Bigfoot Barleywine braised Pork Belly and Chevre Grits

Bigfoot Barleywine and pork belly

I’ve been wanting to braise a pork belly for a while and couldn’t really find one recipe that looked like what I wanted so I figured what the hell I’ll try my own. I decided on trying some beer for the braising liquid and despite all the warnings I used an ale that was pretty hoppy, namely Sierra Nevada’s Bigfoot Barleywine style Ale. I anticipated the sweetness would reduce down to make a great sauce and hoped the hops wouldn’t overpower the pork. Mostly I was right. You should be able to get pork belly from any decent butcher. Try and pick one that has a nice mix of both red meat and fat and without skin. If there is too much fat you may have to trim a little but do not go crazy, this is pork belly remember. It is going to be fatty. You WANT it to be fatty. Don’t fear the lipids. Fat=flavor

Ingredients

• 1.5 – 2 lbs pork belly – skinless
• 3 med carrots rough chopped
• 3 celery stalks rough chopped
• 1 parsnip rough chopped
• 1 yellow onion rough chopped
• 1 garlic clove sliced
• 2 springs of thyme (plus extra for grits)
• kosher salt and  fresh cracked pepper
• 1 12 oz bottle of Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Ale
• enough chicken stock to fill pot to almost covering pork belly (preferably home made) and for the grits
• 1-2 tbsp honey
• a large enameled cast iron dutch oven
• stone ground grits (however much you want to make
• chevre 1 small round
• Parmesan to taste
• extra thyme leaves for grits

Instructions

• preheat oven to 300
• season pork belly with kosher or sea salt and fresh cracked pepper

seasoned porkbelly begining to sear in the pot

• heat the pot over med-high heat
• sear the pork belly to med/light brown on all sides

mostly seared pork belly

• remove the seared pork belly
• add veg to pot and cook for 4-5 mins to lightly soften the veg

veg ready to cook

• Add the pork belly back to the pot, nestle down into the veg
• add all 12 oz of beer
• fill to just almost covering pork belly

seared porkbelly andveg in braising liquid

• Bring to a boil, cover with a tight fitting lid and place the pot in the preheated oven

• cook covered in the oven for around 2 hours. Check after 1 1/2 hours for doneness and reduction of the liquid. If need be add more chicken stock or water
• times may vary but the pork should be cooked through and starting to slightly melt
• do not over cook
• in the last 20 mins cook uncovered
• remove the pork and veg from the pot place on separate heavy plates and cover
• discard the thyme stems

Cook the grits while you reduce the sauce

• place the pot with the braising liquid back on a burner over med heat
• bring to a simmer try and time the reduction to match the cooking time of the grits (about 20 mins)
• prepared the grits according to the package substituting chicken stock for water
• turn the oven to broiler
• place the pork on a sheet pan with a cooking grate or screen and place under broiler to crisp the top of the pork
• if the veg needs to be heated, do so but it should be fine if covered and in heavy container

add the chevre, parm and thyme right before you serve

• once the grits are done  add the chevre in large chunks, parm and thyme leaves. season to taste with salt and pepper
• if the sauce has not reduced full you can add water to grits to keep them while the sauce finishes
• remove the pork from the broiler if you have not already done so
• taste the reduced sauce, if needed season and add honey
• plate with grits, veg and pork belly
• drizzle sauce over the pork then add more to plate

Serve with the grits and the veg and pour sauce over the pork and veg

Overall I think this turned out pretty damn good. The barleywine may be too much to handle for some as it is extremely strong beer. Another choice would be a good stout or porter or some other style that is less hoppy than this particular barleywine. You could also leave the parsnips out as they do impart a certain flavor that my wife immediately picked up and at first wasn’t sure about. Other options could be to not cook the veg as long adding them part way through the braise. Or you could make a veg puree to go with the dish from the softened veg. This is the first time I’ve tried braising porkbelly so take that into account if you want to try this and look up other recipes and techniques they used. The one thing this was missing that I’m going to work on was a good glaze on the pork.

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