Pork Belly with Onion-Apple Marmalade
We have been getting flurries off and on all morning and I just finished an essay on why it is ethical to eat meat for a contest sponsored by The New York Times. I will likely be sharing that essay on the blog in a few weeks after they have chosen the winning essay(s). If you believe eating meat is ethical, you should weigh in as well. You can read some of my thoughts on this topic, here, on my homesteading blog Got Goats?
So in light of that and this cold weather we are having, I thought posting a comforting and warming recipe for pork belly would be good. This pork belly comes from another local producer, as we used the pork belly from our pig share this fall to make bacon!
I adore caramelized onions; I think they make everything taste better, however I decided to make them even better by adding apples, maple sugar and spices to them to make it more of a marmalade. The result was absolutely mouth-watering. Of course the pork belly itself is sweet and tender, melting in your mouth but covered in the spicy and aromatic spice blend and then smothered in the onion marmalade it was lip smacking good. A perfect transitional from winter to spring recipe.
This recipe is very easy, most of the labor in the caramelizing of the onions and making the marmalade, everything else is pretty hands off – just let your oven do the work.
INGREDIENTS:
1 pork belly
Pork Belly Rub:
2 TBS maple sugar
1 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground cumin and hot paprika
¼ tsp cinnamon
1 ground all spice berry
Pinch of ground star anise
Pinch of ground nutmeg
For the Marmalade:
2 TBS olive oil
2 onions, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small apple, sliced
Salt
¼ cup water
¼ cup maple sugar
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
METHOD:
Rub the pork belly with all the spices and let it marinate overnight or at least for 4 hours.
When you are ready to cook the pork belly, preheat the oven to 350 F. When the oven is preheated, place the pork belly in an oven safe roasting pan, Dutch oven or oven vessel with a lid. I used my tagine. Cook for about 45 minutes with the lid on. Then remove the lid and cook for another 30 minutes until nice and browned.
While the pork belly is cooking work on caramelizing the onions: place the olive oil, onions, apple and garlic in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Stir often and allow the onions to sweat by adding some salt. Turn the heat down to low and add about ½ of the water. Put a lid on the skillet and let simmer over low heat for about 30-40 minutes. Stir periodically and add more water if it starts to dry out. You want to be sure that your onions don’t brown, but get soft and gooey. Once they are looking good, add the maple sugar and apple cider vinegar. Stir until well incorporated and the sugar has melted. Then remove from the heat and serve on top of the pork belly. We served this with roasted potatoes and a nice green salad. Serves 4.
Rosa - March 26, 2012 at 12:57 pm
That pork belly looks fabulous and the marmalade sounds terrific! I am a big fan of this cut of meat.
Looking forward to reading your essay.
Cheers,
Rosa
Elle - March 26, 2012 at 4:32 pm
Oh my gosh, this looks fantastic! I love the additions you made to the onions. I need to try this!
Arlene (Mom) - March 27, 2012 at 12:00 pm
That looks truly delicious. The ingredients in the rub sound so good. I agree. Something about adding apples to the onions is perfect especially with pork.
vanillasugarblog - March 27, 2012 at 12:19 pm
jenn jenn jenn
when i come visit you, will you make this?
ok?
good! lol
Peter - March 28, 2012 at 8:30 am
Love this pork belly and I too find a simple approach like this to still offer a succulent meat with crisp skin. Yum!
Francesca De Grandis - March 28, 2012 at 3:45 pm
OMG, my mouth is watering!
5 Star Foodie - March 28, 2012 at 9:25 pm
Mmm…. pork belly deliciousness!!! Such a wonderful pairing with the onion-apple marmalade!
Lisa @ Snappy Gourmet - April 5, 2012 at 3:05 pm
That onion apple marmalade sounds delish!!
Laz - April 17, 2012 at 4:34 pm
Fantastic belly pork dish. I am a big big fan of the belly. Found your site through my good friend Natasha. Look forward to following you here.
mossy stone - April 24, 2012 at 8:02 am
Whoa how did I miss this post?! This looks absolutely delicious!