Tonight was the first time I ever served pork belly, let alone sous vide pork belly. Thanks to my SousVide Supreme, it wasn’t a disaster and I didn’t have to order takeout as a back up. In fact, it turned out pretty yummy.
Time to make Sous Vide Pork Belly!
Serves 3-4
Ingredients:
- 1½ pounds of pork belly
- 1 tablespoon lard or your favorite fat
Equipment:
- All of my recommended kitchen tools are listed here.
A few nights ago, I brined two ¾-pound bricks of pork belly per the guidelines I found on David Barzelay’s site, Eat Foo. (Sorry! The recipe is no longer online.)
The following morning, I removed the bellies out of the brine, dried them, and vacuum sealed them.
Then, I dunked them in my SousVide Supreme (set at 160 F) and let them hang for 24 hours. After a day passed, I put them in an ice bath and then stored them in the fridge until I cooked them off tonight for company.
I wasn’t sure whether or not to reheat the pork bellies in my SousVide Supreme before searing them so I opted to dunk them back in for 30 minutes at 160 F. It might have been a mistake because when I tried to weigh the pork bellies down to flatten them post bath, the fat layer sheared right off the meat. Oh well. I decided to brown the four pieces separately and reassemble afterwards.
To sear the pork belly, I heated my cast iron skillet to medium high with 1 tablespoon of lard. Then, I removed the pork bellies from their bags, pat them dry, and scored the fatty side with a sharp knife.
I browned the fat side for a good 4-5 minutes undisturbed and flipped it over to cook for an additional minute on the other side.
The other two pieces were meatier, so I just seared them a minute on each side.
I plated them and then reassembled them to look like two solid pieces again.
Since I wasn’t sure we’d have enough meat to eat, I crisped up my last two sous vide chicken thighs straight from the fridge (6 minutes skin side down…
…then 2 minutes on the meat side).
Here’s our meat on a chipped serving platter:
For veggie sides, I served spinach and shallots sautéed in lard…
…roasted butternut squash in lard…
…and curried cream of broccoli soup.
Here’s my dinner plate:
The pork belly was tasty but the chicken thighs were awesome! I love that I can fry them straight from the fridge!
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2021).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Sous Vide Pork Belly
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds pork belly
- 1 tablespoon lard or your fat of choice
Instructions
- Brine your pork belly overnight. The next morning, remove the pork bellies from the brine, dry them, and vacuum seal them.
- Dunk the pork bellies in the SousVide Supreme set at 160°F and let them cook for 24 hours. If you're not serving the meat right away, store the bellies in an ice bath in the fridge until you're ready to sear them off.
- When you're ready to serve the meat, heat your cast iron skillet to medium high heat with 1 tablespoon of lard. Take the meat out of the bag and dry. Score the fatty side of the pork belly with a knife.
- Brown the fat side for 4-5 minutes undisturbed and flip it over. Cook for 1 additional minute on the non-fatty side. Serve with some veggies and roasted butternut squash!
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