Wednesday, September 29, 2010

A Fancy Pork Belly Breakfast.


I've said it before, I'll say it again.  Breakfast is my favorite meal.  I mean sure I am not a morning person so I tend to eat breakfast a little later than most.  To me, there is nothing better than sausage, bacon, eggs, biscuits, grits, and ham.  Throw a little cream gravy over the whole thing and I'm in Cracker Barrel heaven.  However let's get something straight, I am not a fan of pancakes, scones, cereal, oatmeal, or any kind of morning sweetness.  I like a little maple syrup with my sausage and I can deal with a good savory chicken and waffle with hot sauce and gravy but that's about it.  It's all about the pork and eggs.

Let's go upscale for a bit.  Sometimes I just want something fancy and interesting.  I had bacon and eggs yesterday but today I woke up feeling fancy.  The day before I made some Seven Hour Braised Maple Ginger Pork Belly.  A beautiful slab of Thunder Hooves organic pork belly marinated for a few hours in soy sauce, maple syrup, coriander seed, fenugreek, garlic, and ginger.  Braised in a 250F degree oven for seven hours with a bit of fresh chicken stock.  The pork was then rested in it's own juices.  Cut into little squares and seared off in a little butter.  This is the most luxurious pork you will ever eat.  It 's crispy on the outside and the inside melts in your mouth.

I served the pork belly with a little reduction of it's own jus which was dark and slightly salty/sweet and some Point Reyes Blue Cheese Scrambles Eggs and a drizzle of white truffle oil.  It sounds like a ton of flavors going on but it worked perfectly.  All of the components lived and got eaten in perfect harmony.  I got all dolled up in my pretty Oscar de la Renta dress and I poured myself a couple of mimosas.  The perfect meal for a fancy kind of day which in my opinion, should be every day.

2 comments:

  1. This looks like exactly what I want to make! Do you have a link for the pork belly recipe?

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  2. Make a simple syrup made with 1/4 cup salt, 1/4 cup maple syrup, 1 Tbsp ginger, 2 tsp five spice, and a little water and slowly heat up for a few minutes to infuse the flavors . Let it cool down. Marinade 2-3lb slab of pork belly in the maple marinade overnight. Preheat oven to 450F. Wipe the marinade off the pork and place it in a dutch oven or heavy pan. Place a little of the marinade and a 1/2cup of water in the bottom of the pan. Cook for 30 minutes. Baste. Cover and turn the oven down to 200F. Cook for 5-6 hours basting every hour. Enjoy. ;)

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