Pork Belly: Braised Bacon, Crispy Pork Skins

Recently we've been working with uncured pork belly in the kitchen a little more than usual, with some great results.  

I start with cutting the pork belly down into several manageable pieces, then carefully remove the skin from the pork belly.  I try to leave as much fat as possible on the belly, since that means there will be less to remove later from the skin and the fat is where a lot of the flavor is when you braise the belly.

I use the skin to make fried pork skins for our fine dining room's Butcher Board.  The pork skins are boiled for two hours, then any remaining fat is removed from the skin.  At this point the skin can be cut down into small strips, depending on the size that is desired of the finished product.  Then the pork skin is placed into a dehydrator overnight, and will be very hard the next morning.  The dehydrated skin can then be held for service, I usually just keep it in the freezer.  The skin can be fried at 350 degrees until it completely puffs up and finishes bubbling, usually about three minutes.  I season the pork skins with Southwest seasoning and kosher salt.

Crispy pork skins, pictured on the Antipasti Plate

For the braised pork belly I begin by producing bacon, which is an eight day process.  A dry cure is applied to the pork belly, which consists of 45 grams of kosher salt, 22 grams of sugar, and 5 grams of pink salt.  This cure recipe is taken from "Charcuterie" by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn.  The belly can sit, covered, in the refrigerator for seven days with the cure on it.  The belly should then be rinsed and sit uncovered in the refrigerator overnight so a pellicle can form.  The pellicle is the tacky surface that forms on the outside of a product that allows it to better absorb the flavor of smoke.  The next morning the pork belly is hot smoked with hickory at 150 degrees for about one hour.  Make sure to keep an eye on the bacon so it doesn't get too dark... manage the smoke carefully and move the product as necessary so no areas will get over-smoked and have a bitter flavor.

Now that the belly has been cured, dried and smoked, it is officially bacon.  From here, I braise the bacon at 300 degrees for five hours in chicken stock with onions, celery, carrots, thyme and rosemary.  Cover the bacon no more than two-thirds of the way so the fat cap remains untouched by the braising liquid.

Once braised, the slab of braised bacon needs to be chilled before portioning.  To re-heat, it can be seared on the range to crisp the fat cap and then finished in the oven.  I've also had great results from deep frying the belly to order, which crisps the outside really well.  If using the deep fryer, make sure not to over-fry the bacon, which would dry it out.

We Can Be Heroes

Here on the blog I enjoy being able to work with lots of different food, but there are many out there who don't know when or how the next meal is coming.  Please click on the link below to join DC Entertainment in the fight against hunger in Africa and do some real good for some real people.  

Hickory Smoked Prime Beef Tenderloin with Braised Beef Short Rib and Barley Ragout, Summer Vegetables

For this dish I used CAB (Certified Angus Beef) Prime tenderloin, which was cold smoked using hickory shavings with the Polyscience Smoking Gun.  It was prepared sous vide with kosher salt, black pepper, garlic and rosemary and it was cooked for two hours at 137 degrees Fahrenheit.  After it was cooked sous vide, it was finished in a cast iron skillet in a 1600 degree broiler.  The steak was brushed with whole butter, then finished with coarse sea salt and fresh herbs.

The ragout was prepared using a barley mix from Indian Harvest and braised beef short rib prepared by Chef Hannah Yerby.  Ragouts are stewed preparations which typically include meat and vegetables and are cooked over low heat for an extended amount of time.  The term "ragouter" from French means to "revive the taste", referring to sauces that were classically used to dress pasta.

Wild Mushroom and Asparagus Quiche, Baby Greens with Caramelized Onion Vinaigrette, Crispy Prosciutto, Spun Potato

The word "quiche" refers to an open-faced tartlet that is filled with a custard that is typically garnished with vegetables, meat or fish.  Although "quiche" is typically identified with classical French cuisine, the dish originated in Germany and the word is a derivative of the German "Kuchen", which means cake.

When preparing quiche, I use a flaky pie dough that is molded in a pie tin then "blind baked" until the pie dough is partially cooked.  Blind baking is the process of cooking a crust without the filling in order to strengthen it so it can ultimately hold a filling.  When blind baking a crust, I place parchment paper into the pie tin on top of the crust, and weigh dough down with beans or rice.  This is to prevent the crust from rising or bubbling.

For the quiche filling I use six eggs per quart of heavy cream and season with kosher salt, freshly ground white pepper and a pinch of nutmeg.  It is baked at 350 degrees until completely set, usually around 25-35 minutes depending on the thickness, then chilled, sliced and reheated for service.

For this quiche I used my a favorite mold of mine, a four inch non-stick springform pan that was purchased from Sur la Table.  The portion sizes are perfect for petit appetizers.

Octopus Terrine with Blood Orange, Cilantro-Lime Aioli, Crispy Rice Noodle

Braised Bacon, Quail Egg, Red Pepper Grits, Toasted Cashew Powder

This is a dish that was served at a Chef's Table last week and was very well received.  It is based on a dish that I enjoyed at 5&10 in Athens, Georgia a couple weeks ago.

The bacon was prepared by braising a slab of apple wood smoked bacon in chicken stock for six hours at 250 degrees.  After the bacon chilled, it was portioned and reheated gently for service.

The toasted cashew powder was produced by toasting cashews in the oven then blending in the food processor with tapioca maltodextrin.  Maltodextrin was added incrementally until the desired consistency was reached, then the cashew powder was pushed through a sieve to remove any larger particles and to lighten the end product.

The grits were the real highlight of the dish.  They were made with Anson Mills grits and were finished with a puree that was produced by Chef Hannah Yerby.  Hannah made the red pepper puree with roasted red bell peppers, peppadew peppers, heavy cream, shallots and srirachi.  The result was a sweet, creamy and slightly tart flavor that slowly builds heat on the back of the palate.

I have never been a fan of the "breakfast for dinner" concept but I would enjoy this dish anytime!

Wagyu Hanger Steak with Beef Short Rib Croquette, Potato Puree, Cippolini Onion, Local Mushrooms, Sauce Choron

Hanger Steak is one of my favorite cuts of meat because of its deep, robust flavor.  The hanger steak is found in the diaphragm, attached to the last rib.  It is sometimes seen on menus as a "bistro steak" and was commonly referred to as "butchers steak" since butchers would take them home for dinner before the cut rose in prominence.

This hanger steak is a product of Snake River Farms from their Wagyu program.  Wagyu is a breed of cow that is genetically predispositioned to intense marbling and a high percentage of unsaturated fat.  This hanger steak was cooked sous vide at 136 degrees Fahrenheit for two hours with kosher salt, black pepper, garlic, shallots and butter.  Hanger steak has a texture similar to flank steak and benefits from the long, slow cooking of the sous vide process.

The beef short rib was braised, then chilled and diced.  A ragout was prepared with the short rib, a reduction of the braising liquid, bacon and mirepoix.  The ragout was thickened lightly with agar.  The ragout was then chilled and then goat cheese and fresh rosemary was folded into it.  One of the beneficial properties of agar is that it has a relatively high melting point, 140 degrees Fahrenheit.  The chilled ragout was shaped into spheres then breaded and fried.  The spheres hold their shape long enough for a crust to form in the fryer, the agar releases when hot and the ragout pours out of the sphere once cracked on the plate.

This week I will be traveling to Amarillo, Texas to visit the home of Certified Angus Beef.  I've been using their product extensively for a couple years and I look forward to meeting the ranchers that are responsible for the product that I've been cooking and writing about so frequently.

Potato Crusted Sea Bass with Easter Egg Radishes, Lemon-Chive Butter Sauce

For this dish I prepared the sea bass sous vide, cooking it against a plexiglass backing in the bag to preserve the shape.  The sea bass cooked at 140 degrees Fahrenheit for twenty minutes, then it was shocked in an ice bath to stop the cooking process.

When I butchered the sea bass I reserved the scrap, which was combined with fresh shallots, heavy whipping cream, kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper in an ice cold blender to create a mousse line.  The mousseline was spread then thinly over the top of the lightly cooked and chilled fish.

For the potato "crust", Idaho potatoes were sliced very thinly and then rounds were punched out.  I blanched the rounds quickly, let them cool down in the refrigeratory, then pressed them into the mousseline on the fish.

For service, the fish was pan seared until a nice golden crust formed, then it was placed in a 350 degree oven very quickly just to warm through.

The "Easter Egg" were given their name for obvious reasons.  These radishes were cooked sous vide at 180 degrees for 45 minutes and were bagged with butter, shallots, fresh thyme, kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper.

Sea Scallop with Truffled Cauliflower Puree, Crispy Mushrooms, Bacon, Butter Poached Radish and Creamer Potatoes

For this dish I used the "Twice Cooked Scallop" recipe from the "Ideas in Food" cookbook by Aki Komazawa and Alexander Talbot.  The scallops were brined in a .05% salt water solution for ten minutes, then cooked sous vide at 122 degrees for thirty minutes before shocking in an ice bath.  The scallops were fired to order in a smoking hot cast iron skillet.

The radishes were cooked sous vide as well, with butter, shallot, thyme, kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper joining it in the bag.  They cooked at 180 degrees for 45 minutes.

The petit creamer potatoes were cooked fully submerged in fat on a low flame for 45 minutes.  Time will depend on the size of the potatoes.  Cooking them for so long at such a low temperature develops the starch in these tiny potatoes and they become sweet, tender little delicacies.  They are finished with just a fleck of sea salt.

Beef Wellington with Spinach and Caramelized Onion Puree, Local Heirloom Carrots

The Beef Wellington, or the Filet de Boef en Croute, is a dish that traces it's origins back centuries to Britain, where it was named for the Duke of Wellington.  The duke was a man that enjoyed beef, pate and truffles, and obviously didn't have enough patience to enjoy them separately.

The traditional preparation calls for beef tenderloin wrapped in a mushroom duxelle with foie gras pate, sometimes with a crepe wrapped around the beef to absorb moisture, then it is all wrapped in puff pastry.  

For this preparation, the beef tenderloin was seasoned with kosher salt, freshly ground toasted black pepper, garlic powder, dried rosemary and thyme, then cooked sous vide for two and a half hours at 135 degrees Fahrenheit.  The wrapped tenderloin was then shocked and cooled in an ice bath.  

A mushroom duxelle was prepared using a mix of local mushrooms including shiitake and trumpet.  The mushrooms were sauteed on high heat with clarified butter, then seasoned with kosher salt, freshly ground toasted black pepper.  Freshly chopped garlic and shallots were added, as well as a knob of unsalted butter.  After the butter was toasted and the shallots were translucent, the pan was deglazed with madeira, then freshly chopped parsley, thyme and chives were added to finish.  After the mushroom mixture cooled, it was roughly chopped by hand.

The tenderloin was then wrapped with the mushroom duxelle, then blanched and seasoned spinach leaves, then finally a trellis cut of puff pastry was added.  The puff pastry was brushed with an egg wash then allowed to sit, uncovered, in the refrigerator for a couple hours.  Applying the egg wash and allowing it to sit uncovered allows for greater browning in the oven.

The wellington was then baked in a convection oven on high fan at 375 degrees for approximately fifteen minutes, until the crust was golden brown.  It was then removed from the oven and brushed with clarified butter to add a sheen and allowed to sit for five minutes before slicing.  

One thing to note is that the puff pastry on the bottom of the wellington was too damaged to use because of the moisture that it absorbed.  When I repeat this recipe I will probably try to remove more moisture from the mushrooms, as well as possibly wrapping the beef tenderloin in crepe to wick moisture and another layer of flavor.