It’s that time of year when pumpkins just take over, why not braise it with pork belly? Place a pumpkin pie and/or pumpkin whoopi pie in front of me & I’m the happiest of campers. I wanted to get in the pumpkin spirit but with a twist. Rather than cooking with pumpkin puree, seeds or flesh, I decided to go with pumpkin beer.
This is a recipe and walk through of pumpkin beer braised pork belly on a butter, nutmeg, sage infused rice with a vinegary warm apple & cabbage salad. With the addition of ginger and having everything parked on Korean style cooked rice, this is a cool New American meets Asian type of dish. Anything with rice does that for me, but most especially when paired with braised pork belly.
New American meets Asian pumpkin beer braised pork belly recipe
For cuts like pork belly, turkey and chicken, try giving it a brine. This will tenderize the meat, impart more flavor, and also help the meat remain more moist & succulent during the cooking process.
For the braise
- Lots of pork belly – with or without skin – preferably boneless, cut into 3 inch long pieces
- 1 red onion, finely diced
- 3 stalks of celery, finely diced
- 2 large carrots, finely diced
- 6 cloves of garlic, finely diced
- 2 bottles of Pumpkin beer/ale – try Dogfish or Smutty’s or Shipyard’s
- 1 cup of chicken stock
- 6 sprigs of thyme
- 1/4 cup of sliced ginger – with or without skin
- Brown sugar
- Cinnamon sticks and powder
For the brine (measurements aren’t required, just wing it by smell & preference)
- Brown sugar
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground nutmeg
- Ground all-spice
- Sliced ginger
- Salt
- Water
- Chicken stock
For the rice
- Short-grained rice
- Ground nutmeg
- Butter, unsalted
- Minced sage
- Salt
For the warm apple and cabbage salad
- Apple cider vinegar
- Sliced cabbage, 5 cups
- Diced apples, 2 cups
- Diced cooked bacon, 1 cup
- Sliced red onions, 1/2 cup
- Minced garlic, 2 cloves
- 2 Korean hot pepper, minced seeds and all
- Butter
- Salt/pepper
Brine the pork belly
In a bowl, dissolve brown sugar in a 50/50 mixture of water & chicken stock. Then add, at your preferences but don’t go crazy, ground nutmeg, cinnamon, and all-spice to the bowl. For good measure, toss in a handful of sliced ginger. and season the mixture with a healthy amount of salt. Stir it all around so that the spices can incorporate properly into the liquid. Place the pork belly pieces in zip lock bags and then pour in the brining mixture. Allow the pork belly to brine for at least a couple of hours and up to 1 day. You’d be surprised at how this improves an already great ingredient. Learn more about the brining basics here from Cook’s Illustrated.
Braising the pork belly with pumpkin ale
Season the pork belly pieces with salt. Start this braise like all others by searing all sides of the pork belly in a medium hot pan. Allow a nice crust to form on each side. Having a crust on the meat helps it ultimately to taste better due to the caramelized burnt taste of the seared crust. A decent amount of the pork belly fat will render out. Save this clarified fat to saute the vegetables.
Throw in the vegetables and allow them to get soft, which is about 10 minutes. Once tender, pour in the pumpkin beer & chicken stock and place the pork belly pieces into the braise. Season the braise with cinnamon sticks & powder, some brown sugar (to help cut through the beer), lots of salt/pepper, sliced ginger, and a couple sprigs of thyme. Bring this to a boil then turn down the heat so the braise is at a simmer. Place the lid on top and allow it to cook for at least 2 hours and up to 3 hours. Continually taste the braise and readjust the seasonings as appropriate.
Braise baby braise
Rice spiced it up with butter, nutmeg and salt
The secret to cooking rice is the water to rice ratio. Koreans like their rice a bit more wet & sticky. It makes it so much easier to pick up with chopsticks. Always have at least 2 inches of extra water on top of the rice. To cook on a stove top bring the water with rice to a boil (with no lid on top). This may take a while depending on how much rice is in the pot. Once at a boil, turn down the heat so the water is at a simmer and throw on the lid. Keep tabs on the rice and once it looks almost done, turn off the heat. If you want a second resource on making rice Korean style, click here.
Then take the minced sage, lots of cubed butter, and ground nutmeg and mix it into the rice right after it is done cooking. Season generously with salt. Rice and salt are made for one another as I cannot eat rice unless it is now seasoned with salt.
Pumpkin ale pork belly with its cabbage side salad
Every dish needs that snap, that element to liven it up. The braised pork belly and rice, as comforting as they are especially when swimming with all the Fall-inspired flavors need that vinegary pick me up. This warm apple & cabbage does just that, and its easy & different.
Brown some butter over medium heat and add the apples & sliced onions. Allow these to dance with the butter and slightly soften. Then in a easy sequence, start dumping in rest of the ingredients. First the hot pepper slices & seeds so that it infuses with the butter. Second, the vinegar and allow some of it to cook off. Third the cabbage and bacon and cook with the pan lid on and off so that the cabbage can steam cook. Allow the cabbage to cook through, but still keep some of its bite (along with the apples). Not only is the vinegar in this salad great for the overall dish, but the slightly al-dente crunchy vegetables also help off-set the melt in ones mouth pork belly and rice.
The best part, other than eating the crap out of it, is putting this plate together. I like lots of rice, especially the kind flavored with butter, salt and other elements as in the one for this pork dish. Spoon a generous amount and place the cabbage-apple salad all around the mound of buttered sage rice. Then place multiple pieces of the oozing and velvety pork belly on top of the rice. Season the meat once more with salt/pepper and then drizzle on top of it (and rice) some of the braising liquid. Now this is a successful Asian and New American fusion recipe with pumpkin beer and pork belly.
Pork belly and rice up close, notice sear on braised belly and the specks of flavor in rice
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