You will need: Firebricks/spacer grate
Top heat: approx. 120-150°C/250-280°C
Preheating: approx. 30 minutes
Working hours: 10 minutes
Cooking time: approx. 4.5-5 hours

Ingredients
(for 8 people)

• approx. 1.8 kg pork belly
• 4 tbsp mustard, medium hot
• 1 tbsp liquid honey
• Salt, pepper, caraway (ground), garlic powder

In addition:

• approx. 500 g salt
• 1 half onion

Preheat the Merklinger for approx. 30 minutes.

Pat the pork belly dry. Rub the meat side well with salt, pepper, caraway seeds and garlic.

Mix the mustard with the honey and brush the meat side thickly with it.

Prepare a tray or roasting tin with a wire rack and place the pork belly on the rack, meat side down.

Now sprinkle the skin side with salt to a thickness of about one centimeter.

Place the tray with the roast on the spacer grid on the fireclay bricks in the preheated Merklinger.

The top heat should be approx. 120-150°C.

The roast can now remain in the Merklinger for about 4 hours. During this time, turn the roasting pan once on its own axis.

To maintain the temperature, occasionally add a log.

After about 4 hours, the meat will have reached a core temperature of approx. 75 °C.

Now it's time to start crusting 🙂

The salt had enough time to leach out the rind properly.
You can now lift the salt plate down very carefully.

Place half the onion cut-side down on the wire shelf and place the pork belly on top.
This ensures that no "puddles" form on the rind and that the crust can form optimally.

Now add a few more logs and increase the top heat to approx. 250-280°C. Push the fire all the way back with the glow slider. You will be amazed at what happens over the next 35-45 minutes! But now you have to keep at it, otherwise the crust can quickly become too dark. For an even color, turn the roasting pan on its own axis once again during this time. As soon as this wonderful crust has fully formed and a core temperature of approx. 78-80°C has been reached, the crispy pork belly is ready.

Tip:

These side dishes go well with it:
coleslaw, potato salad, Bavarian cabbage, beer crust, mixed rye bread, creamed horseradish