Where to buy Pork Belly archived

And any good recipes too, we always see it on cooking shows but have never actually cooked it and would like to try.

Whole Foods has it in the butcher section if I remember properly.

You can get it from the Asian Market - Kam Man Foods - in East Hanover.

This is a basic but great pork belly recipe. Original source is here:

http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/Chef+Smackdown+Derek+Dammann+David+Ferguson+battle+over+pork+belly/4741780/story.html

1 whole pork belly, skin on

10 yellow onions, peeled and cut in half, core left attached

12 cloves of garlic, skin on

Sea salt and black pepper

1 bunch fresh marjoram

Before you go to bed the day prior to cooking, score the belly with a razor blade, ½ inch (1 cm) deep and ¾ inch (2 cm) apart against the grain. (Make sure the belly is free of any little hairs. You might have to give it a shave.) Rub the sea salt generously all over the skin side, making sure to get into the scores. Repeat with pepper.

Place on a tray, and leave on the counter in a cool, dry place (like a basement), not the refrigerator. Don’t worry about leaving it out for 6 hours or so. What will happen is that the salt will help in drying out the skin so you get a nice crackling. Also, putting a large piece of refrigerated, skin-on meat into a hot oven will create steam and make the skin not so fun.

Season your onions and garlic with salt and pepper and place in a deep roasting tray. Put the pork on top, so some of the onions are under and some are peeking out. Preheat your oven to 475 degrees F (240C). Put the pork on the middle rack and cook for 45 minutes until the skin starts to crisp up.

At this point, add a bit of water to the pan, just enough to cover the onions halfway (think alligators in a swamp), turn the oven down to 350 degrees F (180C) and cook the belly for five hours. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 30 minutes. Remove the pork and veg from the pan and transfer to a warm place. Skim the fat from the liquid (save this to fry eggs) and reduce the juice down by half. You don’t want a glaze; you want a loose, flavourful jus. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.

Parsley-Mustard Sauce

Makes about 2 cups

Dammann also recommends this sauce on corned beef or melted Gruyère sandwiches.

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (155 mL) shallots, finely diced

1/4 cup (50 mL) red wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon (large pinch) salt

3/4 cup (175 mL) flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1 tablespoon (15 mL) whole-grain mustard

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (155 mL) extra-virgin olive oil

Juice of half a lemon

Sea salt and black pepper

Place the shallots, vinegar and salt in a small bowl, and let marinate for 10 minutes. Pound the parsley with a mortar and pestle and add it to the shallots. Whisk in the mustard and olive oil and season with the lemon juice, a pinch of pepper and salt.

Be careful. They made a movie about this. (For Pete's Sake)

It was about pork belly options, and, as I recall, they actually had to take delivery of the bellies. On the hoof.

Eden often has it on the meat shelf. My one try so far was a disaster; maybe I'll give that recipe a shot next time I pick one up.

I think you have to decide how you like pork belly - I know some people who will only eat it totally crisped out and others who don't mind a softer, more unctuous preparation. I like a mix - crisp outside, soft inside.

This is one of the things that I find I prefer to eat in a good restaurant rather than prepare at home. I've bought it from Whole Foods and Fresh Direct.

go skin on

eliz said:

This is one of the things that I find I prefer to eat in a good restaurant rather than prepare at home.

Agree completely. If I make pork belly at home I prefer it in bacon form.

The best way to cook pork belly is Hong Kong style. Just don't eat it more than once a year if you want to be healthy!

Instead of spending WF or Eden prices, you might want to check out Seabras on Morris Ave.

dave said:

The best way to cook pork belly is Hong Kong style. Just don't eat it more than once a year if you want to be healthy!

I agree. I've made it at home but it takes 3 days! Too much work for something that's eaten in an instance.

But if you want to do it, yes, Kam Man has it, and I've also gotten it in Shop-Rite, Millburn and at Corrado's.

Try Lutz Pork Store in Union. There is another on Morris at Liberty (Kramer?).

I too have only had it in restaurants. I like it crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. I didn't know it took so long to prep. I thought it could be done over night. We are looking to cook something we have never cooked before... Maybe there's a good reason we have never cooked pork belly.

This is what we ended up making.(actually my 15 year old made it). It turned out very well. We had a spinach salad along with it.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/tangerine-glazed-pork-belly-recipe/index.html