• 2kg pork belly, boned and butterflied
• Salt
• Two bay leaves
• Three allspice berries, lightly crushed
• Three juniper berries, lightly crushed
• Two cloves
• 4 tsp fennel seeds, separated
• ¼ bulb fennel
• Two shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 tsp green peppercorns
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• Eight garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
• Zest of one lemon
• Two sprigs rosemary, stripped from the stem

This one really does take a while, so start four days before you plan to serve. Place the pork in the big Le Creuset and submerge it in water. Remove the pork to a board or plate and weigh the water. I do this by zeroing the scales with the pan and the pork then adding water until the pork is submerged, leaving me with the gram weight of liquid required.

To that water, add 3.5% salt (multiply the gram weight of the water by 0.035 and add that many grams of salt), the bay, allspice, juniper, cloves and half the garlic. Add the pork back in and leave to brine for 48 hours.

After 48 hours, remove the pork from the brine, pour the brine away and refill the pot with fresh water. Bring to a boil and place the pork in the water to cook for 90 seconds exactly. Remove the pork and place on a wire rack over a baking sheet. Stab the skin all over with a sharp knife. Be very thorough, making sure every part of the skin is perforated with little cuts.

Make a paste of the fennel, shallots, fennel seed, green peppercorns, dried oregano, remaining garlic, lemon zest and rosemary. I use the nutribullet for this. Spread the paste over the inside of the butterflied pork, then roll the joint up into a cylinder and tie tightly. I do this by cutting five lengths of string and placing them under the pork at regular intervals. Tie them tightly, then thread another longer piece under the knotted strings lengthways and tie tightly to keep the cut in a regular cylinder. Generously salt the skin only and place in the fridge overnight at least.

The day you want to eat, set the oven to 150c and roast the pork for 3 hours. After those three hours, turn it up to 230c and roast for another 45 minutes, turning regularly, until you have very crisp skin and melting, tender meat. I might make a video of this because it’s a bit difficult to understand in writing.