5th
The Road to Hell is Paved with Pork Belly
A version of this post first appeared in the Mint Advertising newsletter, Blue Briefs.
Pork Belly, otherwise known as the cut of meat that bacon is made from, has been on the American culinary scene for some time now. Although a popular cut in Korean and Chinese cooking, I can remember first having it at Gramercy Tavern about 10 years ago during Tom Colicchio’s term there, braised in the smokiest broth I’ve ever eaten. Think Lagavulin single malt, less the alcohol. Lately, pork belly has become very popular in the hands of NYC’s star chef David Chang. His Pork Belly Buns are amazing little handfuls of flavor.
I’ve been trying my hand at Chang-inspired cooking lately, focusing on bo-ssam…an entire pork butt boiled or roasted down to the fall off the bone consistency. Serve with rice, kimchi, and either lettuce or cabbage wraps and bang, you’re done.
So a few weeks back, I wanted to up the ante a bit with this dish and try pork belly in addition to/instead of pork butt butt. It was, as you would expect, a fatty little delight. So for Laura’s birthday, I thought I’d trot out some more belly, in a more American/Continental preparation.
I came across two recipes in our pantry, which I combined/altered. One of the recipes was Tom Colicchio’s (from Think Like a Chef) and the other is from Anthony Bourdain’s Les Halles Cookbook. I think my recipe deviates enough to present on its own.
Both called for braising the meat — a form of slow cooking that cooks the meat by simmering in liquid, but not enough to cover it. Braising is good for tougher meats, is the concept behind a lot of crock-pot meals.
I bought my pork belly from the local Amish market. My usual butcher can also get it, but only in larger quantities. If you have neither an Amish market or reputable butcher nearby, seek out an Asian foods store in your area. If don’t see it, just ask.
Al’s Braised Pork Belly & Fennel (serves up to 10 people)
5-6 Pounds Pork Belly (cut into 2 or more pieces)
36 oz of beer (three 12 oz bottle, I used Wolaver’s Organic IPA)
48 oz of chicken stock
6 cloves of garlic (peeled and smashed)
3 large carrots (cut into coins)
3 medium fennel bulbs with stalks (cut stalks into 1 inch pieces, cut bulbs in half vertically)
12 oz of Apple Jack (liquor distilled from apples and made by Laird & Company)
4 table spoons of peanut oil
4 oz of butter
4 table spoons of olive oil
For plating:
• Mashed Potatoes (either straight or a tad garlicky…nothing too fancy or it will detract from the Pork Belly)
• Baby Spinach (2 Bags of washed organic)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Score skin/fat side of pork belly. Note that you’ll want to have the pork cut into portions that will fit into a large roasting pan along with the aromatics and braising liquid.
Heat up 4 tablespoons of the peanut oil in a roasting pan or a large oven-safe frying pan (15” diameter). Peanut oil is less prone to smoking than olive oil, and since you’re trying to get a good seared color on the pork, it’s preferred.
Add the butter and when melted and bubbling, brown both sides of all pork belly pieces. I did the fatty side first, which rendered some fat out. Take out pork and set aside.
Dispose of used oil and butter. Add olive oil to pan bring to medium heat.
Add garlic, carrots, and fennel stalks. Reserve fennel bulbs for braising process. Brown vegetables. As the vegetables cook, make your braising liquid. Unless you have a large pitcher, you may want to do this in 2 batches. Note that you will want to reserve some chicken stock for finishing the sauce at the end. Here’s the ratio for the braising liquid:
12 oz (one bottle) of beer
12 oz of chicken stock
4 oz of Apple Jack
(the ingredients list has enough raw materials to make 3 batches)
When vegetables are done, move them to the sides of the pan and put your pork belly in the center — skin side up. Be sure to leave some space for the fennel bulb halves, which you should place face down.
Pour enough braising liquid to cover most of the vegetables. The pork should not be covered in liquid. I used about 28 oz of the braising liquid initially…as the pork cooks, you will need to add liquid.
Put the pork in the pre-heated oven. After it has cooked for 1 hour, add additional braising liquid to bring it up the level where you started. Try not to use all your braising liquid at this point…and if you do need to, make another batch using the ratio shown above. You’ll need it later.
Cook in oven for another hour. Then remove from oven. Pork should be cooked through. Remove pork and fennel bulbs from pan and set aside.
Pour used braising liquid into a fat separator…put vegetables in saucepan, add chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Use an immersion blender to liquefy vegetables. Strain this mixture and add to clean saucepan. Add used braising liquid from separator (not the fat, of course). This should give you a nice golden brown sauce. Heat this sauce, adding about a ¼ cup of your remaining chicken stock. Throw baby spinach into this pot and steam.
Reheat pork and fennel bulbs in fresh braising liquid (using remaining broth, beer, and Apple Jack).
Serve pork on individual plate over a bed of mashed potatoes. Cut cooked fennel bulbs in half and serve on the side. Top pork with spinach and sauce.
Enjoy!
