Braised Pork Belly Recipe
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Category: |
Category: |
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Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 1 1/2-2 lbs pork belly (preferably one piece but not essential)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 medium onion, chunked
2 carrots, chunked
2 celery stalks chunked
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2-3 C apple cider
2-3 C chicken broth
1 T apple cider vinegar
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Directions: |
Directions:Preheat oven to 290º
1) place pork belly in deep square casserole dish...season with salt & pepper and leave skin/fat side up...place chunked onions, carrots, and celery all around pork...add dried thyme, apple cider, chicken stock, and vinegar to cover pork belly totally...cover with foil and place in oven to cook for 4 hours...
2) pork belly should be 'wobbly' and place immediately (right out of oven)on a large sheet of plastic wrap and wrap tightly...take foil covering from casserole and wrap plastic wrapped pork belly even more tightly with foil...place on a dish and set aside...
3) this sounds odd BUT it works...take a brick (wash it) and triple wrap it in foil...I place the foil wrapped brick and place on top of pork belly...leave out for an hour to allow to cool and then place in refrigerator for at least 3 more hours or overnight...point here is to weight down the pork belly, and however you can do that and not be too bulky that you cannot place in refrigerator, do it...
4) when ready to cook further, you have multiple options...see personal notes... |
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Number Of
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Number Of
Servings:3-4 |
Preparation
Time: |
Preparation
Time:8-24 hours |
Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: WARNING: If you like pork, this is addictive and you'll never have too much!!!
Pork belly is the piece of pork that makes bacon; it is just not cured or smoked...it can be boneless or have small bones or cartilage (both are fine)...keep in mind I mention 'crisp' below but the pork belly remains tender and has a good amount of pork fat to remain soft...the crisp refers to the outside only...
The weighting is important as it will even out the pork belly (especially if multiple pieces) and compact...it will also expel excess fat that you can actually use later to crisp pork belly (or disregard)...
Once cooked, there are a plethora of options you can use the pork for...if pork belly has thick skin on top, you can choose to cook until it crackles crisp or remove...we remove the skin and once done, cut into 2-3" chunks...our favorite cooking options are:
** take 1 T canola oil or scrape fat from side of pork belly (if any) and heat in saute pan...brown/crisp on all sides...Laura eats it like this and adds a berry sauce, preserves, or berry balsamic on the side to dip...
** take 1 T canola oil or scrape fat from side of pork belly (if any) and heat in saute pan...brown/crisp on all sides,,,I then quickly add sauces to flavor like a stir fry...use your favorite...
If having trouble finding pork belly, go to an asian or farm market, or a butcher, rather than usual grocery store...
This is good alongside risotto, rice, or barley...something softer to compliment the crisped pork belly...
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