Pork Belly....process and recipe....

Ever since I went to KnyfeKnerd's resto in Charlotte and had the most amazing piece of pork ever, this has been on my list. It's taken me a while, but I think I've got all the equipment I need and basic skills in using it. So.....I'm looking for recipes...<cough>KK<cough>...

Also, I've found some porkbelly products locally, but I'm quite unfamiliar with this so I'm looking for guidance on what a good piece looks like. Here's one I found at a local Asian superstore:





While I'm posting pics...here's the plate that inspired me to do this:

Cure it, sear it, braise it, chill it, sear again, then heat. Make a sauce from braising liquid. Bam, porky goodness. Throw some fried bacon on top for good measure.

panda said:

Cure it, sear it, braise it, chill it, sear again, then heat. Make a sauce from braising liquid. Bam, porky goodness. Throw some fried bacon on top for good measure.

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I've never cured anything...can you point me to a reference? (I've got the full Modernist Cuisine, but no charcuterie books.)

1.5 parts brown sugar, 1 part fine salt, what ever spices you want. Rub the hell out of it. Put it in a pan with some weight on top. Keep in fridge 4 days. Make sure to rinse well after.

Seriouseats has a pork belly porchetta recipe you can try.

Holy carp, I can't believe Knifey ruined that beautiful pork belly with all that green stuff

WildBoar said:

Holy carp, I can't believe Knifey ruined that beautiful pork belly with all that green stuff

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But....it was fried!

I love me some pork belly. A restaurant in town has a sweet tea brined pork belly, served pork bun style, with grainy mustard to spread on. It was glorious. I wanted to order three plates of that stuff.

Another option is braising it in a Chinese master stock initially. Pork belly has been a very popular protein in au for quite sometime and of all the ways this is my favourite so far. Served with chilli jam for the win.
The recipe is at work I'll post it tomorrow.

Geo87 said:

Another option is braising it in a Chinese master stock initially. Pork belly has been a very popular protein in au for quite sometime and of all the ways this is my favourite so far. Served with chilli jam for the win.
The recipe is at work I'll post it tomorrow.

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Awesome! TIA for the recipe.

Zwiefel said:

Ever since I went to KnyfeKnerd's resto in Charlotte and had the most amazing piece of pork ever, this has been on my list.

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What restaurant do you speak of? I am from Charlotte originally and am here over the holidays.

I really enjoy marinating a big hunk of pork belly in soy sauce, hoisin, honey, bean paste/miso, and five-spice before doing a slow-roast in the oven. A version of "char siu," if you will.

Once it's cooked, I refrigerate for a day, portion it and crisp up in a frying pan and serve with reserved marinade (that has been heated for sanitary and thickening reasons, of course).

mise_en_place said:

What restaurant do you speak of? I am from Charlotte originally and am here over the holidays.

I really enjoy marinating a big hunk of pork belly in soy sauce, hoisin, honey, bean paste/miso, and five-spice before doing a slow-roast in the oven. A version of "char siu," if you will.

Once it's cooked, I refrigerate for a day, portion it and crisp up in a frying pan and serve with reserved marinade (that has been heated for sanitary and thickening reasons, of course).

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I don't think he's there anymore, but this is the place:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/gallery-restaurant-charlotte?osq=the+gallery+restaurant

I've been to Gallery. It's a great restaurant.

Ribeye cap (spinalis dorsis) and lamb sweetbreads are excellent!

mise_en_place said:

I've been to Gallery. It's a great restaurant.

Ribeye cap (spinalis dorsis) and lamb sweetbreads are excellent!

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One of the best steak experiences I have ever had was a ribeye cap grilled over coals by an Argentinian friend. They left the membrane on it for the grilling.

OK....read all of the posts here, a few PMs, hours of googling, and read the relevant sections of MC twice. here's the synthesized recipe I've come up with....you guys with experience doing this, please critique...I have very little sense of how this will work, kinda flying blind here.

Flavorings:
¼ cup black peppercorns
1 dozen cloves
1 dozen allspice berries
1 dozen juniper berries
1 ½ tablespoons hot red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
1 head of garlic, coarsely chopped
½ cup red wine

Pink Brine:
250g salt
5g insta cure #1/Prague Powder #1

2.5kg pork belly, with the skin

Procedure:
Inject brine equal to 10% of pork belly weight.
Vacuum seal in remaining brine for 3d.
Drain brine from bag, and reseal pork belly.
Refrigerate for 2 d before cooking to diffuse salt through meat.
Remove meat from bag, and drain.
Vacuum seal pork belly with water.
Cook sous vide in 144F bath for 40h.
Chill in ice-water bath until firm.
Remove belly from bag, and discard gelled cooking juices.
Carve belly from ribs, and remove skin. Discard bones and skin .
Portion belly into square blocks of 150 g each.
Vacuum seal each portion individually.
Refrigerate.
Reserve.
------------

What's not clear to me from my sources...it says to seal in bag for 3 days....but not to refrigerate, but that is specifically called out other places. Surely this needs to be refrigerated during this step??

What do you think?

This should give me a supply that I can pull from the freezer to use here and there for a while...esp as I'm likely to 2/3/4X this volume depending on the size of the belly I find.

Z,

A couple thoughts before the smart guys get here.

The flavorings seem like they were randomly selected rather than working together as a theme. May well work fine. I like an Asian influence of soy, mirin, sugar, salt, etc.

I'm not a fan of injecting. Do know that the kids at MC have their needles and want to play with them.

Don't see any sugar in the ingredients. A little sweet with a salt cure is always a good thing and with SV (as opposed to smoking) don't have to worry about it burning.

Not sure about a need to vac and seal for the cure. If I recall my Keller correctly he does not even cover the belly while it's curing. I cure in a cambro. Definitely would refridge during cure.

I don't discard the liquid from the SV bag. Rather I reduce it and glaze the belly.

Whatever you do I'm sure will be wonderful. You've not missed yet!

add thyme and bay leaves. remove skin and ribs before brine (braise the ribs separate and boil/dry the skin to make pork rinds)

offtopic: mmmmm, ribeye cap, i drool just thinking about it

I would caramelize onions with star anise. 1/2 a star per onion. When deep brown deglaze with a bit of white wine. This with thyme and bay to the bags for cooking. The star anise really compliments the sweetness of the pork. I've not read it but there might be something about that in modernist cuisine somewhere. That was a big part of the flavor base of the bacon consommé you had at my place a while back.

Looks like you've got your recipe set but I'll post this recipe anyway Incase you wanna try a different route. You'll need to scale this recipe down for home use!

Chinese master stock:
Water: 6L
Light soy: 500ml
Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing):1L
Yellow rock sugar 250g
Fresh ginger:30g
Galangal:30g
Cardamom pods:6
Cinnamon quills:4
Zest of 2 oranges
Cloves:8
Star anise:8
Sichuan pepper:2 tspn
Dried chilli:2 tspn
Cumin seeds:2tspn
Fennel seeds:2 tspn
Bay leaves :4

Bring all ingredients to the boil then remove from heat to infuse for one hour, strain it then it's ready to use.

I'm not sure about sous vide as we cook about 8 bellys at a time so I've always braised it in master stock overnight (about 10 hrs) at 100 'C.

If you want it looking nice and neat after cooking while it's still hot place it in a tray lined with baking paper (tray the same size as belly), cover in baking paper then put another tray on top and put some weight on it to press it down then refrigerate. That will get it nice and flat and even. After it's cooled and set you can trim it into neat squares. Then after that sear the pieces in a pan then in the oven skin side down for a nice crispy skin

Geo87 said:

Chinese master stock:
Water: 6L
Light soy: 500ml
Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing):1L
Yellow rock sugar 250g
Fresh ginger:30g
Galangal:30g
Cardamom pods:6
Cinnamon quills:4
Zest of 2 oranges
Cloves:8
Star anise:8
Sichuan pepper:2 tspn
Dried chilli:2 tspn
Cumin seeds:2tspn
Fennel seeds:2 tspn
Bay leaves :4

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Bookmarked! Thanks.

cure it, smoke it, press it

CoqaVin said:

cure it, smoke it, press it

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Press it?

Alas, I don't have access to a smoker these days.

yea after your done smoking it, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, then stick it in the fridge with some REALLY heavy stuff on it, so it becomes compressed

CoqaVin said:

yea after your done smoking it, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, then stick it in the fridge with some REALLY heavy stuff on it, so it becomes compressed

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Interesting...this is to improve texture/consistency?

Pressing it is essential in achieving a consistent shape and size. Without it you'll have varied thicknesses in your finished pieces of belly.

daveb said:

Z,

A couple thoughts before the smart guys get here.

...

Whatever you do I'm sure will be wonderful. You've not missed yet!

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Thanks Dave. I'm in bed sick...but a bit more awake this morning than last night and agree with your assessment...I need to give this some work.

Chuckles said:

I would caramelize onions with star anise. 1/2 a star per onion. When deep brown deglaze with a bit of white wine. This with thyme and bay to the bags for cooking. The star anise really compliments the sweetness of the pork. I've not read it but there might be something about that in modernist cuisine somewhere. That was a big part of the flavor base of the bacon consommé you had at my place a while back.

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Fantastic idea. I love cutting onions, caramelizing onions, eating them....and I love anise.

Geo87 said:

Looks like you've got your recipe set but I'll post this recipe anyway Incase you wanna try a different route. You'll need to scale this recipe down for home use!

Chinese master stock:
...

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This has been saved for a future project.

Geo87 said:

Pressing it is essential in achieving a consistent shape and size. Without it you'll have varied thicknesses in your finished pieces of belly.

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Interesting. I would have never thought of this...should improve re-therming/searing time consistency.

damn..i'm also sick.

bright side, cold meds really knock me out and that eliminated any jet lag.

in northern Taiwan, i had a pork belly dish that was damn good. they chop it up and stew it in a slighty sweet, savory, anise-y, cinnamon-y sauce and pour a bit of it over white rice. i know they cook bigger chunks of the pork belly in the same pot. i see them floating around in there. i can almost imagine the flavor Chuckles noted above. it was really good.

Ok, I didn't learn as much as expected from the curing class...but now time to turn my attention back to this. I've reformulated the flavorings based on the feedback here. What do you think? Do you think I should sear before sous vide? I know several folks on here have recommended that for uncured meats. Thinking about skipping the injection of brine and just increasing the curing time by an additional day.

Flavorings:
¼ cup black peppercorns
1 dozen cloves
2tsp toasted cumin
10 green cardamom pods
1 blade mace
3tbsp Red Chile Powder (cayenne)
1 head of garlic, coarsely chopped
2-4 Caramelized onions with 1-2 Star anise, deglazed with red wine
2 pieces Cinnamon bark

Pink Brine:
500g Water
250g salt
5g insta cure #1/Prague Powder #1
1/4C Brown sugar

2.5kg pork belly, with the skin

Procedure:
Inject brine equal to 10% of pork belly weight.
Vacuum seal in remaining brine for 3d.
Drain brine from bag, and reseal pork belly.
Refrigerate for 2 d before cooking to diffuse salt through meat.
Remove meat from bag, and drain.
Vacuum seal pork belly with water.
Cook sous vide in 144F bath for 40h.
Chill in ice-water bath until firm.
Remove belly from bag, and discard gelled cooking juices.
Carve belly from ribs, and remove skin. Discard bones and skin .
Portion belly into square blocks of 150 g each.
Vacuum seal each portion individually.
Refrigerate.
Reserve.

Looking good Danny.

Not sure where you are using flavorings. Are you making a stock for the liquid to put in the bags with the belly? Like this?

Flavorings:
¼ cup black peppercorns
1 dozen cloves
2tsp toasted cumin
10 green cardamom pods
1 blade mace
3tbsp Red Chile Powder (cayenne)
1 head of garlic, coarsely chopped
2-4 Caramelized onions with 1-2 Star anise, deglazed with red wine
2 pieces Cinnamon bark

Combine flavoring ingredients with _____ L (or Kg) water, bring to boil, simmer, reduce by half(?), strain(?) for stock.

Then:
Procedure:
Inject brine equal to 10% of pork belly weight. (I would lose injection step)
Vacuum seal in remaining brine for 3d.
Drain brine from bag, rinse pork(?) and reseal pork belly.
Refrigerate for 2 d before cooking to diffuse salt through meat.
Remove meat from bag, and drain.
Vacuum seal pork belly with __10% by weight(?)__ stock
Cook sous vide in 144F bath for 40h.
Chill in ice-water bath until firm.
Remove belly from bag, and reserve gelled cooking juices.
Carve belly from ribs, and remove skin. Discard bones and skin . (? - The bellies I've bought, Rest Depot and Hispanic Market don't have rib bones/skin)
Portion belly into square blocks of 150 g each.
Vacuum seal portions
Refrigerate.
Reserve.

Combine leftover stock and reserved juices and simmer, reducing to sauce. Adjust seasoning to orgasmic. Refrigerate.

To serve reheat pork belly and sauce. Puddle sauce and place pork.

Note - I would lose the pink salt if any concerns about using juices. I've read that it will help with color but would rather have the juice. In practice I use the pink salt and the juices thinking it's diluted enough to not be a concern.

Note 2 - I'm a SV first then sear. Want to try searing first next time.

Now we wait for the smart guys.

I've been asked to make a Pork Belly for a Chinese New Year celebration next month. Hope to get some tips on technique here.

This is going to get complicated with colors soon....esp for my color-blind @$$.

daveb said:

Looking good Danny.

Not sure where you are using flavorings. Are you making a stock for the liquid to put in the bags with the belly? Like this?

Flavorings:
¼ cup black peppercorns
1 dozen cloves
2tsp toasted cumin
10 green cardamom pods
1 blade mace
3tbsp Red Chile Powder (cayenne)
1 head of garlic, coarsely chopped
2-4 Caramelized onions with 1-2 Star anise, deglazed with red wine
2 pieces Cinnamon bark

Combine flavoring ingredients with _____ L (or Kg) water, bring to boil, simmer, reduce by half(?), strain(?) for stock.
I was thinking I'd actually put it all in the oil for carmelizing the onions, then into the bag post-rest for the sousvide portion.

Then:
Procedure:
Inject brine equal to 10% of pork belly weight. (I would lose injection step) If I skip the injection step, shouldn't I give more time for the cure?
Vacuum seal in remaining brine for 3d.
Drain brine from bag, rinse pork(?) and reseal pork belly.
Refrigerate for 2 d before cooking to diffuse salt through meat.
Remove meat from bag, and drain.
Vacuum seal pork belly with __10% by weight(?)__ stock Why stock here? I was thinking the onion/spice mix should be enough?
Cook sous vide in 144F bath for 40h.
Chill in ice-water bath until firm.
Remove belly from bag, and reserve gelled cooking juices.
Carve belly from ribs, and remove skin. Discard bones and skin . (? - The bellies I've bought, Rest Depot and Hispanic Market don't have rib bones/skin) What I found at the Chinese market was also boneless, I think it did have skin though.
Portion belly into square blocks of 150 g each.
Vacuum seal portions
Refrigerate.
Reserve.

Combine leftover stock and reserved juices and simmer, reducing to sauce. Adjust seasoning to orgasmic. Refrigerate.
forever and ever, amen.

To serve reheat pork belly and sauce. Puddle sauce and place pork.

Note - I would lose the pink salt if any concerns about using juices. I've read that it will help with color but would rather have the juice. In practice I use the pink salt and the juices thinking it's diluted enough to not be a concern.

Note 2 - I'm a SV first then sear. Want to try searing first next time.
Yeah, that's how I've always done it too, but been wanting to try it the other way, just not sure how a cured meat would affect that.

Now we wait for the smart guys.

I've been asked to make a Pork Belly for a Chinese New Year celebration next month. Hope to get some tips on technique here.

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