Pork Belly - 3 Skill Levels (Beginner → Pro → Michelin Star)

2cm cubing** = optimal braising size - Even cooking throughout - Good surface area for flavor absorption 2. **3-minute boiling water pre-treatment

"Just going to help to render out a little bit of the fat" - "Get that cooking process going" - Removes impurities, starts fat rendering

"Just going to help to render out a little bit of the fat"

Drain + pat dry** after blanching - Remove water before caramel stage - Prevents steam interference with caramelization 4. **Palm sugar caramelization first** (dry pan, low heat) - "More commonly used in Chinese cooking" - Alternative: light brown sugar or caster sugar - "Looking for that sort of dark rich caramel color" 5. **Pork into caramel while sticky** (not fully hardened) - "Pork belly will still have a little bit of water content on it" - "Cook it out for just a minute or two just to boil off that liquid" - Creates sticky coating base 6. **Shaoxing wine deglazing** (~30ml) - Lifts caramel from pan - Adds Chinese aromatic profile 7. **Light soy : dark soy = 2:1 ratio

"Double the amount of light soy to dark soy" - Light soy = saltiness + umami - Dark soy = "Rich color...heavy saltiness"

"Double the amount of light soy to dark soy"

Aromatic trio:** spring onions (4cm chunks), sliced ginger, star anise - "All those flavors are now mixed together" - Classic Chinese braising aromatics 9. **3/4 water coverage** (not full submersion) - "Don't want too much water cuz it's going to affect the flavor" - "Just coming 3/4 of the way up the belly" - Allows concentration while preventing burning 10. **Low heat, lidded, 1.5-hour simmer

Check at 40 minutes (mid-point quality control) - "Soy has reduced nicely" - Tenderness test: "Feel it hasn't got much give under the spoon"

"Soy has reduced nicely"

Mid-cook water addition** if needed - "I'm going to add a touch more water" (if reducing too fast) - Continue another 45 minutes - Total cook: ~1.5 hours 12. **Final stirring for glaze homogenization

"Keep moving it and stirring it to make sure that the fat and the sort of juice sort of homogenizes nicely and you get a nice glaze on it" - Fat emulsifies into sauce - Creates sticky coating **Beginner Result:** - "Sticky belly sort of just falls apart nicely" - "Fat sort of like all covered in the soy and the sugar" - "Versatile recipe...can then play around with different flavors" --- ### LEVEL 2 - PRO: ITALIAN PORCHETTA **Time:** 2+ hours (plus resting) **Skill Focus:** Butterflying, spice prep, two-stage roasting, skin crisping **Historical Context:** - **Chef Quote:** "They actually have a porquetta party once a year in a place called Ariticia which is just near Rome. Sort of inspired by ancient Roman feasts and sort of showcasing sort of big suckling roasted joints of meat" - "Classic Italian staple" **Method Overview:** Butterfly → herb paste marinade → roll + tie → score skin → salt → 160°C 1.5hrs → 220°C 20min blast **Chef Quote:** "Little bit more time, a little bit more skill to cook it nicely to achieve that beautiful skin that we're after"

"Keep moving it and stirring it to make sure that the fat and the sort of juice sort of homogenizes nicely and you get a nice glaze on it"

Butterflying for surface area** increase - "Just gives us a little bit of extra surface area to marinate" - Opens meat for even seasoning penetration - Creates flat working surface 14. **Toasted fennel seeds** (then crushed) - "Fennel is sort of one of those underlying flavors that is always sort of in the porquetta mix" - "Rosemary, garlic and fennel" = Italian trinity - Toast first = aromatic oil activation 15. **Spice blender for fennel crushing** (not mortar) - Quick, consistent grind - Releases maximum flavor 16. **"Hard herbs" = rosemary + thyme** (woody aromatics) - Withstand long cooking - Mediterranean flavor profile 17. **Microplane garlic + lemon zest

Fine grate = even distribution - No large chunks (burn risk) - "Chop through that just to bind it all together"

"Chop through that just to bind it all together"

Olive oil paste binding

"Just to sort of like a paste like consistency" - Spreadable, adheres to meat - Fat vehicle for herb delivery

"Just to sort of like a paste like consistency"

Generous salt in marinade** = dual function - "Going to help just sort of like season the pork all the way through" - "Will help to firm up the mix as well" - "Really sort of slightly start curing it a little bit" 20. **Marinade application to interior** only (before rolling) - Full coverage on butterflied surface - "Spread it all over the inside of the pork" 21. **Rolling technique** with tension - "Roll it up nicely" - "Marinade is sort of nicely oozing out there" = sign of proper application 22. **Butcher's twine tying** for shape retention - Maintains cylinder shape during cooking - "Will be removed" after cooking (presentation) - Even spacing for consistent cooking 23. **Skin scoring BEFORE butterflying** (chef's mistake shown) - "So in the excitement of the marination, I actually forgot to score the belly. So what I would have done originally is um score this before I butterflied it out" - Demonstrates real-world correction - Score completely around cylinder 24. **Scoring depth + pattern** for maximum crisping - "From one end of the skin all the way around" - "Do it a couple of times on each bracket" - "Allow that sort of heat and salt and oil to get in and around the skin and puff it up and get it extra crispy" 25. **Fine salt on scored skin** before cooking - "Maximum opportunity to crisp up as it's cooking" - Draws moisture out = crisper crackling 26. **Two-stage roasting:** 160°C low → 220°C high - **Stage 1:** 160°C for 1.5 hours (gentle cooking, fat rendering) - "Check it after an hour" (quality control) - **Stage 2:** Turn up to 220°C for 20 minutes (crackling blast) - Low first = tender, high finish = crisp 27. **Resting period** before slicing - "Just going to leave that to sit for a second" - Juices redistribute - Easier clean slicing 28. **Warm potato salad accompaniment

Italian tradition - Starch absorbs pork fat - Balance richness

Apple sauce** as traditional pairing - Acid cuts fat - Sweet + savory balance 30. **Pork demi-glace** for richness - Reduced pork stock - Restaurant-level finish **Pro Result:

"Soft fat in the middle, but not like too not too soft. It's still got a bit of a bite to it" - "Lovely flavors running through it" - "Definitely something worth a go. Takes a little bit more preparation, bit more time, bit more love when you're cooking it, but the results are very, very, very good" --- ### LEVEL 3 - MICHELIN STAR: THOMAS KELLER HONEY BRINED CONFIT PORK BELLY **Time:** 3+ days (12hr brine + rinse + 5.5hr confit + 12hr press + sear) **Skill Focus:** Precision brining, ultra-low temp confit, geometric perfection **Method Overview:** 15% brine 12hrs → 15-20min rinse → 90°C confit 5.5hrs → press overnight → peel fat → score crosshatch → sear 80% on fat → low oven finish **Chef Quote:** "Thomas Keller...The steps are fairly straightforward, but there's quite a few of them"

"Soft fat in the middle, but not like too not too soft. It's still got a bit of a bite to it"