Picked up a pork belly today - what to do with it? :D

[jstaylor62]

It must be something in the air. Friday I bought a couple of pork belly pieces that were a little over 2 lbs each. They are currently in my beer fridge curing. I'll hickory smoke them next weekend.

Next up I'm going to buy a 5 lb piece, or half a pork belly, and make some Pancetta. But making Pancetta takes some serious patience since it takes about 3 weeks for it to cure.

 

[Shadowrider]

It must be something in the air. Friday I bought a couple of pork belly pieces that were a little over 2 lbs each. They are currently in my beer fridge curing. I'll hickory smoke them next weekend.

Next up I'm going to buy a 5 lb piece, or half a pork belly, and make some Pancetta. But making Pancetta takes some serious patience since it takes about 3 weeks for it to cure.

Where did you pick it up?

 

[jstaylor62]

Where did you pick it up?

In OKC at Super Cao Ngyuen at NW 25th and Military. They had a HUGE stack of pork bellies at the meat counter. One of the butchers told me they usually get their delivery on Friday morning, so I was there at noon to pick them out.

 

[BuckFuller]

I have several different ways I do pork belly but I also like making fresh pork skins from the belly skin. I cut the skin off and cut it into about 1 inch squares. Then simmer the skins in water for 3-4 hours. Lay them on wire racks on sheet pans and put into the oven on on about 170 degrees until they dry up and look like a piece of hard plastic. Once they are at this stage you can simply drop them into 350 degree vegetable oil and they will instantly puff up for some fresh pork skins. I salt or season them with BBQ spice or cayenne pepper right out of the fryer.

 

[Blinocac200sx]

Of course the cure and smoke to make bacon option is on the table, but another option I like is to wrap the pork belly around a loin roast, and slow smoke it as is.

 

[amcardon]

I know I'm late, but I would have recommended pork belly confit! My brother makes it on a regular basis and possibly my favorite thing he's ever made (that I've tried). Unfortunately he lives in OR... I know he loosely goes off Thomas Keller's recipe from Ad Hoc at Home.

 

[jstaylor62]

Update:

My previous pork bellies are cured and ready to go on the smoker tomorrow morning. But in the mean time ...

I went back to Super Cao Ngyuen this morning and bought a whole pork belly. I had the butcher trim it up and cut it in half. It was 10 lbs after being trimmed. I'll use one half to make bacon and the other half to make Pancetta.

 

[tRidiot]

Very nice! Document the pancetta, if you don't mind??? I'm very interested in that!

 

[Okiedog]

Don't do anything. Slice it, fry it, salt and pepper it. Fresh side pork is dang good.

 

[jstaylor62]

The bacon I started curing last weekend and smoked today