boiled belly pork

Laurent

I once ate in Ireland a meal of boiled belly pork. It was delicious. The meat was like a streaky rasher only it was about 8 inches wide. It was served with green cabbage and potatoes. I have found a similar cut of pork here in France and would love som advice as to how to cook it. Time other ingredients etc.

Dizzyblonde

I think what you had here was streaky bacon, not pork. It's the cut of bacon that streaky rashers are cut from, but left whole (if you know what I mean). Streaky pork, also called belly pork, is usually roasted slowly.
If you do manage to get some streaky bacon, you'd boil it for around an hour and a half with a carrot, a stick of celery and an onion, all roughly chopped, in the water for flavour.

the beer revolu

That's exactly how I'd cook the bacon too but, while I've never tried it, I reckon boiled belly pork with lots of vegetables could be very good too - in a bland but good sort of peasant food way. Think Irish stew with good, melt in the mouth, slow boiled pork!

the beer revolu

I think I might try that boiled pork idea on Thursday.

I think it will need to be cooked in chicken/pork white stock.
1 Big piece of belly pork with skin and bone.
Simmer slowly in stock for 11/2 - 2 hous with bay,thyme,parsley and peppercorns.
Skim off fat.
Throw in carrots, onion celery, leek, either lots of garlic or none (haven't decided yet)
Simmer for another 40 min.
Take out pork and remove skin (alas no good for crackling so discard)
Taste, season - might even need diluting - to be seen.
Add shredded cabbage of your choice (I happen to have sweetheart in fridge).
Boil until cabbage is done to your liking (for me about 5 mins).

Serve up with steamed spuds in shallow bowls if you have them - carve with a spoon!

Thanks Laurent:)

What do people think - nice or not?

Dizzyblonde

I'm just not sure - I love roast belly pork and can't get my head around boiling it - though I've seen people boil it and then roast it, for tenderness.
You'll be boiling your veg in very fatty water/stock.
I'd love to hear what it turns out like though, you never know - you could be onto something

the beer revolu

I'll let you know.
I boiled belly pork in a Chinese style with heaps of garlic, ginger, soy, sherry, chilli, balsamic, redcurrant jelly.
It's really good.
This way might be a bit bland - hence cooking it in stock rather than water.
Not having crackling is a bit of a sin, though.

xxdilemmaxx

Does anyone have a recipe for a nice roast belly of pork? How long would you need to cook it, what would you serve it with etc? Also how much does belly pork cost roughly?

NewFrockTuesday

I dont like the sound of boiled pork belly to be honest. The texture would be revolting given the fat content I would have thought. The worst food I ever had theh misfortune to put in my mouth was sea cucumber - this reminds my memory of a porky version of that. Yak.

Better roast it! This recp is one I use a bit - my Dad really likes it and hes like Jack Sprat so I try and feed him up when he visits!

Spinach is optional. My war with spinach is on-going. If someone has a recipie that makes it edible, I would appreciate it.


Ingredients
1.8 kg/3lb 15½oz belly pork, skin on
4 tbsp cider vinegar
3 tbsp pork dripping or butter
8 bay leaves, crushed
1 whole garlic, sliced in half
For the root vegetables
4 parsnips, cut into long wedges
400g/14¼oz carrots
6 whole shallots
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 tbsp olive oil
55g/2oz spinach



Method
1. The night before, boil a kettle and pour the boiling water over the pork skin. This method will give you better crackling.
2. Next, baste the raw joint with cider vinegar; rubbing it all over to ensure the vinegar gets into the rind. Place the joint on a plate in the fridge uncovered overnight.
3. Pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Spread the pork with the dripping or butter, crushed bay leaves and garlic, salt and pepper, set aside for the flavours to develop.
4. Place the pork skin side up on a wire rack that fits over an empty roasting tray. Roast for our hour and then reduce the oven temperature to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
5. Place the prepared vegetables into the bottom of a roasting tray; add thyme and olive oil and a glass of water.
6. Remove the tray from beneath the pork and pour any fat that has gathered in the bottom of the tray over the vegetables; place the vegetables tray underneath the pork.
7. Roast for a further hour, basting the vegetables with the juices from the pork in the bottom of the pan from time to time.
8. Remove the pork from the wire rack and allow to rest for 15 minutes in a warm place.
9. Toss the spinach leaves with the vegetables from the roasting pan. Keep warm, drain off any fat leaving the cooking juices behind.
10. Carve off the crackling in one piece and portion. Serve the pork with the roasted root vegetables and gravy.

Dizzyblonde

Jamie Oliver has some really good recipes for belly pork too.

I'll usually score the rind, rub salt into it (for crackling), then sit the pork on some quartered onions and carrots. Put some water or cider in the bottom of the dish and roast slowly for 2-3 hours.

muckety

Hugh F-W also enthuses about roast pork belly - his suggestion is look after the crackling, the meat will look after itself! I did one recently (free range pork - well worth the huge effort to find) much as Dizzyblonde - started it in a hot oven 20 mins then turned it right down, after an hour added veg (mix of root and onion) and cooked for a further hour.

Sorry but I don't see the boiled pork belly working but would be interested to hear how it turns out!

shrapnel222

pork belly goes incredibly well with 5 spice powder and star anise

catho_monster

Dilemma - I've never seen it in my local supermarket, but I saw it in the temple bar farmers market a while back, at Hick's stall i think it was called, and I remember thinking i must come back for this - it was 13euro, couldnt tell you what weight though, although there wasn't any choice...they all looked the same size to me...

Laurent

Firstly many thanks for all the advice re boiling. The pork here is unsalted just beware with the type you use for boiling. If salted, it needs to be soaked overnight. As to the taste of boiled belly pork, a bit of powerded mustard, bay leaf and some peppercorns add a nice flavour, as do other vedg . It needs to be skimmed when first coming to the boil and sometimes the water changed to reduce fat content. The fat content is no more than the roasted version, and cold is much more moist. Dont knock it till you've tried it ! I do the slow roast fairly often as per A W-T the scalding the night before gives great crackling. A wee tip I got was to use a case cutter to score the skin, it works a treat!

the beer revolu

shrapnel222 wrote: »

pork belly goes incredibly well with 5 spice powder and star anise

Oh yeah, there was star anise in the Chinese boiled belly pork too.

NewFrockTuesday

Is this it?

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/44/118585239_a9c4a54e7f.jpg

the beer revolu

The pork is on!!
Just browned the bone side in the pot for a few minutes.
Chucked in the chicken stock I had in the fridge to cover, a bay leaf, some thyme, parsley stalks and peeled garlic cloves from 2 whole heads of garlic.
Gonna serve it with fresh bread rather than spuds.
This is gonna be great!!

The butcher was horrified when I told him there was no need to score the skin as I was going to boil it:D
Don't know why so many people are so shocked and put off by the idea.
I mean, we do it with lamb all the time - Irish Stew.
The French do it with beef (or beef and pork too, if I'm not mistaken) - pot-au-feu.
It's really nothing radical

Anyway will be tried out on Mrs Beer and 2 friends tonight.

Also picked up a small venison haggis to try.

Dizzyblonde

the beer revolu wrote: »

Anyway will be tried out on Mrs Beer and 2 friends tonight.

Oh no, not a word since :eek:
Was it really that bad?
Seriously though, I want to know how it compared to the sticky sweetness of roast belly pork.

the beer revolu

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

Oh no, not a word since :eek:
Was it really that bad?
Seriously though, I want to know how it compared to the sticky sweetness of roast belly pork.

Honestly, it was fantastic.
Placed the pork (left the skin on) on a big platter with all the veg (put some potato in, in the end) around it, scattered with fresh flat leaf parsley and served the consommé in shallow bowls.
People served themselves meat and veg.
The consommé was amazingly rich but still light (the key here was the pot of good chicken stock).
The skin had a lovely jelly like consistency and the meat was soft and moist like slow roast.
The venison haggis I got went remarkably well with it - anyone in Cork, O Flynn's butchers, Marlborough St.

So peasant, it was posh!!

Washed down with a Mad Fish Pinot Noir

Laurent

A convert! Well done. I am glad you enjoyed it. Perhaps some of the doubting thomases will get adventurous.

Dizzyblonde

It does indeed sound delicious - I'd never convince the hubby though so I'll still roast mine.
Actually I might try it in the slow cooker sometime, it would be very tender.

the beer revolu

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

It does indeed sound delicious - I'd never convince the hubby though so I'll still roast mine.
Actually I might try it in the slow cooker sometime, it would be very tender.

Just don't discuss it with him beforehand - he'll eat what's put in front of him:D
Its really worth it, if only for the broth that comes with it!!

muckety

I think I'll just take your word for it - for me, the crackling IS the point!

the beer revolu

I too love crackling.
But the soft, gelatinous boiled skin is really good too (I served it with the skin on, in the end).
Nothing like crackling but very tasty in a cruibín sort of way!

Laurent

It is difficult to find a pork roasting joint with the skin on. It is removed with most of the fat. Belly pork does have the skin on but the belly pork is mainly used to produce lardons, either plain or smoked. The skin is used as an ingredient for a local dish of white beans which is a slow a cooked type of soup. I will try and get the recipe and post it here.

Laurent

Sorry, here is France !

NewFrockTuesday

I was nearly going to conider trying this...until I read

soft, gelatinous boiled skin

Yakyakyak. :eek:


Bizzare reaction really as I have no problem eating crackling. Its the whole texture idea. The most revolting thing I ever ate was sea cucumber and this just feels very reminisant of that for some reason. It just kicks off alarms in my head.

Laurent, what part of France are you in? Any fav regional dishes happenning?

the beer revolu

Deepsense wrote: »

I was nearly going to conider trying this...until I read




Yakyakyak. :eek:


Bizzare reaction really as I have no problem eating crackling. Its the whole texture idea. The most revolting thing I ever ate was sea cucumber and this just feels very reminisant of that for some reason. It just kicks off alarms in my head.

Laurent, what part of France are you in? Any fav regional dishes happenning?

Just remove the skin before serving. That's what I originally planned to do but changed my mind. Myself and the mrs. gobbled our skin while our guests left theirs on their plates along with larger pieces of fat. Each to their own. No pork left on plates, though!!

MoveOn

I like to cut pork belly into thick strips and use instead of ribs in rib recipes (BBQ, honey roast etc) - once the meat has been marinaded for long enough & then cooked at a low heat for a couple of hours it tastes gorgeous & ridiculously tender (presumably because of the high fat content).

I also have a great recipe somewhere for pork belly cut into cubes then simmered for hours in a casserole with chorizo, white wine & tomatoes - can dig that recipe up if anybody wants to give it a lash.

NewFrockTuesday

I like to cut pork belly into thick strips and use instead of ribs in rib recipes (BBQ, honey roast etc) - once the meat has been marinaded for long enough & then cooked at a low heat for a couple of hours it tastes gorgeous & ridiculously tender (presumably because of the high fat content).

I like the idea of this I have to say! I like ribs but theyre way to messy to bother with.

I also have a great recipe somewhere for pork belly cut into cubes then simmered for hours in a casserole with chorizo, white wine & tomatoes - can dig that recipe up if anybody wants to give it a lash.

Would you brown the cubes off first?

Laurent

I am in the south west of France.
My research as to belly pork uses led me to a version of the classic French Cassoulet. Some recipies are very involved using different meats etc. The basic ingredients are dry white haricot beans (soak overnight etc) and salt belly pork (with skin and well rinsed) Strain the beans and cover with cold water bring slowly to the boil. Skim. Add sliced carrot, whole onion with a few cloves stuck in it boquet garni peppercorns and 2 cloves of garlic or more if you prefer. Allow to simmer slowley untill the beans are cooked. add salt if necessary. Provided that the beans are reasonably fresh, cooking time is about an hour.
Here, they seal one inch cubed pork shoulder then add sliced onions and carrots as well as a fried pure pork sausage (Toulouse type) chopped. Add small tin of tomatoes garliccover with stock and simmer for about an hour.
remove the belly pork and drain the beans (keep the liquor) remove rind from belly pork and chop up the meat. Place rind in the bottom of a casserole discard onion. Add half the beans, layer all the meat, cover with the rest of the beans. pour over the sauce from cooking the meat and add some stock
and top up with the bean liquor.Sprinkle fresh bread crumbs on top and and place in a cool oven150 C for for an hour. make sure that the beans are covered by topping up with the bean liquor as necessary. Here they add goose meat and fat!
That will give you a general idea, but best check the cook books.
bon appetite

MoveOn

Deepsense wrote: »

I like the idea of this I have to say! I like ribs but theyre way to messy to bother with.

My reasoning exactly - no bones in the pork belly, just meat all the way. And if you want you can use a knife and fork to eat it with - although it really seems to cry out to me to be finger food.

Deepsense wrote: »

Would you brown the cubes off first?

As I recall, yes I did. Let me dig up the recipe and I'll share it here - unless there's a problem with copyright, putting published recipes up here? I'm only a newbie so the easiest way to find out is to ask!