Slow-braised smoked pork belly

Sunday's adventure consisted of a large chunk of pork belly slow-braising in my crock pot. A perfect Sunday dinner...minimum work, maximum pay off.

Per my usual style when I'm not totally familiar with an ingredient or a recipe, I did a ton of research, reading as many recipes as I could get my hands on, and then, with a basic understanding of temperature, timing and the flavours I want to achieve, throw it all out and wing it.

I took this glorious piece of smoked pork belly, and let it bathe in the crock pot for 6+ hours with the following:

one onion, roughly chopped
4 whole cloves of garlic
2 huge spoonfuls of grainy mustard
apple juice
chicken stock
a splash of cider vinegar
generous amounts of salt and coarse black pepper

When I took it out of the braising liquid, here's what I got. A juicy, succulent piece of bacon, with beautifully melted fat and tender meat just waiting to be pulled off.

I then cut it into two portions and popped it into a 400 degree over for about 10 minutes to crisp the top and further render out a little more of the fat.

Et voila!
Tender and decadently rich. The smoke definitely came through and the sweetness from the apple juice penetrated to balance the saltiness of the meat. Served with roasted garlic and parmesan white beans and pan-roasted carrots with crispy sage. All in all a great success!

Welcome to my kitchen

Anyone who knows me well knows that bacon is considered sacred in my household. Salty, smokey, crisp, and sometimes sweet, bacon is all things to this cook. It has been noted, more often that I care to admit, that my house smells like bacon at least 3 days a week. That's because whether it is as a garnish, artfully hidden in a sauce, or front and centre as the main ingredient, most of the time I'm trying, somehow, to work bacon into the dishes I make. I am a firm believer that bacon makes everything better.

This goes beyond my own kitchen too. I am not one to resist when I see that most succulent of ingredients on a menu. My reputation is such that I've had friends gift me with bacon-related presents, such as a bacon storage case (as if it ever lasts that long), bacon bandaids, a bacon air freshener (which did not do any justice to the intoxicating aroma of the real thing), and even a heavenly maple bacon cupcake.

My mission: to master bacon in all its iterations and honour the noble pig in all of my culinary endeavours... and try to hit the gym a couple of times along the way.