Braised pork belly
So I picked up a pork belly from the store. I never made one before, so as an adventure I thought I would give it a try. Now in my top 5 of "The Best Things I Have Ever Eaten", there is a pork belly on the list. My wife and I were out to eat at our favorite Japanese restaurant, and I ordered it as an appetizer. I should not have shared it with my wife, as we almost ended up in a knife fight in the parking lot over this pork belly. It was awesome to say the least. Beautifully caramelized over a rizotto in a sweet almost BBQ sauce with some bitter greens. So I thought I would give it a shot.
Here is what I tried...
Rub
1/2 a cup of brown sugar
1 tbsp of garlic powder
1 tbsp of onion powder
1 tbsp of dried mustard
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp thyme
1 tbsp fresh pepper
Salt to season first
I salted the belly and let it sit for a few before adding the rub. Once I fully covered the belly in the rub, I placed it in the meat drawer of the fridge for 24 hours.
Braise
1/2 pound carrots chopped
1/2 pound celery chopped
1 sweet onion chopped
2 beefsteak tomatoes diced... Jersey if you can get them.
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme
1 cup dry white wine
1 qt chicken stock
Sear the pork belly (fat side down first) over medium heat. The fat will render so spoon it out as needed. Sear each side for about 4 min per side then set aside.
Leave a bit of fat in the pan and sauté the veggies until tender. Deglaze with the wine then add the stock and herbs. Put the belly back in and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and leave alone for at least 3 hours.
I used about 1/2 a cup of the braising liquid, 2 more tbps of brown sugar, pinch of cayenne pepper and salt to make a sauce.
After 3 hours remove the belly and sear it again (grilling will make it far less fatty) and drizzle with the sauce. It was not half bad.
= new reply since forum marked as read
and saw a pork belly dish in one of the Korean restaurants that looked really good. Nice to have a tested recipe to try! Thankie. 