Pork Belly Warm Potato Oyster Mushroom Salad

Pork Belly Ingredients

• 3# pork belly with skin still intact 
• ¼ cup salt 
• 1 onion (cut into small dice) 
• 2-star anise 
• 1 tablespoon toasted coriander seeds 
• ½ bottle dry white wine 

Warm Potato & Oyster Mushroom Salad Ingredients

• 1# fingerling potatoes (cooked until done; cut into medium dice) 
• 6 oz oyster mushrooms (cut into ½ strips) 
• ½ shallot (minced) 
• 3 tablespoon soy oil 
• 2 teaspoons mustard 
• 2 teaspoons BLiS #9 Sherry Vinegar 
• 1 teaspoon BLiS Fish Sauce 
• 1 teaspoon BLiS Smoked Soy Sauce 
• Chopped chives 
• Salt 

Other Ingredients & Equipment

• BLiS Elixir Extra Old Sherry Vinegar 
• ¼ cup of ash from one of BLiS’ barrels used to age fish sauce (if possible) 
• Deep fat fryer

Pork Belly Procedure

Make a brine with one quart of hot water and ¼ cup of salt. Make sure the salt is completely dissolved.

Place pork belly into brine and let rest for 2 hours

Take pork belly out of the brine and rinse off.

In a roasting pan just large enough to pork belly, place the diced onions, star anise, coriander seed, and pork belly.

Pour wine over pork belly, cover, and braise in a 325-degree oven until tender. This will take 2 – 3 hours.

Once pork belly is cooked, remove from pan and place onto a sheet tray. Put into the refrigerator, and place another sheet try on top of pork belly. Place about 5# of weight on the top sheet tray to press belly for 24 hours.

Warm Potato & Oyster Mushroom Salad Procedure

In a 10” fry pan, heat up 2 tablespoons soy oil over medium heat until oil begins to lightly smoke; add mushrooms.

Cook mushrooms, stirring occasionally until mushrooms have a nice brown color on them, then add shallot, stir in, and cook for 30 more seconds.
Transfer mushrooms to a plate with paper towel to drain any excess oil, then put into a mixing bowl.

Add remaining ingredients to bowl; mix well.

Pork Belly Finishing 

Make sure fryer is on and the temperature is set to 375 degrees.
Cut pork belly into 4 even portions.

Remove skin with a sharp knife. The skin will come off very easily. Cut skin into 2 even pieces.

Fry skin until crispy; drain on a paper towel.

Heat some soy oil up in a 10” fry pan over medium heat until oil just begins to smoke. Sautee pork belly in two batches until golden brown on all sides.
While pork belly is cooking let’s make the ash by grinding ash in a spice grinder into a powder. Place ash into a bowl and add soy oil until a medium thick paste forms. Season with a bit of salt.

After pork is finished cooking, pour any remaining fat out of the pan.

Put the pan back on the stove over medium heat. Gently warm up potato salad carefully stirring until warmed through.

To Plate

Using a kitchen brush, paint a 2-inch strip of ash paste across each plate. Then put a piece of pork belly in the middle of the ash with some of the potato salad alongside the belly. Drizzle some of the Extra Old Sherry Vinegar around the plate and rest the cracklings on the belly.

Recipe and Photo Credit:
Eric and Jen from The Cooks' House

Our Blīcher Creatures also have a cookbook "Cooks' House: the art and soul of local, sustainable cuisine" available here!