Juicy, succulent meat, crispy crackling, and that faint but irresistible smell of bacon; pork belly has become one of the most popular items on restaurant menus in recent years. Whether it’s served with a traditional apple sauce, or with exotic items such as truffle porridge and chorizo, or Parmesan or brandy-orange reduction, the cut that was once written off has become the hero of many a fine-dining establishment’s menu in the past decade. But why the sudden growth in popularity?

‘Because pig is king!’ Bertus Basson of Overture exclaims. ‘Pork belly is bacon and you can’t go wrong with bacon!’ Pinned down to specifics, though, he says it’s all in the ratio of fat to meat. ‘We all know that fat equals flavour.’

Bertus’s menu changes daily, but when pork belly features, he serves it in one of two different ways. ‘We either cook it at a very low temperature for twelve hours in pork or duck fat, or poach it in a Chinese master stock for six hours. Pork belly loves Asian ingredients.’

Terroir’s head chef, Michael Broughton, has had pork belly on his menu fairly solidly for the past 12 years. At present, he serves it brined in cinnamon, sugar and salt, with five-spice and honey glaze, and served with braised apples and cider sauce. ‘It’s the perfect design for meat, because it’s layered meat and fat in the perfect proportions for keeping the meat succulent,’ says Michael.

If you’ve ever tried cooking it at home, you’ll know that keeping the meat succulent and getting the fat crispy can be a tricky business. So what’s the secret?

‘I owe a lot to our sous-vide machine,’ says Michael. ‘We’ve always had a very good pork belly, but you can’t beat the texture you get with a sous-vide.’ His pork belly is cooked for 14 hours at exactly 65 degrees.

‘It takes about two-and-a-half days to get it to the customer,’ explains Marthinus at DW Eleven13. He first brines the pork belly he serves, then cooks it in a vacuum pack overnight. It then goes into an ice bath, before being pan-fried to crisp up the fat before being served. ‘When we have it on the menu it sells out almost every night,’ says Marthinus.

And what should you drink with pork belly? ‘We’ve been recommending Dombeya Shiraz, but it would also go very well with a nice Italian chianti,’ says Marthinus.

If your mouth is watering, head to one of these restaurants to try their version of the fabled pork belly.

Johannesburg

DW Eleven13 
Served as a special, so call to check whether it’s available the day.
Served with wilted Savoy cabbage, bacon and a morel sauce.
How much? R120

Eat Bistro
Served as a special so call to check whether it’s available on the day.
Served as a starter on its own.
How much? R50–R60

Fournos Bakery
Served daily
Roasted with fennel and garlic, served with a choice of sides.
How much? Price depends on weight

Higher Ground
Served daily
Served with potato mash, baby spinach and a cream cheese and brandy-orange reduction.
How much? R85

Melon
Served daily
Served with vegetables and your choice of mash or fried rice
How much? R110

Roots
Menu changes weekly Marinated and cooked for 16 hours, then poached and caramelised.
How much? Served as part of a special menu for R320

The Attic
Only served every fourth Sunday, so enquire when you book.
Served with gravy, roast potatoes and a side of vegetables.
How much? R95

The Westcliff
Served daily
Roasted for eight hours, served with lint leaves and pak choi.
How much? R220

Pretoria

Hemingway’s Restaurant
The menu changes daily, so enquire when you book.
Served roasted with butternut cake and green bean mash.
How much? R95

Karoo Cattle and Land
Menu changes daily, so enquire when you book.
Served grilled with your choice of starch and onion rings.
How much? R100

Jasmine Palace
Served only on weekends.
Served roasted with a choice of sides.
How much? R68, excluding sides

Lombardy Restaurant
Served on request, so enquire in advance.
Served roasted with apricot sauce.
How much? R95

Cape Town

Bistro Sixteen82
Served daily
Served with salted Parmesan, sugar caramel, sambal olek and stir-fried vegetables.
How much? R115

Bizerca Bistro
Served once a week, enquire when you book.
Served crispy with potato purée and Brussels sprouts.
How much? Dependent on menu

Café Paradiso
Served daily
Served roasted with bean chorizo.
How much? R120

Caveau
The menu changes daily, but pork belly will be prepared on request in advance.
Served in various different ways, call to enquire on the day.
How much? R98

La Boheme
Call in advance to check whether it’s available.
Served with wholegrain mustard mash and caramelised apple.
How much? R80

La Mouette
The menu changes from time to time, but call in advance to check whether the pork belly confit is being served.
Served with red cabbage, potato rösti and green peppercorn sauce.
How much? R115

Reuben’s
Served daily
Served braised with mash, cabbage, mushroom greens and chilli caramel.
How much? R125

Pastis
Served daily
Served crispy with saffron mash and mixed vegetables.
How much? R98

Roundhouse
The menu changes periodically, so call before you visit.
Served with water buffalo sauce.
How much? Served as part of a four-course menu for R440, and seven-course tasting menu for R240

Sinns
Served daily
Served roasted with mashed potatoes, caramelised cabbage, mustard sauce and red wine extract.
How much? R98

Societi Bistro
Served daily
Served rolled with sage with vegetable broth, mustard pickle, carrot, celery and potato.
How much? R93

The Greenhouse
Served daily Served with apple glaze, confit potatoes, cabbage and lardoons, caramelised apples and cider jus.
How much? R140

Greater Cape Town

Babel
Served daily
Slow-roasted, with satsuma and tom-yum broth.
How much? R110

Cassia at Nitida
Served daily
Served roasted with mashed potato and cabbage and cider jus.
How much? R100

Guardian Peak
Served daily
Served as a starter with a minted apple sauce and a glass of Merlot.
How much? R60

Grande Provence
Served daily
Served Asian braised, with apple and hazelnut reduction, purée calamata, mashed potatoes and scallops.
How much? R160

Jordan
The menu changes daily, so check when you book.
Served either wood-fired, or soy-and-honey-glazed with yellowtail and sunflower shoots.
How much? A two-course meal costs R225 and the three-course meal costs R250.

La Colombe
Served daily
Served as a starter, with scallops and glazed confit.
How much? R165

Overture
The menu changes daily, so check when you book.
Served with seasonal vegetables, such as parsnip and mushrooms.
How much? Starter R110, main, R145.

Reuben’s Restaurant and Bar
Served daily
Served roasted with chilli-ginger caramel, potato crème and black mushroom sautéed cream.
How much? R155

Terroir
Served daily
Served brined in cinnamon, sugar and salt, treated with five-spice, honey-glazed, with braised apples and cider sauce.
How much? R165

The Venue at Southhill Estate
Served daily
Served slow-cooked, with cream-style pap, candied carrots and Calvados apples.
How much? R165

Kwa-Zulu Natal

9th Avenue Bistro
Served daily
Served slow-roasted, with black sesame paste, pickled cabbage, bacon crawn miso and marin jus.
How much? R110

Craft
Served daily
On Sundays, rolled and stuffed with fennel, garlic, herbs and spices and served on a chorizo sausage and bean stew, stuffed onion, watercress and jus.
How much? R89.
During the week, served with linguini and carbonara sauce, peas, poached egg and watercress.
How much? R120

Hartford House
Served daily
Served oven-roasted, with fresh apple, apple sauce and green sprouts.
How much? R120

Wodka
Served daily
Roasted pork belly fillets served on barley with vegetables, two samoosas and crackling.
How much? R95

Bloemfontein

Seven on Kellner
Served daily
Served with honey, ginger, soya and chilli glaze on stir-fried noodles.
How much? R105

By Katharine Jacobs
Research by Kelly Pluke