Pork Belly Confit With Spices

Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com

What about pork meat except that it is a delight? Not much on earth can match such a texture combined with such a flavor. Try this recipe for your family and holiday meals.

Step 1: find a nice pork belly

If possible from the original farm. Choose it thick with a nice mix of meat and fat. The piece of meat must weight about 1 3/4 lbs (800 g.)

Step 2: prepare the marinade

You will need:

• 3 1/4  tablespoons (5 cl) soy sauce
• 3 1/4  tablespoons (5 cl) white wine
• 3 tablespoon honey
• The juice of a 2 inches (5 cm) fresh ginger piece, grated and then pressed onto a fine sieve
• 1 teaspoon of ground green cardamom
• The juice of two garlic cloves, grated and then pressed onto a fine sieve
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (reduced, so that it gets a syrup texture )

With a sharp knife, make deep cuts above and below the chest to facilitate the penetration of the marinade.
Heat all marinade ingredients in a pan and assemble all at 160° F (70° c). Mix well and let cool.
While covering the pork  with the marinade, don’t leave any “naked “area.
Cover with plastic and marinate at least 12 hours in the fridge.

Step 3: the first cooking

The next day, skip the part under water to remove the marinade. Dry thoroughly. Then fry in a little duck fat in a pan until obtaining a golden brown color. Add 50cl of chicken stock (or veal), three cloves of garlic, 5 cm fresh ginger cut into thin slices and 1 chopped lemongrass. Increase the temperature, cover, then put it in the oven at 320°F (160°c)  for 3 hours. Every 30 minutes, remove the watering stock from the pan.

Step 4: lacquering

Get the broth. Add a tablespoon of soy sauce, two tablespoon of honey, 1 teaspoon of roasted sesame seeds oil, and a beautiful tablespoon of peanut butter. Reduce over low heat until obtaining a syrupy texture. Then top the pork belly with it. And then cook for 10 minutes at 390° F (200° C).

The piece is then handled with care as it is melting, so it breaks like glass. For the cut, you can use a ceramic knife.
To accompany it, you can try potatoes and fried Brussels sprouts (previously steamed for 12mn).

Wine suggestion

It is not necessarily easy to find a wine that should be as silky as meat and support the spices. That way, I would say a Coteaux du Languedoc or a Vignes Oubliées (Granier / Jullien) from the same vintage.