Brined And Braised Pork Belly With Caraway Recipes

BRINED-AND-BRAISED PORK BELLY WITH CARAWAY

Steps:

• Two days before serving the pork, prepare the brine: In a large skillet over low heat, toast the caraway seeds. Cool and grind in a spice grinder. In a large plastic container, combine the caraway, fennel, peppercorns, coriander, salt, brown sugar, garlic, cider vinegar and 4 cups water. Add the pork, cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
• The next day, preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Remove the pork from the brine and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper. In a braising pan over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add the pork and brown on all sides. Transfer to a plate. Add the carrot, celery, onion, garlic, thyme and 2 tablespoons toasted caraway seeds to the pan. Brown the vegetables until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Return the pork to the pan, skin side up. Pour in the apple cider and enough broth to cover the meat by three-fourths. Bring to a boil, then cover and braise in the oven until the pork is very tender, about 2 hours. Cool the pork in its cooking liquid and refrigerate overnight.
• The next day, preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Scrape off and discard excess fat from the braising liquid. Remove the pork and discard loose gelatin. Cut the pork into serving pieces and place in a wide saute pan with a heatproof handle. Bring the braising liquid to a boil and reduce by about two-thirds, or until it lightly coats the back of a spoon; strain. Pour just enough liquid over the pork to submerge halfway. Sprinkle with the remaining caraway seeds, then place the pan in the oven and heat through, basting occasionally. Top pork with sauce and serve with braised cabbage, a recipe for which can be found at nytimes.com/magazine.

BRINED AND ROASTED PORK BELLY

Steps:

• Combine sugar, salt and spices in a large pot. Add 4 1/4 quarts water, and bring to a boil. Cool, then transfer to a large bowl and add pork. Let stand, loosely covered, for 3 days in refrigerator.
• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place onions in a roasting pan. Rinse pork, score skin with a sharp knife and place on onions. Rub skin with a bit of olive oil, and season lightly with sea salt. Roast, uncovered, 1 1/2 to 2 hours; do not let burn. Skin should be crisp; if not, transfer to hot broiler. Cut pork in thick slices, and serve with onions.

BRINED AND BRAISED PORK BELLY AND RIBS

Steps:

• In a large container combine the sugar, salt, black peppercorns, allspice berries and 2 gallons water. Add the belly and ribs. Refrigerate 24 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Remove the pork from the brine. Reserve spices. Cut the ribs from the pork belly and each rib from the rib rack. Remove sinew.
• Place ribs and spices in a large roasting pan. Set the belly, skin side up, on top. Pour enough broth to half cover the pork. Cover the pan with parchment and foil. Braise until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees, about 2 hours. Let cool completely. Cut into 2- to 3-inch squares.
• When ready to serve, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Put belly squares and ribs on a baking pan. In a small saucepan heat butter, brown sugar, 1 cup braising liquid and kosher salt. Pour the sauce over the pork and heat in the oven, basting regularly, until warmed through, 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a sauté pan bring 1 cups of the braising liquid to a boil. Add the turnips and kale and braise, uncovered, until just tender. Season with salt and pepper. Onto each of 8 plates, place a rib, pork belly and some vegetables and top with a few spoonfuls of the brown-sugar sauce.