Our 5th annual BOYZ weekend has just come to an end, and it’s always a big deal. Three of us live in Rhode Island, two in New Jersey, and one in Florida, so getting together is no easy task, and it seems to get tougher every year.
So we celebrate our friendship every year with excellent food and drink.
This is a rich, delicious, and unusual surf-and-turf I cooked as the featured dinner, using heritage Berkshire pork belly and beautiful sea scallops. Berkshire pork is usually only found online, so substituting a regular pork belly from your local butcher will do. But the fat and flavor of Berkshire pork is the stuff of legends! I buy my Berkshire pork from heritage pork.com, and the belly comes in an 8-lb. slab that I cut in half. I was cooking for 6 hungry dudes, and so a 4-lb. piece was needed. (The other 4-lb. piece will become amazing bacon later on.)
For the pork belly…
3–4 lbs. fresh pork belly
salt and pepper
1–2 tablespoons leaf lard or olive oil
1 carrot, coarsely chopped
1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 fennel bulb, quartered
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
4 cups beef stock
1 cup hard cider or apple juice
I cook the pork belly a couple of days ahead of time.
Pre-heat the oven to 350.
Season the belly with salt and pepper. On medium-high heat, melt the leaf lard, then sear the meat on all sides in an oven-proof pot big enough to hold it in one layer. Add the carrot, celery, onion, fennel, thyme and peppercorns and continue cooking for another 5 minutes, until caramelized.
Add the beef stock and the cider. Cover the pot with a lid or seal it with aluminum foil, and braise the belly in the oven for 3 hours, until tender.
Remove the pot from the oven, carefully remove the pork belly, and put it on a plate. Cover it with foil, ;eating it cool. When it has cooled completely, wrap it well in plastic and place it in the fridge.
Strain the leftover braising liquid from the pot and discard the vegetables and thyme. Place the liquid in a container in the fridge. The fat will float to the top and harden, making it easier to remove. (I save the fat and use it for cooking later–not only for this dish, but others, as well. Berkshire pork fat is too valuable to just throw away!)
But now that the fat has been removed, the braising liquid is all flavor, and no fat.
For the glaze…
braising liquid, strained
1 tablespoon espresso
1 tablespoon honey
When you’re ready to cook for your guests, reduce the brazing liquid by half in a small saucepan, then add the espresso and honey. (Feel free to substitute maple syrup for the honey. This time around, I used some shagbark hickory syrup that I bought in Vermont earlier in the year.) Cook a few more minutes until the sauce thickens. When it coats the back of a spoon, it’s ready. Set it aside.
For the scallops…
Fresh scallops
salt and pepper
About an hour before cooking the scallops, remove the pork belly from the fridge to let it come to room temperature.
When you’re ready to serve, heat a large pan on high heat, using leaf lard or the fat from the braising liquid. Cut the belly into equal pieces and sear them on all sides for about a minute, making sure it’s warmed through. Place the scallops in the same pan, seasoning with salt and pepper, and sear them on both sides, being careful not to overcook them.
To serve, place the belly on a plate. Top it with a scallop or two. Drizzle the glaze over the top. Season with Fleur de Sel or other finishing salt and serve it immediately.