ultimate pork belly?
Discussion
as in, cooking prep/method. what do you recommend?
i am alone in dubai this xmas, and was going to just get a kfc bargain bucket, but i have just got some rather nice port, claret and scotch so i think my plans are now changing to one man gourmet feast.
one dish i love to death is belly pork. i usually do this by getting a roasting dish and filling the base with finely sliced red onion and a couple of cooking apples. sprinkle a punch of fennel seeds on top, then lay on the pork. cook for 1hr at high heat, then pour over 500ml of sherry and cook long and low for 3-4hrs.
that is how i will cook it, but i always fail on crackling, so want some advice on how to prep/salt/marinate the belly in advance. just about to pop out and buy it so will have a couple of days prep time.
i am alone in dubai this xmas, and was going to just get a kfc bargain bucket, but i have just got some rather nice port, claret and scotch so i think my plans are now changing to one man gourmet feast.
one dish i love to death is belly pork. i usually do this by getting a roasting dish and filling the base with finely sliced red onion and a couple of cooking apples. sprinkle a punch of fennel seeds on top, then lay on the pork. cook for 1hr at high heat, then pour over 500ml of sherry and cook long and low for 3-4hrs.
that is how i will cook it, but i always fail on crackling, so want some advice on how to prep/salt/marinate the belly in advance. just about to pop out and buy it so will have a couple of days prep time.
this is what I do :
firstly cuirass the rind by cutting slits evey half inch across it .
bit of olive oil rubbed in
lots and lots of ground salt rubbed in
get oven as hot as you can (ours goes to 230 )
put pork in for 45 min to an hour
the crackling goes mad!
turn it down for 4 hours and enjoy!
firstly cuirass the rind by cutting slits evey half inch across it .
bit of olive oil rubbed in
lots and lots of ground salt rubbed in
get oven as hot as you can (ours goes to 230 )
put pork in for 45 min to an hour
the crackling goes mad!
turn it down for 4 hours and enjoy!
My ultimate pork belly is:
Remove rind and keep to cook seperately (allow to air dry while you marinade and cook the rest).
Marinade the belly in oil, honey, finely chopped onion and garlic, rosemary and thyme overnight. then braise the pork in chicken/ pork stock + remaining marinade for 3 hours on a very low simmer. remove the pork imediately from the braising liquour and wrap tightly in clingfilm and allow to cool and set in the fridge. you can do all of this a day or two in advance.
When the time comes to eat. reduce the braising liqour to a thick sweet sauce- cut a slab of the braised pork, season and fry in a bit of pork fat until golden brown then transfer to a hot oven to heat through for 10mins. meanwhile roast the skin until crackling (should be good after drying for a day or so).
It may be time consuming but the result is absolutely melt in the mouth, you are retaining all of the flavour in the sauce and you wont compromise the meat by getting the skin to crackle properly. plus if you do a big portion you can freeze some of the meat after the braise so you can have it all again in a few days/ weeks without the original phaf. The only problem is that you will almost always feel hard done by when you eat pork belly out because it wont be as good.
Remove rind and keep to cook seperately (allow to air dry while you marinade and cook the rest).
Marinade the belly in oil, honey, finely chopped onion and garlic, rosemary and thyme overnight. then braise the pork in chicken/ pork stock + remaining marinade for 3 hours on a very low simmer. remove the pork imediately from the braising liquour and wrap tightly in clingfilm and allow to cool and set in the fridge. you can do all of this a day or two in advance.
When the time comes to eat. reduce the braising liqour to a thick sweet sauce- cut a slab of the braised pork, season and fry in a bit of pork fat until golden brown then transfer to a hot oven to heat through for 10mins. meanwhile roast the skin until crackling (should be good after drying for a day or so).
It may be time consuming but the result is absolutely melt in the mouth, you are retaining all of the flavour in the sauce and you wont compromise the meat by getting the skin to crackle properly. plus if you do a big portion you can freeze some of the meat after the braise so you can have it all again in a few days/ weeks without the original phaf. The only problem is that you will almost always feel hard done by when you eat pork belly out because it wont be as good.
Edited by Pete Franklin on Thursday 22 December 16:46
tontoro said:
winner, will try that thanks!We've got a very successful belly pork dish on the current menu. Take the rind off a belly leaving as even a layer of fat about 5mm thick as you can trimming off most of it as you reach the lower side of the belly. Seam out the thicker pieces of muscle and re-arrange so the whole thing is an even thickness (easier said than done) and remove any excess fats and connective tissues.
Season up and then flavour as you wish. We use prunes soaked in Somerset Cider Brandy. Roll up from the bottom of the belly to the top so the fat is even on the outside of the roll with little on the inside. Tie up neatly into a sausage shape. At this point a whole 4Kg belly is a two foot long 6 inch round sausage when cooked give about 15 portions when cooked so calculate accordingly.
Wrap the belly sausage up in cling film with sliced onion, bay, garlic, pepper corns and anything else you like.
Now the fun bit. At this point we would vac-pac and put in a water bath for 24 hours at 63 degrees. As a home alternative (and what we used to do) put in the bottom of a medium oven (about 120) for as long as you like. All day if you want. Take it out and chill it.
When you are ready to eat just bang it in a hot oven for 15-20 minutes and serve.
Season up and then flavour as you wish. We use prunes soaked in Somerset Cider Brandy. Roll up from the bottom of the belly to the top so the fat is even on the outside of the roll with little on the inside. Tie up neatly into a sausage shape. At this point a whole 4Kg belly is a two foot long 6 inch round sausage when cooked give about 15 portions when cooked so calculate accordingly.
Wrap the belly sausage up in cling film with sliced onion, bay, garlic, pepper corns and anything else you like.
Now the fun bit. At this point we would vac-pac and put in a water bath for 24 hours at 63 degrees. As a home alternative (and what we used to do) put in the bottom of a medium oven (about 120) for as long as you like. All day if you want. Take it out and chill it.
When you are ready to eat just bang it in a hot oven for 15-20 minutes and serve.
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