My brother, the lucky sod, just got back from America where he declared he has never eaten so well. The fact that he has eaten a meal with me, cooked by me, nearly every week for nigh on 10 years did not hurt my feelings. No Sirree! I am made of tougher stuff than that ( you really can insert your own joke here, I will no doubt make my own later). Still having reasoned that I had nearly been responsible for the demise of his dog, and that we have Sunday lunch together every week that perhaps I should up my game.
So I decided on Pork Belly, a) because everyone who eats meat likes it, and b) because it is terribly hard to mess up. I did decide to go the extra mile thouigh, and braised it gently for two and a half hours in a roasting dish into which I had chopped two carrots, two large mushrooms, one large onion and, after placing the scored piece of pork belly ( about 1.5 kilos in all) on top, poured over chicken stock to which I had added a glass of white wine. The stock came to about the top of the pork belly, I then covered it in foil, and popped it into an oven which I had preheated to 200 degrees, set a timer for the required two and a half hours whilst I tackled the laundry mountain which had unaccountably appeared in my house.
However, whilst I was preparing vegetables to go with the meat I chanced upon some maple syrup, and just knew that if I mixed two tablespoons of it with an equal amount of butter and some thyme leaves, salt and pepper it would be perfect for roasting carrots in. However, knowing that my brother had been in the land of the free, I finely chopped some smoked bacon-inspired by their coupling of pancakes , maple syrup and bacon- and added that to it as well. I mixed the syrupy butter with the bacon, ( about 3 strips for the record) and about 500g of carrots cut into batons, and roasted in the same oven for about 40 minutes, the results were wonderful, even if I do say so myself.
After the pork had braised for the required time I was meant, according to the recipe I was (very ) loosely following to press the pork belly flat with a weighted board for at least an hour, preferably longer. So I did this for about twenty minutes, got bored and moved to the next step which is where you place the pork belly scored skin side down until the skin has browned and some of the remaining fat has rendered, which means you can see it in the pan, or if you are as fortunate as me, have it kindly spit on your arm to inform you of its presence.
Whilst the pork belly is filling your kitchen and house with a faint covering of smoke, take all the cooked vegetables in the pan with the poaching liquid and blitz them into oblivion with a blender. This will act as gravy, and most delicious it is too.
Once you have decided that if you open every window in the house you may get rid of enough smoke to be able to see, and you have disabled the smoke alarm with a nifty swipe of your broom, then return it to the cleaned out pan and brush the now browned skin with a glaze made from 2 tablespoons of maple syrup mixed with an equal amount of dark soy sauce. Return to the oven for about 25 minutes, whilst the roast potatoes you have placed in their earlier are crisping up nicely and you rustle up something in the way of a green vegetable.
And what did my brother have to say when I asked him about his best eating experiences?
"Mortons in San Francisco, for sure I ate their three times in one week. And this little Mexican place in Hollywood, they did the best ribs I have ever tasted, the meat just melted into your mouth." ( uttered without irony as the pork belly I had so lovingly prepared was doing the same)
Seems that sometimes you just can't bloody win still, I enjoyed it, and hope you do too.
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