topic Re: Pork Belly Recipe Needed in Recipes

Pork Belly Recipe Needed

Marp — Wed, 03 Feb 2021 22:09:28 GMT

I have a 5 pound pork belly with which I intended to make bacon but circumstances won't allow that at this time.

Does anyone have a tried and true pork belly recipe they are willing to share?

Re: Pork Belly Recipe Needed

RedTop — Wed, 03 Feb 2021 22:48:59 GMT

@Marp
I would sear the meat on all sides then finish cooking in the oven. You could also just cook it as you would a pork roast.

Cooking pork belly renders a good amount of fat; it is cut specifically to be the tasty "streaked meat" and is usually pan fried to get the coveted fat for flavoring and that great strip of meat.

Re: Pork Belly Recipe Needed

AyUpPetal — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 01:04:37 GMT

I've never made pork belly, but with Chinese Lunar New Year coming up you might try a recipe from a great site I follow called The Woks of Life! I get their emails with recipes and they are easy and fun-it's a family that runs the website and makes all the family recipes.

Re: Pork Belly Recipe Needed

GenXmuse — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 01:08:08 GMT

I made this for my husband and he loved it! I have a hard time finding pork belly, so I don't make it often

Spicy Korean Pork Bulgogi

An easy Spicy Korean Pork Bulgogi recipe made with thin slices of pork belly and a sweet gochujang sauce that can be served with a side of rice, wrapped in a lettuce or used in tacos!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Korean

Keyword Korean spicy pork recipe, spicy bulgogi recipe

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 11 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 11 minutes

Servings Servings

Calories 1026kcal

Author Joyce | Pups with Chopsticks

Ingredients

1 ½ lb 650g pork belly (or pork shoulder/pork butt)
3 stalks green onions (cut into 1 ½ inch chunks, including the whites)

Marinade

2 tablespoons garlic (grated, approximately 5-6 cloves)
1 ½ tablespoon ginger (grated, approximately 1 inch of ginger)
1 medium onion
3 ½ tablespoons gochujang
1 tablespoons soy sauce (or ½ tablespoons fish sauce)
2 tablespoons honey (or sugar)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons mirin cooking wine
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon gochugaru (Korean chilli flakes - Optional, if you like it spicy)

Instructions

Preparation

Remove the root end of the green onion and cut them into 1 ½ inch long chunks (including the whites of the green onions). Slice the thicker, white ends length wise again so it that it is the same thickness as the greens.
If your pork belly comes with skin, remove the skin and discard it.
Freeze the pork belly for 1 hour. This will make it easier to slice thinly. If you are using a larger cut of meat like a pork shoulder, you may need to freeze it for a longer period of time.

Marinate the Pork Belly

Peel the garlic, slice the ginger and cut the onion into 1 inch cubes.
In a food processor, blend the garlic, ginger and onion together into a paste. (You can also grate it by hand if you don't have a food processor.) Place the blended garlic, ginger and onion in a large bowl.
Add the ingredients under 'Marinade' into the bowl with the garlic, ginger and onion and mix everything together.
Remove the pork belly from the freezer and thinly slice it. I like to slice it approximately ⅛ inch or thinner.
Add the pork belly into the marinade and mix everything well. Marinade it in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour (the longer you marinade it, the more flavorful it will be).

Cooking the Spicy Korean Pork Bulgogi

Set the stove on high heat and set a non-stick frying pan or a high walled pot (to prevent splatter) on the stove and add a bit of oil into it.
Once the oil is hot, add the pork belly in the pan (including any extra marinade, this will be the sauce)
Pan fry on high heat for 8-11 minutes. Pork belly splatters quite a bit, so be careful or wear an apron to prevent staining on your clothes.
Once the pork belly is cooked, turn off heat, add green onions and mix the onions around to let the heat wilt it.

3 Different Ways to Serve This

The quickest way to enjoy this is to serve it with white rice.
You can also share this and have it as lettuce wraps! Set out a pile of green leaf lettuce, some white rice and if you can find it, some perilla leaves. You can add a bit of rice, green onions and a piece of Spicy Korean Pork Bulgogi to the lettuce and wrap it and then eat it!
This spicy Korean pork also goes well in tacos! If you're having a taco night, use this as the protein instead and top it with your usual taco toppings! (I like to add lime pickled red onions, sour cream and a bit of cheese)

Re: Pork Belly Recipe Needed

Marp — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 01:57:36 GMT

:LOL Ladies, after reading your posts I'm beginning to think that my 5 pound pork belly is going to be divided into more than one recipe.

@AyUpPetal, I only took a quick peek at the Woks website and I see a lot of rabbit holes down which to chase recipes. Thank you.

@GenXmuse, I'm salivating reading that recipe but it will have to go on the back burner until I place an order for gochujang. I suspect it is an important ingredient and is the only one I do not have on hand unless regular chili flakes would not be a good substitute for Korean chili flakes. Please let me know.

Re: Pork Belly Recipe Needed

cactusgal — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 02:14:51 GMT

First thing I thought of was Pork Belly Chicharron. If you don't mind the calories.

Re: Pork Belly Recipe Needed

GenXmuse — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 03:27:58 GMT

@Marp I use red chili flakes since I've never seen the Korean kind. But the sauce is important and I've found it in regular grocery stores at least!

Re: Pork Belly Recipe Needed

Marp — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 12:51:49 GMT

@cactusgal, great suggestion but unfortunately since I intended to use the belly for bacon I had the skin removed.

The first time I made bacon I didn't know better and had the skin left on. Delicious but very chewy edges.

Re: Pork Belly Recipe Needed

Marp — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 13:00:18 GMT

@GenXmuse wrote:
@Marp I use red chili flakes since I've never seen the Korean kind. But the sauce is important and I've found it in regular grocery stores at least!

@GenXmuse, thanks. After reading the ingredients in the gochujang I knew it would be important and not something that I could cobble together.

I have one local grocery where there is a remote possibility it will be available but I'm pretty sure I will have to order it online. One of the not so joyous aspects of small town living.

Re: Pork Belly Recipe Needed

RedTop — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 17:36:06 GMT

@Marp,
We always left the skin on our slabs of pork belly for easy slicing. Mom would take one of the frozen slabs out of the freezer and put it in the refrigerator before she intended to cook it. In the morning she would take the butcher knife and cut the fat at skin level back as far as she intended to slice the bacon for breakfast. After she sliced the bacon, she put the slab back in the fridge. Once all the bacon was sliced off, that fat covered skin was either cut into pieces and put back in the freezer to be used as seasoning, or cooked slowly in the skillet to render the fat. After that it was fed to our beagles.

Re: Pork Belly Recipe Needed

Zhills — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 18:16:13 GMT

I thought that is how you made "cracklins" for cracklin bread? Beagle didn't get them at our house!

Re: Pork Belly Recipe Needed

RedTop — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 18:36:23 GMT

@Zhills

To my knowledge, I've never eaten cracklin bread. I know my Mom never made it, altho bacon grease, lard, and chunks of fatback seasoned everything we ate.

I also never saw either of my grandmothers fry strips of pork skins and add them to the cornbread batter

Re: Pork Belly Recipe Needed

Zhills — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 18:44:31 GMT

@RedTop I'm surprised! No cracklin bread in South Georgia!

I've eatern it all my life. Even made it using "store bought' pork rinds.

If you can imagine cornbread getting any better, just add 'cooked out bacon rind." What a flavor!

Re: Pork Belly Recipe Needed

Marp — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 20:31:59 GMT

@RedTop wrote:
@Zhills
To my knowledge, I've never eaten cracklin bread. I know my Mom never made it, altho bacon grease, lard, and chunks of fatback seasoned everything we ate.

I also never saw either of my grandmothers fry strips of pork skins and add them to the cornbread batter

Yummm, fatback with johnny cake and milk gravy.

Re: Pork Belly Recipe Needed

River Song — Fri, 05 Feb 2021 17:05:08 GMT

Crispy Slow-Roasted Pork Belly

Serves 8 to 10

This recipe requires seasoning and refrigerating the pork belly for at least 12 hours before cooking. Be sure to ask for a flat, rectangular center-cut section of skin-on pork belly that's 1 1/2 inches thick with roughly equal amounts of meat and fat.

1 (3-pound) skin-on center-cut fresh pork belly, about 1 1/2 inches thick
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
Vegetable oil

Using sharp chef's knife, slice pork belly lengthwise into 3 strips about 2 inches wide, then make 1/4-inch-deep crosswise cuts through skin and into fat spaced 1/2 inch apart.

Combine 2 tablespoons salt and brown sugar in small bowl. Rub salt mixture into bottom and sides of pork belly (do not rub into skin). Season skin of each strip evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Place pork belly, skin side up, in 13 by 9-inch baking dish and refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 12 hours or up to 24 hours.

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 250 degrees. Transfer pork belly, skin side up, to lightly greased wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet. Roast pork belly until meat registers 195 degrees and paring knife inserted in meat meets little resistance, 3 to 3 1/2 hours, rotating sheet halfway through roasting.

Transfer pork belly, skin side up, to large plate. (Pork belly can be held at room temperature for up to 1 hour.) Pour fat from sheet into 1-cup liquid measuring cup. Add vegetable oil as needed to equal 1 cup and transfer to 12-inch skillet.

Arrange pork belly, skin side down, in skillet (strips can be sliced in half crosswise if skillet won't fit strips whole) and place over medium heat until bubbles form around pork belly. Continue to fry, tilting skillet occasionally to even out hot spots, until skin puffs, crisps, and turns golden, 6 to 10 minutes.

Transfer pork belly, skin side up, to carving board and let rest for 5 minutes. Flip pork belly on its side and slice 1/2 inch thick (being sure to slice through original score marks). Reinvert slices and serve.

Re: Pork Belly Recipe Needed

Marp — Sun, 21 Feb 2021 14:42:34 GMT

@GenXmuse, I finally found gochujang at a local grocery. They have a bottle sauce and a concentrate tube.

Since it is something I may or may not use with frequency after preparing your recipe do you have a recommendation as to which I should purchase keeping shelf life after opening in mind?

Re: Pork Belly Recipe Needed

GenXmuse — Sun, 21 Feb 2021 18:21:14 GMT

@Marp wrote:
@GenXmuse, I finally found gochujang at a local grocery. They have a bottle sauce and a concentrate tube.

Since it is something I may or may not use with frequency after preparing your recipe do you have a recommendation as to which I should purchase keeping shelf life after opening in mind?

You can store the paste in your fridge for up to two years once you open it, believe it or not, but I tend to throw it out after three months if I haven't used it up. The bottled sauce, I would throw out after a month or so.
just for my comfort level and the best taste. I'm glad you found some. It's definitely becoming more readily available!

Re: Pork Belly Recipe Needed

Marp — Mon, 22 Feb 2021 02:06:38 GMT

@GenXmuse, thank you for both your recipe and advice. I think I will go with the paste but I certainly won't keep it for two years lol.

Re: Pork Belly Recipe Needed

Marp — Sat, 03 Jul 2021 23:23:17 GMT

@GenXmuse, I owe you a very long overdue big thank you for introducing me to gochujang. I now keep a bottle of sauce and a tube of paste in my refrigerator and it has almost completely replaced sriracha in my cooking.

I'm not yet ready to change from my cayenne and crushed red peppers to gochugaru but gochugaru is on my list.

Again, thank you.

P.S. I haven't made your recipe yet but it will be made and I'm certain will become a favorite.

Re: Pork Belly Recipe Needed

GenXmuse — Tue, 06 Jul 2021 18:32:32 GMT

@Marp Aww, thank you so much for your kind words and I'm thrilled you are enjoying this ingredient. It's a great addition to cooking and adding another way to delicious flavor and authenticity to Asian dishes.
I've been enjoying Chinese bean paste lately and though it's not available at the grocery stores, it's worth looking at at Amazon if you're ever in the mood to try something new. It's pretty spicy but has a bit of sweetness too. I use it in Sichuan dishes.
Thanks again and happy cooking!