Cebu Lechon

the Visayan roast pig: pork belly rolled round bundles of lemongrass, garlic, spring onion, and bay, roasted until the skin shatters, and served with no sauce at all

Origin: Cebu & the Visayas

From the journey of Lemongrass.

Lechon, roast pig, is the centre of the Filipino fiesta, and there are two schools of it. The lechon of Manila and Luzon is roasted plain and eaten with a sweet, thick sauce of liver; the lechon of Cebu is stuffed with lemongrass, tanglad, together with garlic, spring onions, bay leaves, peppercorns, and salt, and served with nothing, because Cebuanos hold that a pig seasoned from the inside needs no sauce. The town of Carcar, south of Cebu City, is famous for it, and Talisay's roasters compete for the title of the best. The name is Spanish; the stuffing is Visayan. A whole pig is a job for a professional roaster and a bamboo spit; this version, the rolled lechon belly now sold all over Cebu, rolls a slab of skin-on belly round the same stuffing and roasts it in the oven.

Ingredients

Pork

  • 2.5 kg boneless pork belly, skin on, in one rectangular slab
  • 2 tbsp coarse salt, plus more for the skin
  • 1 tbsp black peppercorns, crushed

Stuffing

  • 8 stalks of lemongrass, bruised along their length and cut to the width of the belly
  • 2 heads of garlic, cloves peeled and crushed
  • 1 bunch spring onions, cut into lengths
  • 6 bay leaves
  • 2 star anise (optional)
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce

Skin

  • 3 tbsp cane vinegar, for the skin

Method

  1. Lay the belly skin side down. Score the meat side lightly, then rub it all over with the salt, pepper, and soy sauce.
  2. Arrange the lemongrass, garlic, spring onions, bay leaves, and star anise along the centre of the meat.
  3. Roll the belly tightly round the stuffing, skin outside, and tie it firmly with butcher's string every 3 cm.
  4. Pat the skin completely dry, rub it with salt, and leave the roll uncovered on a rack in the refrigerator overnight.
  5. Heat the oven to 160°C. Brush the skin with the vinegar and roast the roll on a rack for 2 to 2.5 hours, until the meat is tender.
  6. Raise the heat to 230°C and roast for a further 20 to 30 minutes, watching closely, until the skin puffs, blisters, and turns deep golden.
  7. Rest for 15 minutes, remove the string, and slice thickly. Serve with rice, and with spiced vinegar for those who insist.

Notes

The stuffing can be pulled out and eaten; the soft lemongrass-scented garlic is a cook's reward.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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Ingredient originTrade or transit route
Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control
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