Fatback Joe
Babbling Farker
I had my eye on a recipe for pork belly that I wanted to try to for a while and finally got around to it.
Picked up a whole belly with the ribs still attached
First order of business was to separate the ribs from the rest of the belly meat.........looks like I was going to have some spares to eat as well.
Cut the belly in half put one in the freezer for future projects and put the other in a marinade of water, evoo, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, garlic, rosemary, thyme, kosher salt, and pepper. Left it in the marinade over night.
Took it out of the marinade and decided to cut it in half to make it easier to handle later in the process. Put each piece in a pan and poured in the marinade as well as butter and a cup of water.
Cooked at 275 for 5 1/2 hours with apple wood for the smoke. Removed and let it rest covered in the pans 2 more hours. Removed an hit it with a glaze of bourbon, brown sugar, parsley, and apple cider vinegar.
Put the pieces back on the cooker at 375 for about another 20 minutes total, brought it in and let it rest for 10 or so as I got the sides finished up.
Forgot to take a sliced pic, but really didn't miss much, they kind of wanted to come apart and get messy during the slicing anyhow.
I was surprised at the flavor........guess I expected more of a bacon type flavor even though there was no cure. Tasted more like a pork roast. The texture was nice, fat was everywhere without feeling really greasy/fatty, but will have to tweak it to my tastes a little more if I bother with it again. Wasn't really worth the time committment/hassle as it was IMO.
Oh......and I cooked the ribs as well. They were kind of ugly (blame the butcher) and just done as an afterthought to the pork cooking, but they sure tasted good.
Picked up a whole belly with the ribs still attached
First order of business was to separate the ribs from the rest of the belly meat.........looks like I was going to have some spares to eat as well.
Cut the belly in half put one in the freezer for future projects and put the other in a marinade of water, evoo, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, garlic, rosemary, thyme, kosher salt, and pepper. Left it in the marinade over night.
Took it out of the marinade and decided to cut it in half to make it easier to handle later in the process. Put each piece in a pan and poured in the marinade as well as butter and a cup of water.
Cooked at 275 for 5 1/2 hours with apple wood for the smoke. Removed and let it rest covered in the pans 2 more hours. Removed an hit it with a glaze of bourbon, brown sugar, parsley, and apple cider vinegar.
Put the pieces back on the cooker at 375 for about another 20 minutes total, brought it in and let it rest for 10 or so as I got the sides finished up.
Forgot to take a sliced pic, but really didn't miss much, they kind of wanted to come apart and get messy during the slicing anyhow.
I was surprised at the flavor........guess I expected more of a bacon type flavor even though there was no cure. Tasted more like a pork roast. The texture was nice, fat was everywhere without feeling really greasy/fatty, but will have to tweak it to my tastes a little more if I bother with it again. Wasn't really worth the time committment/hassle as it was IMO.
Oh......and I cooked the ribs as well. They were kind of ugly (blame the butcher) and just done as an afterthought to the pork cooking, but they sure tasted good.
