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Lechon Liempo (Easy Roasted Pork Belly) Recipe
Here is an easy to follow Roasted Pork Belly (Lechon Liempo) recipe ideal for family celebrations.
Lechon is a Spanish word that means a roasted baby piglet and is popular in Spain and its former colonies. Lechon is very popular in the Philippines as it was also a former colony of Spain. But in the Philippines, when you say lechon it is usually an adult roasted pig.
Special family occasions in the Philippines usually call for a lechon to be part of the menu. It is even the highlight of the party. When you get invited to a grand gathering like a Christmas party, birthday, fiesta, wedding or christening, the first question often asked is “may lechon ba?“
The classic Philippine lechon is usually cooked over over charcoal and cooking is best left to the experts. See example below:
As you can see from the picture above, lechon is not that easy to cook. However, this easy roasted pork belly (lechon liempo) recipe affords you to enjoy the taste of lechon without having to spend too much money and effort. But of course this not meant to feed a crowd. Just right for a family celebration. As is most common among Filipino homes, lechon liempo is best eaten with rice.
Instead of cooking our lechon liempo over live charcoal, we will use an oven instead. Easy right? Electric convection ovens or turbo broilers are easier to use due to the easier temperature control settings. Gas fired ovens, though, are common in most homes.
Another name for lechon liempo is pork crackling because of the crispy skin that is the result of the roasting.
Guess what? You can re-purpose left overs into pork sisig if you have any.
Filipino Cookbooks:
Recipe for Roasted Pork Belly (Lechon Liempo):
Easy Roasted/ Lechon Pork Belly Recipe
Course: MAIN COURSECuisine: FilipinoDifficulty: Moderate8
servings30
minutes6
hours546
kcal6
hours30
minutesThis easy roasted pork belly (lechon liempo) recipe affords you to enjoy the taste of lechon without having to spend too much money and effort.
Ingredients
1 & 1/2 kg pork belly slab (with skin on)
3 whole garlic bulbs, peeled and chopped
3 red onions, peeled and chopped
½ cup oregano leaves, washed and chopped
4 – 5 lemongrass stalks, sliced
Lemon juice and lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
4 tablespoons crushed black pepper
1/8 cup salt
Directions
- Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
- Lightly mash ingredients together with a spoon. You can also use a food processor to bring everything together (use 2 to 3 pulses).
- Place the slab with the skin side down then rub the mashed mixture all over the meat.
- Roll the slab carefully and secure it with butcher’s twine. (If pieces of ingredients fall off, just put back later).
- Rub the extra salt all over the meat and the skin.
- To have a nice crackling, poke the skin of the meat with a paring knife or fork.
- Transfer to a roasting pan fitted with a rack and line the bottom with foil.
- Refrigerate and chill overnight. This will dry the skin, which helps the crackling form.
- Preheat the oven to 160°C.
- Pat the skin of the pork dry with a paper towel. Roast the pork for 5 hours.
- Increase the temperature to 220°C, and allow the pork’s crackling to form (30 minutes to 1 hour).
- When done, remove from the oven and allow to cool before slicing. Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
4 servings per container
Serving Size602g
Calories546
- Amount Per Serving% Daily Value *
- Total Fat
13.76g
22%
- Saturated Fat 2.466g 13%
- Trans Fat 0.109g
- Cholesterol 255mg 85%
- Sodium 7067mg 295%
- Amount Per Serving% Daily Value *
- Potassium 1743mg 50%
- Total Carbohydrate
21.36g
8%
- Dietary Fiber 3.3g 14%
- Sugars 5.48g
- Protein 90.38g 181%
- Vitamin A 27%
- Vitamin C 157%
- Calcium 15%
- Iron 33%
- Vitamin E 7%
- Vitamin K 14%
- Thiamin 102%
- Riboflavin 93%
- Niacin 200%
- Vitamin B6 123%
- Vitamin B12 80%
- Folate 26%
- Pantothenic Acid 45%
- Phosphorus 152%
- Magnesium 42%
- Zinc 122%
- Selenium 288%
- Copper 66%
- Manganese 77%
* The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Let me know what you think and enter your comments below!
Other PORK recipes may be found HERE.
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