• 1.5kg pork belly, skin on and scored
• Salt
• Pepper
• Crushed fennel seeds

Start by making a kind of tin foil boat for the pork to sit in. It should come all the way up the sides of the meat, but not cover the skin. Generously season the meat with salt, pepper and fennel, being careful not to get any of the seasoning mix on the skin, then enclose the meat in its boat. Generously salt the skin and put it in the fridge overnight or for up to two days, uncovered. This will dry out the skin and give the best crackling.

Two hours before cooking, remove the pork from the fridge, keeping it in its foil packet. Allow it to come to room temp. Preheat the oven to 120c and slowly roast the pork for four hours or until fork tender. You can allow it to rest in its foil packet for up to half an hour before the next step. By now the skin will be thoroughly desiccated. There are three options at this point: you can finish it on the stovetop, under the grill or in a hot oven. Each has its own merits and demerits.

On the stovetop, you have control and can get a perfect covering of crackling as well as freeing up oven space, but it will spit and pop and you have to actively manage it. To do this, heat a very small amount of oil in the big nonstick pan over a medium-high heat. When it’s shimmering, add the pork skin side down, holding onto it with the tongs. Cook, moving it around to ensure even crackle.

Under the grill, there is much less mess but it’s harder to get an even cook. Turn the grill up to its highest setting and move the oven shelf to the middle. Brush a little oil on the skin of the pork and put it under the grill. Keep checking and moving – there may be stubborn spots that refuse to crackle. Don’t burn the rest of the skin in order to get them, just accept them as one of the vicissitudes of cookery.

In a hot oven, you have least control but it’s also least active. Simply turn the oven up to 240c and check in every 5 mins or so. Again, some spots will crackle more than others.