519102 Wed May 14 11:42:37 -0700 2008 12 31 Home Cooking 0 3686649 It seems very trendy at the moment to cook with and serve pork belly. I have a few questions. 1. Is pork belly what use to be called salt pork that my grandmother use to add to a pot of beans. I am not sure exactly what it is. 2. What do you use it for. I am sure it's great but what do you do with it. 3. Does anyone have any recipes that they use it with. Over all I would jst like some expert advise on this product as I keep hearing about it and also went to our local Asian market yesterday and they had a whole case full of it for sale so I thought it must really be a popular thing now. Wed May 14 11:42:38 -0700 2008 103546 Analisas mom 1 3686664 Salt pork: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_pork Pork belly: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pork_belly I think the main difference is salt pork is cured with salt. Pork belly is just telling you what part, just like "chicken leg." Wed May 14 11:46:55 -0700 2008 3686649 19518 rockandroller1 1 3686997 1. Salt pork is used to flavor foods like sauerkraut or greens. It's not something you would eat on its own. 2. Pork belly can be cooked a great many ways. It can be confited, roasted, grilled, braised, wherever you want tender meat with rich fat. 3. Asians have been eating it for years, well before it became "trendy." Although we're eating a lot less of it because the trendsetters have driven up the price of what used to be a cheap meat. You can find a few recipes at: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/362380. Wed May 14 13:00:06 -0700 2008 3686649 68363 JungMann 2 3687054 The link JungMann posted should be: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/362380 and here is another: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/483929 Wed May 14 13:11:54 -0700 2008 3686997 93805 hannaone 1 3687246 I use pork belly regularly. Makes a great roast - slow roasted at a lowish temperature - works particularly well with a rolled joint. Much of the fat runs off and you get really good crackling. And a really cheap cut Wed May 14 13:59:50 -0700 2008 3686649 154102 Harters 1 3687325 Salt pork is I think green bacon (i.e. salted but not smoked). Pork belly is a lovely, flavourful cut. Because it is fatty, it bastes itself, and benefits from a long, slow cook to render most of the fat. Perfectly cooked, you'll have a crisp crackling on top, and flaky almost pulled pork underneath. If you buy yours from a butcher, ask him to cut it so the ribs are still attached underneath (it's unusual to find it cut like this in the States), so you get yummy pork ribs as well as flaky meat and crackling. Although you can braise or grill pork belly, the best thing to do is to score the fat (a butcher will do this for you) in a criss-cross pattern, rub the meat with your favourite rub (or just some cracked black pepper and salt) and put it in a dish in your oven at about 190C/370F and just leave it alone for several hours. Then just before serving, turn on the broiler to crisp the crackling (keep an eye on it - mustn't burn!). A small cut of pork belly (maybe 3-4 pounds?) will take about two hours. You know the meat's done when it's still moist but a fork can shred it. I serve the crackling, shredded meat and the cut up ribs separately, with bread to soak up the juices (and make shredded pork sandwiches) with a salad. Sooo good. Wed May 14 14:21:38 -0700 2008 3686649 10431 Gooseberry 2 3687448 many asian markets sell the spare ribs still attached. If you don't see it in the refrigerated case just ask that way they can cut it to the size you specify with skin or not and with ribs or not Wed May 14 14:55:13 -0700 2008 3687325 13330 quazi 1 3687912 I have some sliced pork belly in the freezer, but have no idea what to do with it. Suggestions? Wed May 14 17:11:40 -0700 2008 3686649 11387 nosey 2 3687938 Good thread here: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/498013 Wed May 14 17:20:34 -0700 2008 3687912 145820 fmed 1 3688236 The previous posters pretty much answerd 1, 2 and some of 3. You can slice it thick (or thin) and simply fry it. It'll have roughly the consistency of bacon and taste wonderful without saltiness or smokiness. You can deep fry a slab until the exterior is like chicharon and the inside is juicy and moist (Yucatecans call this kastacan and its terribly tasty and rich). You can rub it with a mixture of salt, honey, and instacure, set it in the fridge for 7 days, wash, and voila; homemade non-smoked, cured bacon (slice and fry, or hang in a smoker for awhile, then smoky bacon, slice and fry). You can cut the belly in 1/2"-3/4" cubes, slowly fry and render until golden and somewhat dry. Voila, you now have lardons, a flavoring ingredient in many a french recipe, or a salad topping, or wrapped up and saved for the afternoon munchies, or slap in a sandwich (like my 80 yr old mother-in-law). You can rub your belly (!) with a favorite dry rub and BBQ at 260F for about 6 hours, slice and enjoy. You can pour boiling water over it, poke a mess of holes, wash with vinegar, let dry in fridge, then roast and broil. Voila Chinese Siu Yook (This one, I haven't tried yet, but after seeing the picture and instructions here http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=108508 is my next project). Wed May 14 19:00:55 -0700 2008 3686649 176627 porker 1 3688458 Wow Thanks to all you hounds. I can't wait to try out some of these suggestions. If anyone else has any great uses for pork belly please keep the info coming. Wed May 14 20:23:04 -0700 2008 3686649 103546 Analisas mom 2 3695548 I am going to try some this wek-end I will report after we try it. Sounds like a little goes a long way Fri May 16 19:56:42 -0700 2008 3688458 103546 Analisas mom 1 3719470 I've been wanting to try Dan Barber's recipe, I just never got around to it. http://www.chowhound.com/topics/500887 If someone tries it out, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Sun May 25 11:50:48 -0700 2008 3686649 23892 NYChristopher