What did I cook this weekend.....

[bob1852]

Ciliegine mozzarella stuffed chicken parmesan meatballs with pasta, marinara, and fresh basil.

 

[user 211287]

Yeah, I usually get my belly from the butcher (low fat), but I bought a good sized chunk from Costco last time I was there, cut it down, vac packed into single(ish) servings.

We have an Asian market that always has beautiful pork belly. Usually they have enough there i can ask the butcher for a really lean one. Costco pork belly is bacon quality like 99% of the time. Its pretty rare i see a nice meaty piece. Even lean belly aint all that lean but i use a method common in China to render out some of the fat.

Place the belly skin side down in a pan with a little oil. Only cook it a minute or two
Fill the pan with ice cold water.
Bring it to a boil for about 10min.
Remove from the pan and let it cool.

This removes some of the fat, funk and hair on the skin. Starting with cold water draws out some of the blood. After its cool/chilled it is easier to cut into cubes. You can also cut it into cubes while its partially frozen and go straight to the cold to boiling water blanch.

For Japanese style "cha shu", i marinate it first in a mix of rice wine or sweet saki, soy sauce and sesame oil. The wine draws out the blood. After its marinated you roll it up and hold it together with butchers twine. The rolled up belly is then low/slow braised in a similar mix as the marinade. When its done cooking you put the whole pot in the fridge. LEAVE THE ROLLED BELLY IN THE BRAISING LIQUID until the next day.

After its removed from the liquid and chilled it slices easily. A quick char on the slices and its ready for lots of stuff. Really tasty in kimchi fried rice.
https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes...sed-pork-belly-for-tonkotsu-ramen-recipe.html

 

[bleme]

I found pork belly on sale for $2/lb once but my regular grocery normally sells it for $5/lb. Is that normal or do I need to shop around more?

 

[user 211287]

I normally have to pay about $3/lb for slab or about $3.50 a pound for smaller cuts. Costco was $3.69/lb for the half slab i got. Asian markets are usually the cheapest.

 

[schematix]

Belly is scrap meat. Should be around $2-3/lb for a whole belly.

For $5/lb you can get better cuts of meat all together.

 

[user 211287]

All depends on the quality. What i get is more like pork side. Its much leaner. The combination of skin and meat is one of the most balanced meat proteins you can eat. Flavor is just killer when prepared well.

 

[Temptd2]

We were members for a while, but they're now closed (for good). We have a few bottles left, but now need to find our new favorite white wine maker.

I looked her up after our "conversation" here and see she is now winemaker at Shannon Ridge Family of Wines. Maybe they'll put out something close with her at the helm!

 

[Knightshade]

Recipe for the taters?

I went a little lighter on the oil, but pretty much followed this one to a tee.

 

[TwistedGray]

I always prep my belly the same - Sous Vide for up to 24hrs then cast iron. I pull the rendered fat into a second container to use later for frying stuff like chicken : )

I forget what we pay per pound, but it's not necessarily cheap.

 

[TwistedGray]

I looked her up after our "conversation" here and see she is now winemaker at Shannon Ridge Family of Wines. Maybe they'll put out something close with her at the helm!

Perhaps they moved up north then...good timing to considering that most of SVH area (wine growing region here in Monterey County) got charred by the recent fires over the last few weeks. I know a few ranches went up (partially or in whole). Their tasting room was one of the best though with small, intimate indoor/outdoor setting.

 

[TwistedGray]

I went a little lighter on the oil, but pretty much followed this one to a tee.

Thanks, might try this next time I fire up the acorn.

 

[S-Met]

Belly is scrap meat. Should be around $2-3/lb for a whole belly.

For $5/lb you can get better cuts of meat all together.

I miss the days when I could routinely find belly for $1.30/lb.

But price does not equal quality and the deliciousness of belly makes me scoff at anyone who considers it "scrap." Same goes for fish collars.
MmmmHamachi

 

[user 211287]

Grilled tuna collar is one of the finest things you will ever eat. I have never had yellow tail collars but its great as sashimi.

I had a friend that owned a Chinese restaurant. He introduced me to red cooked pork belly. Served over rice with an egg cooked in the same brine. I was hooked instantly. It was not quite like the super sweet versions you normally see but those are good too. This was a Taiwan style red cooked pork. More similar to Lu Rou Fan.

This is a MUST try if you like pork belly. Ive had it made with a minced (not ground) pork and smallish cubes. Just before the "Rona" kicked in i found a place serving authentic Taiwan food. Theirs is stellar.
https://thewoksoflife.com/lu-rou-fan-taiwanese-braised-pork-rice-bowl/

 

[Temptd2]

Grilled tuna collar is one of the finest things you will ever eat. I have never had yellow tail collars but its great as sashimi.

I had a friend that owned a Chinese restaurant. He introduced me to red cooked pork belly. Served over rice with an egg cooked in the same brine. I was hooked instantly. It was not quite like the super sweet versions you normally see but those are good too. This was a Taiwan style red cooked pork. More similar to Lu Rou Fan.

This is a MUST try if you like pork belly. Ive had it made with a minced (not ground) pork and smallish cubes. Just before the "Rona" kicked in i found a place serving authentic Taiwan food. Theirs is stellar.
https://thewoksoflife.com/lu-rou-fan-taiwanese-braised-pork-rice-bowl/

Oh man that pork belly looks excellent!

I'm going to make some tomorrow a la Flo Lum of YouTube. She makes a char siu using skinned pork belly. I'll try to remember to take some pictures of it in progress and at the table!

 

[user 211287]

I make stuff like this with pork riblets too. When you cant find good belly/side just use boneless country style ribs with a nice fat cap on them. I really like those for char siu or cheaper red cooked pork.

 

[Temptd2]

Costco ALMOST always has pork belly here. Sometimes they only have the whole bellies, sometimes they have it like this that I bought, which is in strips about 3" wide and already skinned.

 

[user 211287]

Ours always has it too but its usually way too fatty for anything besides bacon. Plus i like skin on. Kinda the best part really

 

[Temptd2]

Ours always has it too but its usually way too fatty for anything besides bacon. Plus i like skin on. Kinda the best part really

Have you ever tried those Lowry's microwave pork rinds? Oh dang they're good! Especially love the spicy ones. Pig skin at its finest!

 

[davidabcd]

I've been on an omelette kick for years so I suppose it's not a "kick" any longer. I've experimented with fluffing the egg whites to stiff peaks and folding in the yolks and then proceeding. I've experimented with beating milk, sour cream, almond milk or nothing into the eggs. I have tried whisking the egg/milk mixture on medium heat until it fluffs and almost begins to congeal before putting it in the skillet. Too many ingredient combos to list but I have found, for me, two or three max otherwise it's too busy.
This one is cheese, taco meat and green onion. Pretty good but on the verge of gimmicky.

 

[S-Met]

Ours always has it too but its usually way too fatty for anything besides bacon. Plus i like skin on. Kinda the best part really

I hate skin on pork. Mostly because I feel guilty eating all the skin and end up setting some aside for dog treats. Then I stop and think, my dogs are spoiled.

Honeycomb tripe, pork skin and lamb hoof fresh off the dehydrator. Yup, dogs are spoiled.

 

[S-Met]

Have you ever tried those Lowry's microwave pork rinds? Oh dang they're good! Especially love the spicy ones. Pig skin at its finest!

I haven't seen the spicy, I'll have to look for them.

As far as they go, they pretty good, but I think they are too salty. I mean, who am I kidding, hot pork rinds are amazing. Just wish I could alter the spices a little.

 

[davidabcd]

Yup, dogs are spoiled.

Cute pup. Is he/she part wookie? What's his/her name?
I boil organic chicken breasts, cut and freeze them for cat treats. It sounds so wrong yet it's cheaper than the real cat treats at the pet store.

 

[S-Met]

Cute pup. Is he/she part wookie? What's his/her name?
I boil organic chicken breasts, cut and freeze them for cat treats. It sounds so wrong yet it's cheaper than the real cat treats at the pet store.

Akumi (black-her) and Toshi (white-him), our doodle-mutts. They make regular appearances on the "dogs" thread. Spoiled! She turns 1 on Thursday. He's approx 6, maybe, we think.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Mmmm, pork rinds.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Coral tooth mushroom (home cultivated) stir fry.

 

[Temptd2]

View attachment 696982View attachment 696981Coral tooth mushroom (home cultivated) stir fry.

WOW what a cool mushroom! I've never seen that one before!

 

[shelly_belly]

View attachment 696982View attachment 696981Coral tooth mushroom (home cultivated) stir fry.

Nice! And fast. Didn't you get the kit just 2 weeks ago?

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Yes that’s aboutright, I wasn’t sure about when to harvest. The instrtions said to let the hairs get to a certain length and droop. I let it het a pretty good size and none of it was “woody”. I’ll let the second growth mature more to see the difference. Pictures later of my stuffed lobsters and NY strips.

 

[Temptd2]

Only remembered to take one picture of the pork belly char siu - after dinner when I put the leftovers on a plate! It was delicious but man I woke up with the WORST heartburn at 11:30 pm. Not sure WHEN I last had HB but it has been a very long time. Not likely to eat any more of the char siu any time soon and it wasn't even spicy!

But here it is anyway:

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Grilled corn, stuffed lobster, NY strip, and tossed salad. The pictures are terible because of glare, but the meal was tasty.