Slow Cooker Braised Pork Belly

Tweet

 Ok. I've never cooked pork belly before.  Mr CC has had it in restaurants and has pretty much swooned over it.  Me? Way too much fat to ingest.  It was never on the list of foods I simply must prepare.

Until I saw a large slab of it at my most favorite local co-op.  Look at that meat to fat ratio, people!  The clincher was it's local, organic, pasture-raised pork and I wasn't going to take a pass on that.

All I know about pork belly is this:  It usually has a very high fat to meat ratio; has become de rigueur in many fine restaurants; bacon resides therein.

That's it.

Here's what I observe about pork belly:  The fat is mostly around the meat, not really in the meat.

Deduction:  Braising must happen.

So I went merrily on my way, winging this recipe.  I must tell you now that today I actually looked up the methods used to braise pork belly and almost all of them instruct to cover the meat in a liquid. Hmmm...

Didn't do that.  I thought with so much fat around the meat the slow cooker would render it into liquid and the liquid fat, along with the aromatics, would make the pork tender.

I got most of that right, but you know what they say about horseshoes...  Turns out that after 4 hours the pork was actually cooked through but really tough, the liquid covering only about half of it.

That's when I punted, set the slow cooker on Low for 8 more hours (12 total) and every few hours turned the belly over and occasionally basted the top with the juices.  After 12 hours it was pull-apart tender yet still slice-able, and very, very tasty.

Now let me tell you about the liquid:  It's good. It's Really good.  A combination of rendered fat, juices from the meat, the spice berries, bay leaves and gin.  I have no idea what inspired me to use that combination of  aromatics, they just sounded good. When I got to the juniper berries is when I jumped to gin; seemed like a good idea and I'm happy with it.  Mr CC is too.  Use a good gin for this: not too dry, not too floral.

The fat?  As I said, the meat to fat ratio in this particular belly was high on the meaty side.  Also, I'm not so worried about a moderate amount of animal fat when I know the source and this comes from an organic, sustainable farm about 60 miles from my kitchen, Alexandre Farm.  If you're going to eat meat, you should know whence it hails.



Slow Cooker Braised Pork Belly
Christine's original recipe
Print
Ingredients:
3 pounds lean pork belly
8 allspice berries
8 juniper berries
3 fresh bay leaves, crushed
Generous amounts of kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper
1/4 cup good gin (could use more)

Preparation:

• If silver skin is present, remove as much as you have the patience for, using a sharp boning knife.
• Season the meat all over with the kosher salt and cracked black pepper then place in the bottom of a slow cooker large enough to hold the meat without touching the sides too much.  I put the fattier side down first then turned it over later.
• Sprinkle the spice berries over the meat and put the crushed bay leaves around the edges.
• Pour the gin around the sides of the meat so it gets underneath.
• Turn the slow cooker on low for 10 - 12 hours and walk away, returning occasionally to turn the meat and baste it.
• When the meat is fall-apart tender, remove from the crock pot and allow it to rest for a bit before serving.

Serving suggestions:
Thinly sliced over a salad of garden greens.  Use some of the juices to make a vinaigrette.
Dice small, sear briefly in a hot pan, sprinkle on scrambled eggs.
Warm, thick slices over green lentils (leave out the duck). (You may want to prepare this when most of the US is not experiencing the heat of this particular summer.)
Place warm slices with juices on a sturdy grilled bun, top with favorite condiments, garden lettuce, sliced tomato.

More notes:
Store the pork belly in its juices in a covered container. Refrigerate.

Copyright © 2005-2012, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Recipe For Crock Pot Braised Pork Ribs With Whole Garlic Cloves and Fresh Rosemary

Tweet

I don't use my crockpot often enough, and more's the pity.

Truth is, I don't usually think about how I'm going to cook something until I'm in the kitchen around 6 PM deciding what's for dinner.  I'll bet I'm not alone in this.

There were these gorgeous pork ribs in my freezer that had come from Yolo County pig farmer extraordinnaire, John Bledsoe, and I had taken them out to thaw thinking I had all the time in the world to braise them into a tasty meal.

Well, the minute I stepped into my office, saw the quite large stack of paperwork on the desk, and realized that I would be working all day and probably into the night, I turned around, went back to the kitchen and pulled out the crock pot.

In a few minutes I had onions, carrots, celery and leeks prepped, 21 cloves of garlic peeled, and the zest of one quite large Meyer lemon waiting on a plate.

Aren't those ribs beautiful?

The rest was easy; here's what you do:  Layer the ingredients as shown in the photos, sprinkle the lemon zest over all the vegetables, ribs on top with generous sprinklings of kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper, and finish it off with fresh sprigs of rosemary.

Pour in some rich stock, red wine, plonk the lid on, program the crock pot to high for 4 hours then low for 6 hours then warm to hold.  And walk away.

When you return to your kitchen, after dark, eyes bleary and neck achey from crunching numbers all day, the aromas that greet you will lift your spirits and the meal that has pretty much prepared itself will pamper your palate, warm your tummy and remind you that taking the crock pot out of the cupboard once in a while can be such a good thing.


Christine's Recipe for Crock Pot Braised Pork Ribs with Whole Garlic Cloves and Fresh Rosemary
(print recipe)
Ingredients:
1 medium onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 leek, white and light green parts only, cleaned and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch thick pieces
3 ribs celery, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch thick pieces
4 carrots, pared, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch thick pieces
21 cloves garlic, peeled, left whole
Zest of one large Meyer lemon or regular lemon
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 pounds meaty pork ribs on the bone
1 cup rich stock (I used my rich and robust chicken stock)
1/2 to 2/3 cup Merlot or Merlot-Cabernet blend
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black peppercorns
Preparation:
Beginning with the onions, layer the vegetables in the crock pot, ending with the garlic cloves.
Top the vegetables with the lemon zest then lay the ribs over, nestling them snugly into the pot.
Sprinkle the ribs with kosher salt and pepper then lay the rosemary sprigs over them.
Pour the stock down the edges of the crock pot then do the same with the red wine.
Put the lid on the pot then set the programming to High for 4 hours, Low for 4-6 hours, Hold or Warm until you're ready to eat.
The meat will be fall-off-the-bone tender, the vegetables not mushy. I always find that amazing.
Remove the rosemary sprigs before serving.

Enjoy!

Copyright © 2005-2011, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Make Your Own Saucisson de Porc

Tweet

When Peter at Kalofagas cured a few pork tenderloins several months ago, I knew I had to do my own - for the experience if nothing else. Peter is quite an adventurous and prolific cook who made the whole curing process seem so easy that I felt confident in following his directions. And guess what? It worked! I have two lovely lean saucisson pork tenderloins in my fridge waiting for holiday guests to nibble and enjoy. Thanks so much for sharing your triumph Peter. Never say you can't teach an old cook new tricks: It's now my triumph too and I'll be doing more charcuterie in the months ahead.

Cook's Notes:

Update - I found this book on charcuterie at Amazon.

Copyright © 2005-2007, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Pork & Butternut Squash Stew

Tweet

Winter is not settling down for a long nap here on the north coast. It's cold, rainy, foggy and definitely winter-y. What better comfort on such a day than to walk into the house and be greeted by the smells of a stew simmering away on the stove? Well, maybe curling up with a good book, a hot cup of tea, and a blanket tucked around you while those heady aromas waft around your head, huh? Better than visions of sugar plums.

This recipe doesn't have exact measurements, though I'll try to approximate. I just started with the pork and the butternut squash and went from there, adding this and that until I felt it was done.

2 pounds boneless pork loin or 2 pounds boneless pork loin chops, about 1 inch thick, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 large, sweet onion, chopped into 1/2 inch dice
7 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped fine
1 medium to large butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1 inch cubes
2 apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2 inch dice
2 cans of your favorite white beans, drained
2 cups or so of chicken stock or a combination of liquids (in addition to the chicken stock, I used some Six Rivers Brewery Autumn Ale that was left over and topped it off with some apple cider)
2 bay leaves
4 fresh sage leaves, roughly chopped
ground cloves (especially if you use apple cider as part of your liquid)
salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet over med-high heat, brown the meat all over in batches in a little olive oil. As each batch is browned, transfer it to a stew pot (I used a crock pot this time as I was going to leave the house as soon as the stew was assembled and wanted it to cook unattended).
Adding a little more olive oil and lowering the heat to medium, cook the onions until tender and golden. Add to the stew pot. Cook the garlic 2-3 minutes, taking care not to burn it and add it to the pot.
Deglaze the skillet with a bit of liquid, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom. Pour all of it into the pot.
To the pot add:
cubed squash
diced apple
1/4 to 1/2 tsp ground cloves
coarsly chopped sage leaves
bay leaves
the white beans

Mix all this together gently, adding enough liquid that will allow the meat to braise and all the ingredients to fall together into a stew. Add salt and pepper to taste, bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover pot and simmer for about 2 hours or until pork is fall apart tender.

Simple Pork And Veggie Stir Fry

Tweet

Simple Pork & Veggie Stir Fry
Christine's original recipe
Ingredients:
2 thick cut, boneless sirloin pork chops
1 large sweet onion
2 bell peppers, red and yellow
3 small zucchini
3 small yellow crook neck squash
1 tablespoon NapaStyle Cocoa Spice Rub ( although I'm sure any seasoned salt will do, this struck me as going particularly well with the salsa below)
A splash of white wine
1/4 - 1/3 cup Jardine's Prairie Peach Salsa, or a salsa of your liking, but the peaches really shine here
Maldon Sea Salt
Tellicherry pepper
Olive oil for the pan
Preparation:
Cut pork chops into bite size pieces.
Chop onions medium dice.
Chop the rest of the veggies into medium dice or bite size pieces of your choosing.
Sprinkle the spice rub over the pork and mix it with your hands til the meat is coated.
In a hot skillet, in a few tablespoons of olive oil, brown the meat all over in small batches, remove to a plate and cover loosely to keep warm.
Turn the heat to medium, add a bit more olive oil to the pan and saute the onions until they soften and become golden.
Add the squashes and allow to cook, stirring often, until just softened.
Add the peppers and cook until all the veggies are just slightly more than al dente but not mushy.
Return the pork, with any juices that have accumulated, to the pan with the veggies.
Add the salsa and, if you wish, a splash of white wine. Don't go overboard on the wine as at this point the veggies will release some of their own liquid and you don't want this dish to be watery.
Stir just until the meat is re-warmed then remove from heat.

With glee, season to taste with your Maldon Sea Salt - fingers held high as you release the lovely white crystals into the pan. Add freshly ground Tellicherry pepper et voila! Dinner!

Copyright © 2005-2007, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved