Pork Belly - your ideas ?

[rotuts]

I went to Ranch 88 in Aliston , a large USA chines market.  they had pork  belly on sale , $ 2.49 !

 

 

I could not resist .   

 

as Im a big fan of SV , I thought Id divvy these up , and another Vad'd bag I have in the Fz , and initially

 

SV @ 130.1  for 24 hours ,, w different rubs / bag  , then finish on the Weber , possible 275 or 300  or 325  for a few hours.

 

this is a gas Weber  w that thermometer sticking out on the R.  I can add  some Pellet-Smoke for the last hour.  Id like to get different flavors

 

w crispy skin that does not burn.  Hoisin-garlic might be one bag     Cumin-Tex-Mex another etc

 

what are your thoughts ?   Ihavent made pork belly in a while , and made some tasty PB some time ago on the Weber  @ 350 until crispy

 

I like the idea of getting some tenderness from the SV , and possibly getting less contraction of the meat fibers after the 24 hours @ 130 F

 

for the final Weber-igins.   may or may not work.

Edited October 6, 2019 by rotuts (log)

[TicTac]

Roasted slow.

 

Cooled.

 

Sliced thing.

 

Pan fried.

 

Umami / contrasting sauce.

 

I had this version at an Izakaya recently and they did some fantastic seaweed based sauce...revisiting soon for more tastes and further investigation. 

 

I would serve with seared (or grilled) shiitake mushrooms and perhaps a cherry gastrique.

 

 

[Bernie]

I usually do a whole piece, roasted slow in a conventional oven. When its sliced I would usually treat it like pork spareribs. The conversion/rendering of fats takes a long time and I am not sure you would get the same effect in the SV as the temperature is not going to be hot enough. I am after the skin side to be crispy/popcorn crackling and it only really gets that way by the fat being rendered out of that section and  the inner fat layers are converted into that yummy protein. With the amount of fat, they are never going to dry out with long slow low temperature cooking.

Asian spice flavors always go well with fatty pork.

[Katie Meadow]

12 hours ago, rotuts said:

I went to Ranch 88 in Aliston , a large USA chines market.  they had pork  belly on sale , $ 2.49 !

 

 

I could not resist .   

 

as Im a big fan of SV , I thought Id divvy these up , and another Vad'd bag I have in the Fz , and initially

 

SV @ 130.1  for 24 hours ,, w different rubs / bag  , then finish on the Weber , possible 275 or 300  or 325  for a few hours.

 

this is a gas Weber  w that thermometer sticking out on the R.  I can add  some Pellet-Smoke for the last hour.  Id like to get different flavors

 

w crispy skin that does not burn.  Hoisin-garlic might be one bag     Cumin-Tex-Mex another etc

 

what are your thoughts ?   Ihavent made pork belly in a while , and made some tasty PB some time ago on the Weber  @ 350 until crispy

 

I like the idea of getting some tenderness from the SV , and possibly getting less contraction of the meat fibers after the 24 hours @ 130 F

 

for the final Weber-igins.   may or may not work.

 

The pork belly pictured above looks better (and by that I mean more meaty) than most. At restaurants I've had yummy crispy pork belly in tacos or thrown into wonton soup at the last minute, but it isn't something I regularly order. And the two times I have purchased it as a slab, even from reputable butchers, it's been more like a block of fat with barely a shred of meat. That's discouraging, and neither looks or tastes appealing. I suppose I could speak up about it and give it a closer inspection but I do have to limit my fats due to high cholesterol so I guess I will switch out my allotment for something that's far less effort. Like cheese. Or a BLT during the height of tomato season. Or coffee ice cream straight from the freezer.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

My cholesterol is off the charts but I would die for pork fat.  About to go serve some braised pork sauce over ravioli now.  My doctor tells me to avoid red meat but isn't pork as they say "the other white meat"?

 

[liuzhou]

There are literally dozens of Chinese preparations.

 

Probably the two best known are 红烧肉 / 紅燒肉 (hóng shāo ròu) or Red cooked pork belly or Braised pork belly; and 东坡肉/ 東坡肉 (dōng pō ròu) usually just called Dongpo pork.

Edited October 8, 2019 by liuzhou (log)

[eugenep]

I used Cook's Illustrated's Sous Vide for Everyone book version 

 

SV for 8 hours at 170 

 

The recipe was used for Sichuan twice cooked pork belly with Italian peppers 

 

Suuuuuuper good 

[rotuts]

I completed my PorkBelly studies.

 

i cut up each pice in 1/2 , and did two marinades :

 

Hoisen ( i like Koon Chung , Im not a fan of Lee KK )  shaved ginger , garlic and lower NaCl soy sauce

 

then some tamarind sauce ( and awful soupy brand that got tossed ) w ginger and garlic

 

24 H 130 F in the SV bath

 

done :

 

 

not appetizing yet.   drained , dried and CSO'd 375 for 30 min SteamBake

 

 

the skin is not burnt as I thought , just getting the color from the ' sauce '

 

rice from the iPot , w a little more water this time :

 

 

the rice turned out fine as some of the water evaporated while in the Bowl-in-the-bowl 

 

this dinner ( prok ) was not a success at all :

 

the meaty bits of pork , that I thought were going to be so succulent and tender ?

 

dry and tooth some.  edible , but that's about it.   the rind was rubbery etc

 

the thinner strips of pork and fat were decent.

 

Ive only done pork belly once , on the Weber , w a rub.  can't recall how long , or temp , but until the skin was churchy and tasty

 

I realized what Pork Belly enthusiasts know :

 

its about the layers of pork fat , w thinner strips of pork meat in-between  the fat

 

live and learn.

Edited October 10, 2019 by rotuts (log)

[heidih]

Pork belly aside I find it amusing that you have Ranch 88 - w have the huge chain Ranch 99 - what is up with that...  

[Margaret Pilgrim]

You have to remember that my technique is antediluvian, no SV, no IP, and that I fly by the seat of my jeans, but I simply cross-hatch the skin, or sometimes remove the skin with as little fat as possible and then cross-hatch the fat, rub Kosher salt into the fat and into the cut.    Nestle the slabs of belly in a baking dish, add a big splash of white wine, fresh thyme sprigs, and slow roast (275°) for 3 or more hours.    Tender as love, and topped with crackling fat.    I add a little water to the drippings and pour into a fat separating pitcher for 10 minutes for sublime sauce.     Super easy.

[Vapre]

5 hours ago, rotuts said:

I completed my PorkBelly studies.

 

i cut up each pice in 1/2 , and did two marinades :

 

Hoisen ( i like Koon Chung , Im not a fan of Lee KK )  shaved ginger , garlic and lower NaCl soy sauce

 

then some tamarind sauce ( and awful soupy brand that got tossed ) w ginger and garlic

 

24 H 130 F in the SV bath

 

done :

 

 

not appetizing yet.   drained , dried and CSO'd 375 for 30 min SteamBake

 

 

the skin is not burnt as I thought , just getting the color from the ' sauce '

 

rice from the iPot , w a little more water this time :

 

 

the rice turned out fine as some of the water evaporated while in the Bowl-in-the-bowl 

 

this dinner ( prok ) was not a success at all :

 

the meaty bits of pork , that I thought were going to be so succulent and tender ?

 

dry and tooth some.  edible , but that's about it.   the rind was rubbery etc

 

the thinner strips of pork and fat were decent.

 

Ive only done pork belly once , on the Weber , w a rub.  can't recall how long , or temp , but until the skin was churchy and tasty

 

I realized what Pork Belly enthusiasts know :

 

its about the layers of pork fat , w thinner strips of pork meat in-between  the fat

 

live and learn.

 

 

I've had pretty good luck w/the Serious Eats Pork Belly recipe

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/10/sous-vide-pork-belly-bun-pork-braise-mayonnaise-quick-pickled-cucumbers-recipe.html

[KootenayCook]

My wife and I were doing the annual freezer inventory when she came upon a too-familiar piece of pork belly.  This time she tossed it at me, "Do something with this, will you?" (Her recollection of the interaction differs.)  So I looked up this thread as well as looking for other ideas on the net.  I decided to basically follow this recipe for crispy Chinese pork belly.  The basic steps are as follows:

1. Prick many holes in the skin without piercing the meat.  This is not as easy as it sounds. Pork skin is tough!  I ended up using my electric drill, which worked well.
2. Cover the meaty side with sherry, salt and 5-spice powder.
3. Leave to marinate, skin side up for up to 24 hr.  I also brushed the skin with vodka, which seems to be a common practice. My pork belly sat in the fridge for 2 days because of scheduling problems, but the extra time doesn't seem to have done it any harm.
4. Wrap in foil, leaving the top open with the sides built up above the level of the skin.
5. Brush the skin with vinegar and cover in rock salt. I used coarse kosher salt.
6. Bake one hour at 350. This thread suggested that it needed longer cooking at a lower temp or it would be tough.  I opted for 3 hr. at 275, following @Margaret Pilgrim's suggestion above.
7. Brush off salt. Place on a baking sheet and broil (at least 12" from the element) for around 30 min. You have to watch carefully, as with most things under the broiler. I caught mine just in time.

Pix:

 

Following stages 3 and 4

 

 

After step 5

 

 

Step 7 - (1) after brushing off the salt, but before going under the broiler and (2) following broiling

 

 

Sliced and on the table with steamed buns and some (mostly non traditional) accompaniments.  It was difficult to slice through the crispy crackling without smashing the tender meat underneath.

The crackling was crisp, though perhaps not as deep as I expected. The meat was very tender. It was heavenly, and I will certainly make it again. Next time we'll invite people over (after the Covid crisis subsides), so that we don't devour it all ourselves.

 

lves.

[TdeV]

In 2013 dinner thread, @dcarch posted about sous vide pork belly with crispy skin (great photos). Since I can no longer post in that thread, I'm posting here. This is what dcarch said:

After many years of trying, finally perfect cracklin' skin on perfectly juicy tender meat! Here are the steps:

1. Poke a million holes on the skin. Season and rub well all meat surfaces.

2. Use a flat tray and make the skin lay very flat, and freeze pork belly.

3. While it is still frozen, boil the skin side in shallow boiling water to cook the skin only.

4. After the skin has been well cooked, and the meat is still frozen because of the fat layer, sous vide the pork belly the normal way. I did 24 hours.

5. Take the pork belly out from sous vide bag and dry with paper towel.

6. Wrap Heavy duty alum foil all around, exposing only the skin.

7. Lay foiled pork belly (food safety) on a rack in a dehydrator set at 150F (food safety!) face down so the skin will be flat and fat can be drained away. Dehydrate overnight.

8. In a pre-heated 400F oven, bake the pork belly face up with the alum foil on a cold pizza stone.

9. Don't walk away. In a few minutes, the skin will puff up beautifully.

10. Let the pork belly get to room temperature and the skin will be unbelievable on the most amazing juicy tender sous vided (24 hours +12 hours) pink meat.

11. Find a way to divide the skin up equally or you will end up with big fights. 🙂

<end quote>

 

re: #3, how long does one boil the skin side?

re: #7, I have no dehydrator. What do you recommend?

Edited August 10, 2020 by TdeV
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[southernsmoker]

I used to have a customer that swore just marinated it in dale's for 15 minutes and cook just like bacon.

[FeChef]

4 hours ago, southernsmoker said:

I used to have a customer that swore just marinated it in dale's for 15 minutes and cook just like bacon.

Honestly, if its already sliced thin, it might not take long to take on a high sodium seasoning. I love Lawry's AP but it doesnt take much to over salt chicken wings. I usually do a 30 min rest before dusting in plain flour before frying. Amazing breaded wings.