Beer Braised Pork Belly Recipes

BEER-BRAISED PORK BELLY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250°. Using a very sharp knife, score pork in a tight crosshatch pattern to form 1/2" diamonds, cutting through fat but stopping at flesh. Season with salt and pepper, massaging into cuts.
• Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high (if belly doesn't fit, cut in half crosswise). Cook pork, skin side down, turning once, until browned all over, 5-8 minutes per side (be careful, fat will splatter). Transfer to a plate.
• Pour off all but 2 tablespoon drippings from pot, add star anise, cloves, and coriander and fennel seeds, and cook over low heat, stirring, until spices are fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add beer and apple juice, scraping up browned bits. Add pork along with onion and carrots, adding water if needed to cover. Bring to a simmer, cover pot, and transfer to oven. Braise pork 3 hours. Add apricots and braise until pork is very tender but not falling apart, 1-2 hours.
• Transfer pork, skin side up, to a rimmed baking sheet. Place vegetables and apricots in a large bowl; keep warm. Increase oven temperature to 475°; roast pork until skin is brown and very crisp, 25-35 minutes (the crispier, the better).
• Meanwhile, pour braising liquid into a large saucepan and skim off fat. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until reduced by two-thirds, 25-35 minutes.
• Heat butter in a small saucepan over medium-low, stirring often, until it foams, then browns, about 5 minutes. Add brown butter and shallot to braising sauce; season with lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
• Cut pork into 8 pieces; serve with sauce, vegetables, and some horseradish.

BRAISED PORK BELLY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. When the oil begins to smoke, carefully place one piece of pork in the saute pan and sear, turning once, until golden. Remove to a plate and repeat with the remaining pieces of pork. Set aside.
• Carefully add the beer to the drippings in the pan and cook, scraping up the cooked bits with a wooden spoon, until reduced.
• Heat the remaining 5 tablespoons of oil in a large flame-proof roasting pan over medium heat. Add the celery, onions, carrots, garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Add the pork to the roasting pan. Add the deglazed pan juices and enough chicken stock to cover the pork and vegetables. Add the peppercorns, thyme, bay leaves and 2 generous pinches of salt. Cover the pan with foil and braise for 3 hours. Remove the foil and roast 30 minutes more. This will allow the pork to gain a beautiful color and for the braising liquid to reduce.
• Let the pork cool in the braising liquid for 30 minutes to increase tenderness. Remove the pork from the roasting pan and strain the braising liquid. Refrigerate separately until ready to use. The pork can be served sliced or shredded.

BEER BRAISED BBQ PORK BUTT

Steps:

• Combine rub ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Rub all over pork butt. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour and as long as overnight.
• Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Unwrap pork and place in a roasting pan with sides about 2 inches high. Cook 45 minutes until dark browned and even blackening in places. Remove from oven. Lower oven to 325 degrees F. Pour beer over the top and add chopped garlic around the pork. Cover tightly with heavy duty aluminum foil or twice with regular foil. Poke about 10 holes all over the top of the foil. Cook pork butt 2 1/2 hours longer until so tender that it comes away very easily from center bone.
• Place the meat on a plate and pour the pan juice (there will be plenty) into a saucepan.
• To the pan juices add the ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire and brown sugar. Bring to a simmer until reduced by half and thick, about 20 minutes.
• While the sauce is boiling down, pull apart the pork with 2 forks. Pour the sauce over the pulled pork and work through until fully absorbed.

BEER-BRAISED PORK CHOPS

Steps:

• Combine flour, salt, and pepper in a large resealable plastic bag. Add pork chops and shake well to coat thoroughly.
• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and heat until sizzling. Add pork chops in a single layer. Saute until browned on one side, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Turn pork chops over and cook for an additional 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Transfer pork chops to a plate.
• Add beer, vinegar, mustard, brown sugar, and rosemary to the skillet and mix well. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Return pork chops to the skillet, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until pork chops are no longer pink in the center, 10 to 12 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 145 degrees F (63 degrees C).
• Transfer pork chops to a plate. Increase heat to medium and boil pan juices in the skillet until thickened, whisking often, about 3 minutes. Top pork chops with sauce.

BEER BRAISED PORK LOIN

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Heat vegetable oil a heavy pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear pork in hot oil until brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove roast from pot.
• Drain all but about 3 tablespoons grease from pot. Cook and stir onion and carrots until softened, about 5 minutes.
• Stir beer, salt, pepper, bay leaf, and cloves into the onion mixture.
• Return pork roast to the pot and cover.
• Bake in the preheated oven until pork is tender and no longer pink in the center, about 2 hours.
• Transfer roast to a platter and cover loosely with aluminum foil. Remove bay leaf from vegetables.
• Pour the beer and vegetable mixture from the Dutch oven into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway full. Hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the vegetables moving before leaving it on to puree until smooth.
• Bring pureed sauce to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat until thickened, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Spoon sauce over pork roast to serve.