This method of braising pork belly produces tender, moist meat with lovely deep flavour. Unlike the simple roasted pork belly this braised pork belly recipe takes time and organization, but I think it is worth it.
The pork belly is first brined for 10 hours, then seared fat side down to render out the fat. To finish cooking the pork is braised in a low oven for a few hours and then cooled in it’s own fat and liquid before being sliced and ready to consume.
The next time I make this braised pork belly recipe I intend to skip the brining step. In Ad Hoc at Home, from where this method is taken, Kelllar suggests brining virtually all meats before cooking them. I am not sold on this yet, so I will let you know how it goes when I try without brining.
Pork Belly Lettuce Wraps with Fennel Slaw
Wondering what to do with the braised pork belly? Try my recipes for Tortellini with Asparagus, Pork Belly and Cherry Tomatoes or Pork Belly Lettuce Wraps with an Apple and Fennel Slaw
Braised Pork Belly
(serves 4)
Adapted from AdHoc at HomeFirst, make the brine. Bring all brine ingredients to a boil in a covered saucepan. Boil for 1 minute, stirring to dissolve honey then remove from heat and allow to cool.
Cover pork in brine for 10 hours and refrigerate. You don't want to leave it longer then 10 hours.
Preheat oven to 325F. Remove from brine and pat dry. Place fat side down in a oven-safe skillet just big enough to fit. Bring temperature to medium low and render the fat from the pork. Skim away fat and drain from pan. Cook for about 10-15 minutes or until nicely browned. Remove pork and drain away all remaining fat. Return pork to skillet fat side down and add beef stock halfway up pork. Make a parchment lid and cover pork. Bake for 2 1/2 hours.
Remove parchment lid and flip pork. Spoon liquid over pork and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove and allow pork to cool to room temperature.
This will keep in the fridge for 3 days. Store it in the braising liquid, and when you are ready to use it spoon off the fat. Oh, and don't discard that braising liquid, it's gold.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
i could see this being a great sunday dinner meal. provided of course that i do all my work before sunday so i could enjoy the cooking process haha, although it doesn’t look like the actual cooking time is that much, just the prep. meaning i’d need to actually plan
Oh, I can’t wait til Friday. Pork belly is so underappreciated.
Karyn – yeah, the planning is totally the tough part. In fact I think it is the toughest part of cooking in general sometimes.
Belinda – good!
I brine some, but not all of my meats, depending on how I’m going to use them. If I’m going to smother them in some really robust sauce then I don’t think it’s worth it. I can’t wait to hear what the taste test goes like though!
Amazing. This is the second post in a row I have read about this book which is fast feeding my need to buy it! This looks incredible.
Joanne _ I really ant to do some side by side comparisons. One day, when I have time!
Hungry Dog – I would take a look at the book, it is very technique heavy? But simple.. not sure how to describe it but I enjoy it.
Thomas Keller’s cookbooks are actually advertisements for his restaurants – I’m convinced he writes them with so much detail and added complexity that the readers finally throw up their hands and say, ‘Oh hell, let’s just go to the restaurant and have this.’ Having said that, I still think he’s one of our best chefs, even if he is a detail freak – His books are best handled as challenges for ‘deconstruction’ and adaption – and for the ideas and tidbits he freely includes.
So did you do this one w/o brining? And did you do it like this too? Which was better?
I have still only tried the brining version, it was great.
I don’t have any Keller restaurants near me so I will have to rely on his cookbooks for awhile yet!
You said the braising liquid is gold. What kinds of things would you use it for? I have never braised anything before and have never eaten or cooked pork belly either, but it is on sale frequently at my local grocer’s…and I am not going to try it! If the liquid is gold I would love to be able to use it and not waste it. thanks, i love your blog! I have learned a lot.
Why not try stir frying with it the next day? Or glazing and grilling some chicken
the fact that you think you know more than Chef Keller is fun. He brines it for a reason, mainly if you dont like dry meat. Home chefs keep trying to cut corners yet still complain it just doesnt taste the same (as if they ever went to the French Laundry). His cookbooks are” complicated” because of mcdonalds and burger king for the american public.
i’ve actually made the time to follow a recipe for pork belly and if your palate lasts long enough past the fries and ketchup it truly is worth the time.
I don’t think I know more. I claim to know my own preferences, what my family will enjoy and where my time is best spent. That doesn’t always include brining. I am a formally trained cook and understand all the benefits to brining, but the reason home cooks cut corners is to make these things approachable on a day to day basis, hence the reason I suggest that to my readers.
You are clearly not the target audience, but given that this is a recipe blog neither are people who spend all their time eating “fries and ketchup”, as my readers enjoy cooking.
Thanks for your hate, what a nice thing to send out into the world.