Brined And Braised Pork Belly With Caraway Recipes

BRINED-AND-BRAISED PORK BELLY WITH CARAWAY

Steps:

• Two days before serving the pork, prepare the brine: In a large skillet over low heat, toast the caraway seeds. Cool and grind in a spice grinder. In a large plastic container, combine the caraway, fennel, peppercorns, coriander, salt, brown sugar, garlic, cider vinegar and 4 cups water. Add the pork, cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
• The next day, preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Remove the pork from the brine and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper. In a braising pan over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add the pork and brown on all sides. Transfer to a plate. Add the carrot, celery, onion, garlic, thyme and 2 tablespoons toasted caraway seeds to the pan. Brown the vegetables until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Return the pork to the pan, skin side up. Pour in the apple cider and enough broth to cover the meat by three-fourths. Bring to a boil, then cover and braise in the oven until the pork is very tender, about 2 hours. Cool the pork in its cooking liquid and refrigerate overnight.
• The next day, preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Scrape off and discard excess fat from the braising liquid. Remove the pork and discard loose gelatin. Cut the pork into serving pieces and place in a wide saute pan with a heatproof handle. Bring the braising liquid to a boil and reduce by about two-thirds, or until it lightly coats the back of a spoon; strain. Pour just enough liquid over the pork to submerge halfway. Sprinkle with the remaining caraway seeds, then place the pan in the oven and heat through, basting occasionally. Top pork with sauce and serve with braised cabbage, a recipe for which can be found at nytimes.com/magazine.

BRAISED PORK BELLY

Steps:

• Gather the dry rub ingredients and pork.
• In a small bowl, combine the salt, fennel seed, allspice, and black pepper until thoroughly mixed.
• Rub onto all sides of the pork belly.
• Place the belly in a nonreactive pan and top the meat with any remaining dry rub.
• Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
• Gather braising ingredients.
• In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat.
• Sauté the onion, carrot, and celery in olive oil until soft, about 5 minutes.
• Add the garlic and whole tomatoes and cook another 5 minutes.
• Add the wine and cook until evaporated.
• Add the cinnamon stick, star anise, juniper berries, cardamom, clove, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil.
• Heat the oven to 325 F. Remove the belly from the refrigerator and place in a roasting pan .
• Place the tomatoes around the pork.
• Pour the hot braising liquid over the pork belly.
• Cover with aluminum foil and place in the oven. Cook for 3 1/2 hours or until completely tender when pierced with a fork. (The pork belly can be prepared up to this point and refrigerated in the braising liquid until ready to proceed to the next step.)
• Remove the belly from the braising liquid and cool slightly. Raise the oven to 400 F.
• Cut the belly into 4 portions.
• Add a little oil to a hot skillet and sauté for 2 minutes, fat-side down. Finish warming in the oven for 5 minutes, then serve.

BRINED AND BRAISED PORK BELLY AND RIBS

Steps:

• In a large container combine the sugar, salt, black peppercorns, allspice berries and 2 gallons water. Add the belly and ribs. Refrigerate 24 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Remove the pork from the brine. Reserve spices. Cut the ribs from the pork belly and each rib from the rib rack. Remove sinew.
• Place ribs and spices in a large roasting pan. Set the belly, skin side up, on top. Pour enough broth to half cover the pork. Cover the pan with parchment and foil. Braise until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees, about 2 hours. Let cool completely. Cut into 2- to 3-inch squares.
• When ready to serve, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Put belly squares and ribs on a baking pan. In a small saucepan heat butter, brown sugar, 1 cup braising liquid and kosher salt. Pour the sauce over the pork and heat in the oven, basting regularly, until warmed through, 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a sauté pan bring 1 cups of the braising liquid to a boil. Add the turnips and kale and braise, uncovered, until just tender. Season with salt and pepper. Onto each of 8 plates, place a rib, pork belly and some vegetables and top with a few spoonfuls of the brown-sugar sauce.

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.

BASIC PORK BRINE

Steps:

• Mix water, brown sugar, and salt in a bowl until sugar is dissolved. Stir in garlic and ginger.

BRAISED PORK BELLY

Steps:

• 1.Rubbing the belly - day one.
• 2.Coarsely grind these spices and toast them in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Trim the fat down to about ¾ inch on the outer layer, if necessary. Score the belly. Rub the spices all over the belly. Let it sit overnight in the refrigerator.
• 3.Brining the belly - day two.
• 4.Heat 2 quarts of water over medium high heat. Add the sugar, salt, and bay leaves. Stir and heat until the sugar and salt dissolves. Add the remaining 2 quarts of water. Place the rubbed belly into the ziploc, add the brine, seal it and let it rest in the refrigerator.
• 5.Braising the belly - day three.
• 6.Preheat the oven to 325°F.
• 7.Remove the belly from the refrigerator, pat it dry, and allow it to come to room temperature. Heat a large, heavy dutch oven over medium-high heat and brown the belly on both sides.
• 8.Add the chopped veg, the wine, and the stock or water. Bring the heat up on this and then cover with a lid and cook in the oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until the pork is incredibly tender.
• 9.Remove from the oven, take the pork, move it to another pan, and keep it covered. Remove the visible fat from the remaining pan juices by either skimming it off or pouring it through cheesecloth.
• 10.Return the juices to the pan, add wine and water or stock if necessary and reduce over medium-high until the consistency meets your needs. Taste for seasoning.
• 11.Serve the belly portions in a shallow bowl with the pan juices.

BRAISED PORK SHANK

Steps:

• For the brine: Bring the water to a simmer in a large non-reactive pot. Turn off the heat and add salt, sugar, coriander, peppercorns, rosemary, bay leaf and garlic and bring to a simmer. Whisk until the salt and sugar is dissolved, and then let it cool in the fridge or an ice bath until the brine hits a temperature of 35 degrees F.
• Add the shanks to the cooled brine and weigh down with a plate to ensure that the shanks are completely submerged. Refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours.
• After brining, remove the shanks from the brining liquid to a baking sheet lined with a clean kitchen towel to dry off a bit. Discard the brining liquid.
• For the braise: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Heat a large Dutch oven or roasting pan over medium-high heat. Pour in enough oil so that it covers the bottom of the Dutch oven or roasting pan completely. Put some flour in a shallow dish. Add a heavy pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper to the flour and whisk to combine. Dredge the shanks in the flour, shaking off the excess, and add them to the pan. In order to get a nice even golden-brown sear, you don't want to overcrowd the pan. (Do this step in two batches if necessary.) Brown the shanks on all sides, a few minutes per side, then remove to a plate while you sear the rest.
• Add the celery, onions, carrots, garlic, rosemary and thyme with a large pinch of salt. Sweat the vegetables until tender, about 5 minutes. Deglaze with the white wine and reduce by three-quarters. Add the apple cider and reduce by half. Add half the chicken stock and bring the braising liquid up to a simmer. Taste it for seasoning, adding additional salt and pepper if necessary. Place the shanks back into the pan; the liquid should go about halfway up the shanks. If it does not, add the rest of the liquid until it reaches the desired half. Put the pan in the oven and cook until the meat is tender, about 200 degrees F when checked with a meat thermometer, 4 to 5 hours.
• Remove the shanks from the oven and carefully transfer the shanks to another large pan. Then strain the braising liquid over the shanks. Cool them in the liquid overnight in the refrigerator.
• The next day, reheat the shanks in their liquid. Then remove them to a large serving platter. Spoon some of the braising liquid over the meat.

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.