Yield: 60 skewers
Active Time: 45 mins
Total Time: 3 days (including brining & pressing)

Ingredients:
For Brine

• 4 teaspoons coriander seeds, toasted
• 2 teaspoons fennel seeds, toasted
• 1 gallon water
• 1 1/3 cups kosher salt
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 3 fresh red chiles, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 2 shallots, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed
• 3/4 duan salam (indonesian bay leaves)

 For Pork Belly

• 3lbs pork belly, skin discarded
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, cut into 6 wedges
• 1 head garlic, left unpeeled and halved crosswise
• 2 shallots, halved lengthwise
• 2 cups chicken stock

For Chile Sauce

• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons asian fish sauce
• 1 cup grated palm sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 5 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 6 tablespoons chopped cilantro stems
• 7 fresh red chiles, chopped, including seeds
• 12 garlic cloves, chopped

Equipment: 60 wooden skwers soaked in water for 1 hour

Recipe:

Brine Pork Belly

Bring brine ingredients to a boil in a 6 quart pot, then simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes. Cool brine to room temperature, then chill until cold, about 3 hours, and up to 3 days.

Cover pork belly with brine in a large heavy roasting pan, then chill 24 hours.

Remove pork belly from brine, discarding brine, and rinse under cold water. Pat pork belly dry. Wash and dry roasting pan.

Braise Pork Belly

Preheat oven to 225 degrees F with rack in middle.

Straddle roasting pan across 2 burners and heat oil over medium high heat until it shimmers, then cook onion, garlic, and shallots, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes. Add stock and bring to a boil, scraping up brown bits. Add pork belly and remove from heat.

Cover roasting pan tightly with foil and braise in oven until pork belly is very tender, 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours.

Remove pork belly (reserve braising liquid for anothe ruse) and cool to room temperature.

Wrap tightly in several layers of plastic and chill, pressed between 2 baking sheets witha  weight (such as four 28 oz cans) on top, 12 to 24 hours.

Make Chile Sauce

Puree all sauce ingredients with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt ina  blender.

Skewer Pork Belly

Bring pork belly to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Cut lengthwise into 1 inch strips, then cut each strip crosswise into 1/3 inch wide pieces. Thread each piece ontoa  skewer and brush with some chile sauce.

Prepare Grill

If using a charcoal grill, open vents on bottom and light a large chimney starter full of charcoal then dump coals out across bottom rack, leaving a space free os coals on one side of the grill equal to sizer of pork belly, where it can be moved in case of flare ups. When charcoal turns grayish white, the grill will be at its hottest and then will begin to cool off. Grill is ready when you can hold your hand 5 inches above grill rack directly over coals for 3 to 4 seconds. If using a gas grill, preheat all burners on high for 10 minutes, then adjust heat to medium high.

Grill Pork Belly

Oil grill rack, then grill pork belly, turning occasionally and basting with chile sauce once more, until well browned on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes total. Brush with more chile sauce.

Serves 4

•3 chile de arbol
•2 tablespoons cumin seeds, toasted and ground
•1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
•1/2 cup coarse salt
•1/2 cup light-brown sugar or cane sugar
•1 (3-pound) pork belly
•Zest of 1 orange
•1 1/4 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
•2 sticks cinnamon
•1/3 cup maple syrup
•2 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock

Directions

1.In a small skillet over medium heat, toast chiles until charred and fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove chiles from skillet and set aside. Add cumin seeds to skillet and toast until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Place chiles and cumin seeds in a spice grinder and finely grind. Transfer to a medium bowl along with black pepper, salt, and sugar. Remove two tablespoons of the spice mixture and set aside to make the glaze.
2.Rub remaining spice mixture all over pork belly. Cover and refrigerate for 6 to 8 hours.
3.In a small saucepan, combine reserved spice mixture, orange zest, 1/4 cup orange juice, cinnamon sticks, and maple syrup. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat and cook until slightly thickened and heated through, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set glaze aside.
4.Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Remove pork belly from refrigerator and rinse off spice mixture; pat dry with paper towels. Add remaining 1 cup orange juice and chicken stock to a roasting pan. Place over medium-high heat and cook until liquid just comes to a simmer. Add pork, fat side up, to roasting pan. Transfer to oven and cook until meat is very tender and easily pierced with the tip of a sharp knife, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
5.Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees. Cook pork belly until browned and crisp, 30 to 40 minutes more, basting with reserved glaze every 10 minutes.
6.Remove pork from roasting pan and transfer to a cutting board; let stand for 10 minutes before slicing into 1/2-by-3-inch pieces.

What I ended up making was very different from my other recipe which I have on my blog – different and also good!

Here goes:

Ingredients:
– 1 lb pork belly
– 1 chopped onion
– 2-3 tablespoon soy sauce
– 1 tablespoon ginger
– 3 cloves chopped garlic
– Salt to taste
– 2 tsp white pepper
– 2 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar
– Water (enough to cover the pork belly)
– 2 star anise
– 2 tablespoons honey
– Vegetable oil

Recipe:
In a pot add the oil and saute the onions until translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger. Cook for about a minute. All all the remainder of the ingredients except the water. You may need to cut teh pork belly into 2 or 3 pieces to fit into your pot. Add enough water to just about cover teh pork belly. Raise the ehat and bring to a boil. Put the lid on and lower heat to low. Let it simmer for about 2 hours until pork belly is tender. That’s it, nothing more to it.

Take the pork belly out and serve. You can reduce the liquid down if you like, basically turning it into a glaze, though teh pork belly should be moist and flavorful enough.

This should be enough for 4 people as an appetizer, you don’t want alot of pork belly – unless you are obsessed! Enjoy!

SPICE RUB
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted
1/2 teaspoon dill seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
1 1/2 to 2 pounds boneless pork belly, skin on or skin off

BRAISING LIQUID
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion (about 4 ounces), coarsely chopped
1 carrot, coarsely chopped
1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped
4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2 bay leaves
4 whole cloves
1/2 cup dry white wine or dry white vermouth
1 cup chicken stock, homemade or store-bought

TURNIPS
1 1/2-pound small turnips
1 tablespoon reserved pork fat or unsalted butter
1/4 cup chicken stock, homemade or store-bought, or as needed
1 teaspoon sugar
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Recipe:

Spice rub (1 to 2 days in advance): Combine the peppercorns, coriander and dill seed in a small mortar or a spice grinder. Grind until cracked but not reduced to a powder. Add the salt and grind briefly to combine.

Dry the pork well with paper towels and place it on a small baking sheet or large plate. Rub the spice mixture all over the pork, turning and rubbing until all the spices adhere; this may take a few turns. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for 1 to 2 days.

Heat the oven to 325 degrees.

Brown the pork: Pat the surface of the pork dry with paper towels. If some of the spices come off, save these for later. Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet or shallow braising dish (4- to 5-quart) over medium-high heat. Add the pork, skin (or fat, if you bought skinless) side down and sear until the skin (or fat) sizzles and browns evenly, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the pork to a plate and pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the pan.

The aromatics: Return the pan to medium-high heat, add the onion, carrot and celery, and sauté until the vegetables are softening and beginning to brown, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, bay leaves and cloves. Stir and sauté for another minute or so.

The braising liquid: Add the white wine, bring to a simmer, and stir with a wooden spoon to dislodge any seared-on bits from the bottom of the pan. Simmer until the wine reduces down to a couple of tablespoons, about 3 minutes. Add the stock and bring to a simmer.

The braise: Return the pork, skin side up, to the pan. Scrape in any spices that have fallen off the pork. Cover with foil or a secure lid, and slide into the middle of the oven. Braise, checking every 45 minutes to baste and to make sure that the liquid isn’t simmering too rapidly or evaporating, until the pork is completely tender, 2 1/4 to 3 hours. Turn down the oven 10 or 15 degrees if the liquid is simmering too briskly. And if the pan threatens to dry out, add some water, about 1/4 cup at a time. Remove the pork from the oven and let cool in the braising liquid.

The finish: When the pork is cool enough to handle, heat the oven to 425 degrees. Transfer the pork to a cutting board, and set the pan aside. If the pork is skin-on, run a long sharp knife blade just under the skin and remove it. Score the exposed fat in a cross-hatch patter, making shallow cuts about 1 inch apart, then cut the pork into 4 even portions.

Browning the pork: Strain the braising liquid into a large glass measuring cup, pressing down lightly on the vegetables to extract any liquid (don’t press so hard as to mash the vegetables), and then discard the vegetables. With a large spoon, skim off the excess fat that floats on the surface of the strained liquid — reserve 1 tablespoon of the fat to sauté the turnips if you like (or you can use the butter). Return the pork to the braising pan or another shallow baking dish. Reserve 1/4 cup of the braising liquid for the turnips and pour the remaining braising liquid over the top of the pork. Slide the pork, uncovered, onto the middle oven rack until sizzling and browned and heated through, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, glaze the turnips: If using baby turnips, trim the stalks and scrub the turnips. For larger, purple-top turnips, peel and cut into 1-inch wedges. Choose a skillet just large enough to hold the turnips in a single layer (10-inch). Combine the turnips, the reserved pork fat or butter, sugar and reserved 1/4 cup braising liquid in the skillet. Season with salt and pepper, and bring to simmer over medium heat. Cover and simmer until the turnips are just tender when prodded with a small knife or thin skewer, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the lid and cook, shaking and stirring, until the liquid has evaporated and the turnips have a golden sheen, another 5 minutes or so. If the pork is not ready, set aside in a warm place.

Serving: Serve the pork and turnips on warm plates. Taste the braising liquid for salt and pepper, adjust seasonings as necessary, and spoon a bit over each serving.

From “All About Braising”

Leen made pork belly the other night and she gave me leftovers. I couldn’t say no – she doesn’t need all that fat. Especially with all those waffles she’s been eating lately. I was just helping her, isn’t that what friends are for?

I decided to make a sandwich with it for my son and me. I basically took a crusty bread, mayo, english mustard (the heat goes well with the richness of the pork belly), arugula and the pork belly. Make sure you heat the pork belly at about 350 degrees in the oven until it’s heated through before adding to the sandwich. For the sandwich just use the skin and meat pieces. Try to avoid using the fat because it gets to be too much (I tried it with and without – without is the way to go). Enjoy!

Serves 4
20 minutes preparation, 2 hours cooking

Ingredients:

1kg/2lb 4oz pork belly, rib bones removed
3 tbsp groundnut oil
2 tsp sugar
750ml/1pt 7fl oz chicken stock
1 whole star anise
1 stick cinnamon or cassia bark
7.5cm/3in piece fresh ginger, unpeeled
3-4 tbsp Shaoxing wine (substitute dry sherry if unavailable)
125ml/4fl oz dark soy sauce
pinch freshly ground black pepper
4 spring onions

Recipe:
1. Blanch the pork belly. Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add the pork belly to the boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes (this will remove the excess fat).

2. Remove the pork, drain and refresh. Cut into bite-sized chunks.

3. Heat some of the oil in a heavy-bottomed casserole dish and add the pork. Brown the pork pieces (you may need to do this in batches, adding more oil as you go). Be careful because it may spatter a bit.

4. Remove the browned pieces with a slotted spoon and keep to one side.

5. Drain off the fat, leaving about two tablespoons’ worth in the casserole.

6. Add the sugar to the pan and stir. After a few minutes, the sugar will turn brown and begin to caramelise. When it’s a pale brown colour, add the chicken stock and stir, scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pan.

7. Add the star anise and the cinnamon or cassia bark. With the flat side of a knife, bash the ginger, to reveal the inside. Add to the pan.

8. Add the Shaoxing wine and soy sauce and stir.

9. Return the pork to the pan. The stock should just cover the pork, so add more or less according to the size of your casserole, or top up with a bit of water. Add a pinch of black pepper.

10. Bring to a simmer, cover, and turn the heat to low. Simmer for about two hours.

11. For the last half-hour, remove the lid and reduce the sauce. The sauce should be rich and reduced and the pork meltingly tender.

12. At the end of the cooking time, slice the spring onions on the diagonal into 5cm/3in lengths and add to the pork. Simmer for another five minutes or so.

13. Serve the pork in a bowl with some boiled white rice.

Ingredients:
 
-2 lb pork belly(boneless), cut into roughly 1 in x 1in squares. Trim all but about 3/4 of an inch of fat the one side of the belly.(Easy to find at Chinese markets)
roughly 2 tablespoons regular olive oil
-1 large onion, chopped
-3 Tablespoons of all purpose flour mixed with 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
-1 pint chicken stock
-1 cup white wine
-4 large carrots, chopped fine in a blender or food processor
-zest of one whole lemon
-8 oz black-eyed beans, soaked overnight in cold water, drained
-1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
-1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
-1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
-freshly ground black pepper
-kosher or sea salt
-bread crumbs (optional)

Directions: 
1. Preheat oven to 325F
2. Heat oil in a flameproof casserole or dutch oven over medium heat, add the pork and fry until lightly browned and sealed on both sides. Remove pork and drain on paper towels.
3. Heat the onion and fry gently for 5 minutes or so until soft and translucent. Stir in flour and butter over low heat for 1 – 2 minutes. Gradually stir in stock and wine. Raise heat and bring to the boil for 8 minutes and then simmer, stirring, until thick.
4. Add the carrots, lemon zest, beans and spices, and season to taste with salt and ground black pepper. Bring back to the boil and then boil for 10 minutes. Return the meat to the pot, cover and cook in the oven for about 2.5 hours. If desired remove cover and add bread crumbs covering top of casserole for final 45 minutes in oven.
5. Before serving, add salt and black pepper to taste.

On the morning of the party at around 6am I felt like it needed some sweetness so I created the onion marmalade recipe, having never made it before. This really added to the pork belly, making a  great complement. The sweetness and slight chili kick of the marmalade really made the whole pork belly recipe work. I actually think this was the best pork belly I have ever made, and I’ve made quite a few!

Pork Belly Ingredients:
- 6 lbs pork belly
- 2 quarts chicken stock
- 2 cups cure mix

Cure Mix Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup fennel seeds
- 1/4 cup cumin seeds
- 2 tablespoons coriander seeds
- 8 teaspoons black peppercorns
- 4 pieces star anise
- 4 pieces cinnamon stick
- 2 teaspoons white peppercorns
- 4 teaspoons whole cloves
- 4 tablespoons ground coriander
- 1 cup salt
- 2/3 cup sugar

Onion Marmalade Ingredients:
- 1/4 olive oil
- 6 cups thinly sliced red onions
- 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red chillis
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sherry
- 1/4 cup vinegar
- 1/4 cup apple juice
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- salta nd pepper to taste

Recipe:

To make the cure mix, blend all the solid ingredients in a  coffee grinder and mix with the salt and sugar.

Rub the pork belly with the dry cure and refrigerate for 3 days. On day 3 rinse the pork belly and place in a casserole pan. Cover the pork belly with the chicken stock. Make sure it’s completely covered. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Cover the pot and place in oven overnight for 7 hours.

Remove the pork belly from the braising liquid and drain. About 45 minutes before serving place the pork belly in a 375 degree oven for roughly 45 minutes or until the skin is crunchy. Cut and serve with onion marmalade on the side.

For the onion marmalade, heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions and chili. Cover and cook until onions are tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Add the sugar, vinegar, sherry, balsamic vinegar and apple juice. Cook uncovered until onions are very tender and mixture is thick. Season with salt and pepper. Serve warm. You can make this 1-2 days ahead and just reheat to serve.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Cook Time: 6 hours 30 mins

Ingredients:

Dry rub

• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons dry mustard powder
• 2 tablespoons mustard seeds
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 lemon, zested
• 2 sprigs rosemary, picked and finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed and finely chopped
• Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• 3 pounds fresh pork belly, skin removed

Pork belly

• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, julienned
• 2 ribs celery, sliced on the bias
• 1/2 fennel bulb, tough middle discarded and remaining bulb julienned
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed and finely chopped
• Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• Kosher salt
• 1 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup whole-grain mustard
• 2 to 3 cups chicken stock
• Thyme bundle
• 3 to 4 bay leaves

Recipe:
Dry rub

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Massage the rub all over the pork belly, then cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Pork belly

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Remove the belly from the refrigerator. Coat a large straight-sided pan with olive oil and put over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery, fennel, and garlic. Season the vegetables with crushed red pepper and salt, to taste. Cook the vegetables until they start to soften and become very aromatic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the wine and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the mustard and 2 cups of the chicken stock. Taste to make sure it is delicious. Add the pork belly and toss in the thyme and bay leaves. Cover and put in the preheated oven. Braise the belly for 6 hours, checking occasionally. If the liquid level goes down add the remaining stock.

Cook’s Note: It is also a great idea to rotate the pan a couple of times throughout the cooking process.

When the belly is done it will be very tender and succulent. Remove the lid and set the oven to broil. Broil the pork belly until it turns golden, about 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the belly, from the braising liquid, to a cutting board. Cut the belly into 6 or 8 equal portions depending on your appetite. Arrange the pork on a serving platter and ladle the braising liquid on top.