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Crispy Mustard Braised Pork Belly

Ingredients

  • Dry rub:
  • 2 tablespoons kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons dry mustard powder
  • 2 tablespoons mustard seeds
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 lemon zested
  • 2 sprigs rosemary picked and finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves smashed and finely chopped
  • Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
  • 3 pounds fresh pork belly skin removed
  • Pork belly:
  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 onion julienned
  • 2 ribs celery sliced on the bias
  • 1/2 fennel bulb tough middle discarded and remaining bulb julienned
  • 2 garlic cloves smashed and finely chopped
  • Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
  • Kosher salt
  • 1 cup white wine
  • 1/4 cup whole-grain mustard
  • 2 to 3 cups chicken stock
  • Thyme bundle
  • 3 to 4 bay leaves

Instructions

  1. Dry rub: Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Massage the rub all over the pork belly, then cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
  2. Pork belly: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Remove the belly from the refrigerator. Coat a large straight-sided pan with olive oil and put over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery, fennel, and garlic. Season the vegetables with crushed red pepper and salt, to taste. Cook the vegetables until they start to soften and become very aromatic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the wine and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the mustard and 2 cups of the chicken stock. Taste to make sure it is delicious. Add the pork belly and toss in the thyme and bay leaves. Cover and put in the preheated oven. Braise the belly for 6 hours, checking occasionally. If the liquid level goes down add the remaining stock.
  3. Cook's Note: It is also a great idea to rotate the pan a couple of times throughout the cooking process.
  4. When the belly is done it will be very tender and succulent. Remove the lid and set the oven to broil. Broil the pork belly until it turns golden, about 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the belly, from the braising liquid, to a cutting board. Cut the belly into 6 or 8 equal portions depending on your appetite. Arrange the pork on a serving platter and ladle the braising liquid on top.

Recipe Notes

Note:  I used a technique from Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc cookbook -- after the braising is done. I carefully lifted the pork belly from the cooking pan and put it in a clean pan.  I strained all the liquid and poured that over the pork belly. I then covered with plastic wrap, put a pan on top of the pork belly and then added some heavy cans of vegetables to weight it down and I put it in the refrigerator overnight. This is suppose to compress the pork belly and give a really flat surface so when you brown the pieces, all surfaces are in contact with the skillet. This isn't a necessary step; I just wanted to give it a try.

I always like to brown the pork belly after braising to get the crispy outside no matter what you use it in.