INGREDIENTS:

To Cure Pork Belly:

½ cup Kosher Salt
½ cup sugar
¼ cup fennel seeds, toasted
¼ cup coriander seeds, toasted
5-star anise, toasted and roughly crushed into pieces
1 cinnamon stick, toasted and roughly crushed into pieces
½ tablespoon ground allspice
3 pounds pork belly skin removed; fat scored in crosshatch pattern
4 quarts pork lard

Miso Glaze:

1 teaspoon grate fresh ginger
1¼ teaspoons Aleppo pepper
2½ teaspoons minced garlic
1 cup sake
1 cup mirin
1 cup red wine
3 tablespoons
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon white miso paste
1 tablespoon plus one teaspoon tamari
2 teaspoons corn starch
2 teaspoons cold water

Okinawa Sweet Potato Puree
3 Okinawa or Red Garnet sweet potatoes, peeled and 1 inch dice, place in a sous vide bag
1 star anise
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and white pepper to taste

Armagnac prunes
300 grams pitted prunes
150 milliliters water
200 milliliters Armagnac
Peel from one orange
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick

Chef Caldwell recommends finishing your plate with:
Coco Nibs
Sliced green onions
Chopped Chicharrons

METHOD:

For Crispy Pork Belly:

In a small bowl combine everything except the pork belly. Rub the pork belly with spice mixture, cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 48 hours.
Preheat oven to 350°. Convection fan on.

In a Dutch oven Heat lard to 210°.

Remove pork belly and rinse off salt mixture. Pat pork belly dry.

Place pork belly in Dutch oven, cover and place in oven, roast for 2 to 3 hours or until tender. Checking after 2 hours for tenderness.
Remove pork belly from lard and place in a roasting pan place small pan on top and place weights on top

Remove pot from oven and let the pork cool to room temperature. Reserve the pork lard for future uses, such as refried beans or pan gravies etc. Transfer pork to a baking dish and pour just enough lard into the dish to barely cover it. Cover the belly loosely with plastic wrap, place a smaller baking dish on top of it and weight it with a brick, a large can, or a cast-iron skillet. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours. Cover and refrigerate the reserved lard.

After it’s been pressed, the pork can be sliced into desired size.

To reheat drop pork belly in 350° fryer until crispy.

For Miso Glaze:

In a medium saucepot combine all ingredients except cornstarch. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Mix cornstarch and water together and whisk into glaze.

Dip crispy pork belly into miso glaze!

For Prune Puree:

In a small saucepot combine ingredients, bring to a simmer and simmer for 10 minutes or until liquid becomes syrupy. Remove orange peel, star anise and cinnamon stick. Place prune mixture in blender and blend until smooth.

Sweet Potato Puree:

In a large Dutch oven filled with water place sous vide machine and heat water to 85 degrees Celsius. Place potatoes in water and cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until potatoes are very tender. Remove from water and pour potatoes out of bag into food processor and puree until smooth. Pulse in butter once smooth.

Courtesy of Mark Caldwell, Executive Chef Davis Estates