I wanted to tell you about this pork belly…
…about how, yesterday, I bathed it in apple cider and warm spices
…about how I rolled it up and cooked it sous vide for 12 hours until it was so oozy and melty that my knees felt weak.
I also wanted to tell you…
…about how amazing my house smelled as it roasted in a cloak of cedar
…about how crispy it became in a cast iron pan
…about how even recalling it fills me with lust.
I wanted to tell you all this, but instead, let me just tell you…
…that pork belly is the reason why I would NEVER make it as a vegetarian.
Playing with Fire and Water 
Did you roll it with Activa, or was tying it off, cooking it sous vide, and cooling it sufficient to get it to hold its rolled shape?
LikeLike
where did ya get the cedar? is it just a sheet if cedar planking or ?
LikeLike
Did you sous vide it in the cedar plank or just in a vacuum bag and then roasted it in cedar after?
LikeLike
marinate for 2 hours
roll with Activa for insurance
wrap tight in plastic for 4 hours
vacuum seal and sous vide 85C for 12 hours
wrap tight in plastic overnight
remove plastic and wrap in cedar sheets*
roast 350F oven til heated through
unwrap and crisp in hot pan
*cedar sheets can be found in specialty food stores or ordered online
LikeLike
Do you think there was much benefit from the activa?
I’ve been doing a fair bit of charcuterie since the weather turned cold, but I have yet to introduce chemicals into it. Something about staying true to the old world or something.
(Though I always sous vide cooked products, including things that are supposed to be hot smoked)
LikeLike
Oh yes! Something interesting to do with those 5 packs of cedar sheets I bought at a W-S sale. And proto-bacon is one of my favorites to play with (will have to especially after this sucky week of going blind reading documents).
Why so high a temperature for the sous-vide?
Too bad that there’s no way to crisp it with the cedar wrap apart from rewrapping and then torching the new cedar.
LikeLike
Forgot – I wouldn’t be reading this blog if you were vegetarian.
LikeLike
Nathan-
I definitely think that the Activa helped it stay together. What kind of goodies are you making? Don’t you use nitrates?
Ivan-
In the past, I’ve sous vide pork belly at 80-82C. I tried a bit higher this time and its just as succulent. Proto-bacon?
LikeLike
Very beautiful blog! Congratulations.
I Wonder what is Activa…
LikeLike