576552 Mon Dec 01 18:30:21 -0800 2008 8 31 Home Cooking 0 4213164 Where's the best place to get pork belly, and what's the best way to prepare it? I got some at a local asian market, cured it, braised it, and seared it, but it was still very fatty -- not like what I've eaten in restaurants. Mon Dec 01 18:30:21 -0800 2008 240203 mfuller63 1 4213237 Maybe you need to describe how you've had it in restaurants. Pork belly = uncured bacon (not the backbacon type). Mon Dec 01 18:56:07 -0800 2008 4213164 12139 paulj 2 4221811 In restaurants I've had thick cubes that have been quite meaty, well marbled but without huge amounts of fat. Mine had good flavor but sort of a sickening amount of gelatinous fat. Thu Dec 04 20:11:37 -0800 2008 4213237 240203 mfuller63 1 4221897 I think that the one cut of modern pork which retains adequate fat is belly. In fact trad. pork belly just has too much for me. I posted this elsewhere a couple of days ago and it may be a little off subject, but, crackling aside, the meat is beautifully moist and soft: Have I finally cracked crackling? I've struggled for years with unreliable results, but this really, really does work: Pre-heat oven to gas 6/200C/400F. (May sound a little hot, but it works) For four people take a 1-1.5kg (say 2 1/2 ibs) piece of boneless, skin on, belly pork. This will be about 10 inches square and 1 to 2 inches thick. Score the skin with a very sharp knife at about 1/2 inch spaces. Now cut the meat across and across again into 4 equal squares of one portion (so no carving!). Place meat, spaced a little, skin side up in a roasting tin and scatter chopped onion, carrot, celery, bay leaf, garlic etc around meat. Pour round boiling water to come about half way up the meat and stick it in the oven for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Top up hot water if needed. Serve. No resting required. Actually this works fine with plain water, no veggies. This was given to me by someone who said they had read it recently, so sorry if I've stolen it. Thu Dec 04 20:46:22 -0800 2008 4213164 156990 Robin Joy 2 4221917 A while back, inspired by a thread on 'petit sale', I salted a piece of pork belly, then braised it with vegetables, and served it with lentils. I though the pork and lentil combination worked very well. Petit sale is gamon, salted pork jowel, rather than belly, but the effect is similar http://www.my-french-house.com/recipes/petit-sale-aux-lentils/ Thu Dec 04 20:53:24 -0800 2008 4221897 12139 paulj 1 4222012 Might they have been saving their better belly (more layers of meat) for their better customers? It helps to have a good relationship with the butcher and to know what to ask for. Rejet inferior cuts until they bring out the good stuff. They will respect you for it. Thu Dec 04 21:55:13 -0800 2008 4213164 10483 Joebob 2 4222087 Or it could be that most customers at the Asian market prefer a fattier belly than the (non-Asian) restaurant customers. One is not necessarily superior to the other. I wonder if the fat/lean proportions vary across the typical slab. My local butcher (non-Asian) sells its own curred bacon which is quite lean. I also buy packages of bacon scraps, odd shaped pieces, mostly from the edges, which are on the lean side. On the other hand, I've seen chucks of salt pork which have very little lean. Next time you buy belly look at the packages to see if there is much variation in lean v fat. What you see in the raw is what you'll experience when cooked. Thu Dec 04 22:54:18 -0800 2008 4222012 12139 paulj 3 4222133 bacon is smoked pork belly, sometimes smoked with skin on , . It's amazing how popular pork belly has become in the last couple of years. Filipino or japanese for pork belly. Try the pork belly at kyo ya . I would simmer it for a while or deep fry it. Until the 1970s slaughter houses smoked the belly with the skin on. Fried pork rinds were all smoked skins. Then they changed the process and took the belly skins off so harder to find smoked skins for pork rinds. There were only a couple of slaughterhouses that still would offer smoked skins for pork rinds. Pork rind manufacturers started to use back skins instead, but some that could find belly skins had the best tasting product. Sorry to stray off the topic, but im in the mood for some fried smoked pork belly skins. Rolets went out of business they were the last to have real smoked pork rinds. Thu Dec 04 23:30:10 -0800 2008 4222087 118604 foodwhisperer 1 4222207 In Korean markets you will find two types of pork belly loosely translated as three layer and five layer meat. The three layer is the fattier pork belly, and the five layer is leaner. There are quite a few ways to prepare it Soaked in water with doenjang (miso) then grilled, broiled, or braised. Sliced thin lengthwise and grilled, then served with a sesame oil/salt/pepper dipping sauce, or wrapped in lettuce or cabbage leaves with a bit of rice and a dab of spicy chili paste. Cut into chunks and marinated in a spicy marinade, then stir fried or grilled. Boiled, or boiled and grilled, then wrapped in kimchi. Fri Dec 05 01:25:03 -0800 2008 4213164 93805 hannaone