Little Phat Pig Baltic Porter-Braised Pork Belly
Served with porter syrup, Brussels sprouts, white beans, and grilled flatbread
(courtesy of Chris Nealon, executive chef, Montrêux Golf and Country Club in Reno. Serves 6)
3 pounds pork belly, skin removed
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons kosher salt
½ tablespoon ground ancho chile, toasted
4 tablespoons fresh thyme sprigs
½ teaspoon cinnamon
12 ounces Little Phat Pig Baltic Porter or another dark beer of choice
4 cups chicken stock
Salt and pepper, as needed
Combine dry ingredients and thyme sprigs and rub all over pork belly. Place in large zip-lock bag, removing as much air as possible. Refrigerate 24 hours, turning whole bag over halfway through to ensure pork belly is evenly coated.
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove pork from bag, rinse, pat dry, and bring to room temperature. Score fat side of pork belly in crisscross pattern. Heat in pan large enough to hold pork belly, or cut in halves to fit inside smaller pan. Sear pork belly fat-side down until golden brown. Turn and sear other side. Remove pork belly from pan and drain excess fat. Add beer to hot pan and cook 2 minutes to burn off alcohol. Add stock and adjust salt and pepper to preference.
Place pork belly back in pan, making sure it’s almost covered with cooking liquid but that fat is still exposed. Cover with foil and place in oven. Cook 2 hours or until tender.
When pork belly is tender, remove from oven and leave in cooking liquid to cool completely. Cut into 4-ounce serving pieces and sear in hot cast-iron skillet, or deep fry until crispy. Reserve for plating.
Porter syrup
12 ounces Little Phat Pig Baltic Porter or similar dark beer
4 tablespoons honey
½ teaspoon sherry vinegar
Place ingredients in nonreactive (stainless steel) saucepan over medium heat. Let mixture simmer, but do not boil or it will become bitter. Cook 45 minutes until syrupy and sweet. Adjust with pinch of salt. Strain through finest mesh strainer available.
Brussels sprouts
1 cup Brussels sprout leaves
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Add enough oil to lightly coat bottom of hot sauté pan. Toss in leaves and season with salt and pepper. Cook quickly, just until leaves lightly blister. Remove from pan.
White beans
14 ounces white beans, cooked or canned
6 garlic cloves, roasted
1 lemon
1 teaspoon parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
Toss beans with garlic. Zest lemon with Microplane and squeeze a few drops of juice into beans. Toss with parsley and season with salt and pepper.
Grilled flatbread
4 pieces fresh flatbread
Olive oil, as needed
Rub small dab of oil over bread, but do not saturate it. Place on hot griddle or barbecue. Gently char bread.
Plating
Warm 6 plates in oven. Make small pile of white beans in center of plate. Arrange cooked and sliced pork belly over beans. Drizzle syrup around plate and toss a few Brussels sprout leaves over pork belly and around plate. Serve with flatbread on side.
