Pork Belly - Braising and Further Preparations

Ah, pork belly... how can you go wrong with it?! There are so many ways to cook with it, and all - so delicious! Hardly a healthy choice, we can however indulge in it today as we had a 4 mile run outside thanks to the summer weather we are having all this week. It helps to have a strong alcohol with pork belly to help break down the fats. Today I will braise a whole lot of it, then use some for dinner while saving the rest for later uses.

Braising

Braising is essentially cooking in an enclosed and sealed pan with minimal amount of added liquid but instead relying on the moisture and fat of the ingredients themselves. Braising is done at low temperature in the oven over long time. Braised meats come out tender and very flavorful since they get to keep all the flavor as opposed to being cooked completely submerged in liquid, aka stewing, where flavor dissolves into the added liquid. In braising a minimal amount of liquid can be added, but in no way should the meat be submerged. Vegetables are often added to flavor the resulting broth as well as release more moisture inside the cooking vessel. Some spices may be added as well.

I am going for a very simple braise today. Start with cutting the vegetables: carrots, onions, celery, garlic.

Although the point of pork belly is fat, fat, fat, I do try to select the leaner pieces. Any size of pork belly can be used, I cut mine into large (about 2 inches) cubes, skin stays on. Rub some salt on the pieces, other seasonings can be added as well.

In a pan suitable for braising (I am using Staub's cast iron braising pan), lay some of the vegetables in an even layer on the bottom. Purpose here is to provide some buffer between hot pan and meat so that meat doesn't burn from direct contact with hot iron.

Arrange pieces of pork belly on top of vegetables in a single layer, skin up.

Cover with remaining vegetables, add a bit of water (just enough to cover the veggie bed but not the meat), and any herbs or spices - I added some peppercorns.

Heat the pan on the stove and bring the liquid inside to boil. At the same time preheat the over to about 270-300F - I set my oven to 280F and intend to cook at that temperature for 2 hours. Once oven is hot, place the tightly covered (very important that moisture does not escape) pan inside and let it do its magic.

After time is up, take pan out of the oven, let cool a bit, and enjoy the wonderful sight of braised and delicious pork belly.

Since I don't intend for us to consume all of it this evening, I set aside a few pieces and store the rest. It will be safe in the fridge for a few days and can be used for a variety of dishes, or you can enjoy it as is - it is already cooked! A bit of horseradish and aquavit is a great combination, with some of that thin crispy Scandinavian bread on the side.

Remaining stock is an amazing ingredient as well. It contains some of the fat released from the pork belly as it was braising. If it is frozen, it becomes a jelly-like delicacy very much enjoyed in Northern European countries. It is up to you if you want to get all or most of the vegetables out. I am keeping all of them, and simply pouring the stock in the container and letting it congeal. In Russia, there is a dish called holodetz, which is very similar to the stock I have here, and when it was prepared in winter, my grandmother simply let it stand outside in the cold for it to set.

Tonight's dinner

Prepare some jasmine rice. Clean beech mushrooms - remove the bottom and any growing medium that may still be attached to them. Then separate them into individual mushrooms.

Melt some butter in a pan and saute the mushrooms, constantly stirring. They should begin to lightly brown, but not burn.

Dry roast some peanuts. If you have the dry peel on the peanuts, lightly rub them against each other and the pan with a cooking utensil as you roast them. When you are done roasting, blow on the pan while holding it over the sink to catch the peels.

Lightly roast the pieces of the pork belly to give them a bit of crispy layer.

I wanted to do some sort of sauce as well, based on the fats rendered in the pan after crisping the pork belly, but I did not succeed with my idea of using some soy sauce and few other ingredients. Instead I will use Ponzu sauce (store-bought) to serve with the dish.

To assemble the dish, serve some jasmine rice, cover with mushrooms, then peanuts, arrange pork belly pieces on top, add Ponzu sauce around. Enjoy!

This dish was inspired by a dish we enjoyed at TAG, but mine is certainly a much simpler version of the deliciousness that was Chef Troy's creation. If you exclude the time it took to braise the pork or prepare rice, with the pork I have now stored in the fridge and having rice prepared a bit ahead as well, I can easily create this same dish in about 10 mins or even less. Definitely a quick and tasty and fatty-indulgent dinner tonight!

And with this tasty plate, I wish you all a good night!