Twice Cooked Pork Belly With Cider Sauce Food

CRISPY PORK BELLY SLICES WITH CIDER

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to 160°c
• Score the skin of the belly in a cross cross pattern (or get your butcher to do this for you, you need a super sharp knife), then pour boiling water over the top of the skin, this helps to open up the top layer so you can get the flavour in. Rub in a few pinches of salt and pepper into the skin. Pop into the oven in a small, lightly oiled, roasting tin for 2 hours (grab a glass of wine).
• After 2 hours, take the belly out. Keeping it in the tin, pop a smaller roasting tray (or anything flat) on top and weigh down with some cans/bag of sugar/something heavy and pop in the fridge.
• Mix the cider, honey, soy sauce sauce, oyster sauce, chilli and sugar together in a bowl, slowly add the flour.
• After one hour, take the belly out of the fridge, cut into slices, and pour over half of the dressing. Make sure all the sides are covered. Pop back in the fridge.
• After one more hour, pour the rest of the dressing over and pop in the oven for 30mins (still at 160°c).
• Once the belly is ready, heat a glut of oil in a frying pan and pop each slice of belly, skin side down and fry for a couple of minutes to get the skin super crispy.
• Let the pork belly rest before serving

TWICE-COOKED PORK BELLY WITH CIDER SAUCE

Steps:

• The day before you want to eat, lay the pork belly skinned-side down, season generously, scatter over the fennel seeds and crumble over 3 of the bay leaves. From the widest side, roll into a tight log and use some butcher's string to tie at regular intervals. (You could take some fennel seeds and bay to your butcher and ask them to do it for you.)
• Heat oven to 170C/150C fan/gas 3 1/2. Melt the butter in a large, shallow flameproof casserole dish or ovenproof sauté pan. Brown the pork all over (this will take a good 15 mins), then remove from the pan and add the vegetables and remaining bay leaves. Cook for about 10 mins until starting to colour. Nestle the pork among the veg. Pour over the cider and bring everything to a simmer, cover and cook in the oven for 2 hrs.
• When the pork is ready, leave to cool a bit, then remove the pork from the braise and chill. Strain the sauce into a jug and chill. Fish out the bay leaves and blitz the veg to a purée in a food processor. Tip into a bowl and chill.
• On the day, heat oven to 220C/ 200C fan/gas 8. Cut the pork into six rounds. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the pork, then put in the oven for 20 mins, turning halfway through, until crispy. Meanwhile, remove the solidified fat from the top of the braising juices, simmer until syrupy and reheat the purée. Serve everything in the middle of the table or smear some of the purée across plate, sit a piece of pork on top next to a burnt butter cabbage wedge, a piece of potato cake and some crackling (see 'Goes well with', right). Pour over some of the sauce and serve.

CRISP CIDER-BRAISED PORK BELLY

Steps:

• Day 1: Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Place all the ingredients except the pork and sunflower oil in a flameproof pan that will fit the pork snugly - a casserole dish is ideal. Season, bring everything to the boil then turn down the heat and slide the pork into the pan. The pork should be totally submerged - if it isn't, top up with water. Cover the dish with a lid or tight tent of foil and place it in the oven for 3 hrs undisturbed.
• When the pork is cooked, leave it to cool slightly in the stock. Line a flat baking tray with cling film. Carefully lift the pork into the tray and make sure you get rid of any bits of vegetables or herbs as they will end up pressed into the pork. Cover the pork with another sheet of cling film and cover with a flat tray or dish - the tray must be completely flat as any indentations will be pressed into the pork. Weigh the pork down with another dish or some cans and leave to cool in the fridge overnight. Strain the juices into a jug or small saucepan, cover and chill.
• Day 2: Unwrap the pork and place on a board. Trim the uneven edges so that you have a neat sheet of meat. Cut the meat into 4 equal pieces and set aside until ready to cook. Lift off any bits of fat from the braising juices and tip what will now be jelly into a saucepan, then bubble down by about two-thirds until starting to become slightly syrupy. Add a few more drops of vinegar, to taste.
• Heat the oil in a large frying pan until hot, then turn the heat down. Add the pork to the pan, skin-side down - be careful as it has a tendency to spit. Sizzle the pork as you would bacon for 5 mins until the skin is crisp. Flip it over and cook for 3-4 mins until browned. Place a small pile of cabbage on the side of each plate and sit a piece of pork on top. Place a spoonful of mash on the other side of the plate, drizzle over the sauce and serve.

TWICE-COOKED PORK

Steps:

• Place pork, 6 scallions, ginger and salt in large pot. Add water to cover. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until tender. Remove meat, and discard liquid. When pork has cooled, remove skin and any bones. Cut meat in half crosswise, then slice it thinly lengthwise.
• Slice remaining scallions lengthwise, then in 3-inch pieces.
• Heat oil in wok or skillet. When very hot, add pork and stir-fry until lightly browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Pour off excess oil and fat. Add garlic and ginger, and stir-fry 10 seconds. Add scallions, and stir-fry 2 minutes. Add chili paste, rice wine, soy sauce, sugar and Sichuan pepper, and stir-fry another minute. Scatter with cilantro and serve.

SLOW-ROASTED PORK BELLY WITH CIDER AND APPLE SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 250C, or as hot as you can get the oven.
• Score the skin diagonally both ways to create diamond shape grooves with a stanley knife, BE CAREFUL!
• Rub the table salt into the grooves that you have cut into the pork skin.
• Turn the meat over and place fresh sage leaves and three slices of lemon onto the meat, season with the pepper and roll up, tie the pork at intervals with string to ensure it doesn't unroll during cooking.
• Place the pork on a wire rack that fits over an empty roasting tin, and roast for half an hour.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 150C and roast for a further three hours.
• For the cider and apple sauce; put them into a pan with the butter, sugar, water and cider; cover and heat for 4-5 minutes, or until the apples are soft enough to beat to a purée. Keep warm.
• Remove the crackling (skin) and then cover the meat with foil and rest for about 15 minutes.
• Drain the fat from the roasting tin keeping the meat juices in the tin.
• Put the roasting tin with the meat juices in onto the hob and add a small cube of butter (20g) and a splash of cider (optional).
• Slice the pork, remember to remove the string, and serve with the apple sauce and a small drizzle of pan juices.

TWICE-COOKED CHILE PORK

Steps:

• Place pork belly into a pot and cover with water. Add ginger and Sichuan peppercorns. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat; reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook until some of the fat has rendered out, about 20 minutes.
• Remove the pork from the pot and cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes. Drain. Cut the pork into thin slices, about 1/8 inch thick. Return pork slices to pot. Stir in chile bean paste, sweet bean paste, and sugar. Cover and cook over medium heat until the pork is tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Heat 1/2 teaspoon oil in a wok over medium heat. Cook and stir green bell pepper and salt until starting to soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a dish.
• Heat remaining 2 1/2 tablespoons oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Cook and stir pork until pieces begin to shrink and brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Return green bell pepper to the wok. Cook and stir until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

TWICE-COOKED PORK BELLY WITH SCALLOPS AND VEGIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 170C,.
• Place pork in a large ovenproof dish and add stock and bring to the boil over a high heat and then transfer to the oven and simmer, covered, for 2 1/2 hours or until tender.
• Remove pork and set aside.
• Strain stock, reserving 1 cup (250ml).
• Increase oven to 220C and using a small, sharp knife, score pork rind and generously sprinkle with salt and then place pork belly on a rack over a roasting pan and roast for 45 minutes or until the kin is crisp and then slice thickly.
• Meanwhile to make the sauce, melt the butter in a frying pan over a medium-high heat and add eschallot and cook, stirring for 3 minutes or until softened and then add garlic and thyme and cook, stirring for 1 minute.
• Add the ale and bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes or until reduced by half.
• Add stock and mustard, then simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until reduced by half.
• Strain sauce into a jug, discarding solids and set aside, covered to keep warm until needed.
• To make the cauliflower puree, heat butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat and cook onion and garlic, stirring, until softened and then add cauliflower and cream and then simmer for 3 minutes or until cream has reduced by half and mixture is thickened.
• Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly before blending until smooth and season with salt and pepper.
• Steam or boil carrot batons for 2 to 3 minutes or until just tender.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large frying pan over a high heat and cook cabbage with a pinch of salt, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes or until tender and season with pepper.
• Season scallops with salt and pepper and heat a frying pan over a high heat and add remaining butter and the oil and when butter foams add scallops and cook for 30 seconds each side.
• Smear puree over serving plates and drizzle with sauce and top with pork and scallops and serve with carrots and cabbage.