What Should I Use For Slow Roast Pork Belly If I Am In France?

Our answer

Nigella's Slow Roast Pork Belly (from KITCHEN) has meat that is rubbed with a paste of tahini, soy sauce and citrus juices. This rub is left on the joint overnight, which helps to flavour and season the meat. The next day the pork is cooked slowly until the fat has rendered and the skin is crackling and crisp.

In France the cut to look for is poitrine. Although this translates into English as "breast", it is actually the belly cut. It may be slightly difficult to find in a supermarket, unless they have an in-store butchery, so you may need to go to a local butcher or order it in advance. However, do be careful to ask for "poitrine de porc fraîs", as bacon is also referred to as poitrine (smoked as "poitrine fumée" or unsmoked as "poitrine nature") and there is also salted pork belly ("petit salé"). Also, the French will tend to sell the belly with the bones attached, so you may need to ask for it "sans os" and it may be also worth mentioning that you want the belly in one piece ("entière"), otherwise the butcher may cut it into slices.