Now, you may accuse me of being southern with this recipe, but it is definitely a fan favorite… Glazed Pork Belly With Ginger BBQ Sauce. And yes, there will be cornbread!
Glazed Pork Belly With Ginger BBQ Sauce
Ingredients
For the pork and cornbread:
Kosher salt
1 teaspoon packed light brown sugar
1 1-pound slab pork belly, skin removed
Vegetable oil, for brushing
4 squares cornbread
For the sauce:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons minced peeled ginger
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup apple juice
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
Kosher salt
Directions
Make the pork: Mix 2 teaspoons salt and the brown sugar in a bowl. Rub the pork with the brown sugar mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Make the sauce: Heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring for 2 more minutes. Add the ketchup, apple juice, oyster sauce, vinegar, mustard powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer and cook, occasionally stirring, until the sauce is thickened, about 20 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes, then transfer to a blender and puree until smooth. Set aside about one-quarter of the sauce for serving.
Remove the pork belly from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before grilling. Preheat a grill to medium, then prepare for indirect heat: For gas, turn off the burners on one side. For charcoal, push the coals to one side. Place a drip pan under the grates on the cooler side of the grill.
Brush the grill grates with vegetable oil. Place the pork on the cooler side of the grill (indirect heat) and cook, turning occasionally, until fork-tender but not falling apart, 2 hours, 30 minutes to 3 hours, brushing with the sauce occasionally during the last hour of cooking. Move the pork to the hotter side of the grill (direct heat) and cook, turning and brushing with more sauce, until glazed and lightly charred, about 5 more minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 20 minutes. Slice the pork belly and serve with the cornbread and reserved sauce.
And while we are discussing southern things like pork belly, why not get our straw boater hats on and pretend to be civilized with a backyard game of Croquet? This always ends with people whacking each other with mallets, but that’s my family; maybe yours will stick to the rules!
Game Time!
Croquet is indeed a fancy sport, complete with a governing body and a long European history. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t have some fun if you aren’t royalty. There are a lot of theories about Croquet and when it was invented, but it may be traced back to a game played with Willow tree rods and mallets made of broomsticks as early as 1850 in Ireland. However, it is believed to be an offshoot of a game called Pall Mall, played in France in the mid to late 1600s. From Ireland, it traveled to England, where it was first introduced in 1851, and then off to America, where its popularity surged in the 1950s.
So grab some glazed pork belly, a mallet, and maybe even Mint Julep, and head out to the backyard with your southern drawl!
Until next time… If you like what you’ve read and think your friends and family can benefit as well, please share.
Sources:
1 Courtesy of Food Network Magazine
2Croquet History: When and Where Croquet Origins Guide – Backyard Sidekick