat. Set aside.
2. Cut up onion, garlic, ginger and celery and place in aluminum roaster pan or baking pan.
3. Add lemon grass and chopped (about 2-3 inch pieces) green onions.
4. Place seasoned meat on top of spices, skin side up.
5. Brush skin with soy sauce.
6. Cover and allow to marinate in the fridge for a few hours, or overnight even.
7. When ready, uncover baking dish and brush skin with more soy sauce.
8. Place the baking dish uncovered into oven pre-heated at 325F to cook for the next 3 to 3 and a half hours. Baste with soy sauce every 15 minutes until the desired redness is achieved, then baste with oil the rest of the way.
9. At 3 and a half hours, raise oven temperature to 425F and bake some more for about 30 minutes, but discontinue basting.
10. Remove from oven and allow to rest.
Good luck!
