Mister Sandwiches

I love leftovers. I look in the fridge and see we've got pork belly and pastry dough. No-brainer. Hot Pockets! Seriously, i think you could wrap anything in pastry dough and it'd be delicious.

Pork Belly Hot Pockets

Cold Pastry Dough
Pork Belly cut into 1/2 cubes
Mornay Sauce
Egg wash

I'm not so good with measuring and the amount of filling you use will depend on the size of your hot pocket. Roll out the pastry dough on a floured surface to desired thickness, i like roughly 1/8". Use something circular (I used a 7"ish cereal bowl) as a template and trim the rolled dough into a circle. Place the dough on a baking sheet (silpat helps here with sticking, but not a requirement). Pile filling on one side, spoon some Mornay over cubes, wet dough edge with egg wash, fold over and crimp the edge with a knife. Brush with egg wash and prick or cut some vents to allow steam to escape, preventing a nuclear hot pocket fallout...

Cooked a pork belly last night (my method below). Planning on using it in tacos, serving solo or alongside scallops. The belly is awesome - fatty, meaty, the basis of all things amazing like bacon and pancetta. It's all about pork fat sweet and salty. The belly is also one of the least expensive cuts of the hog - i think i paid $2.99/lb. and it's so rich, a little goes a long way.

Needed to whip up a quick lunch for a hungry 3.5 year old: grilled cheese with Chedder and pork belly fried in pork fat and served with cheese dipping sauce. Hey, i got the belly and had just whipped up the cheese sauce for mac and cheese, so it seemed like the right thing to do.

I tend to think of things in terms of food formats. Approaching that way, makes it easier for me to begin thinking about what to cook. Once I nail a format, I drill down and craft the specifics. This method also allows me to go back and forth - expanding, learning new techniques and formats AND going back to formats in the repertoire, exploring the infinitely possible variations.

Pork Belly

3lb pork belly (skin and ribs removed).
1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup sugar

Mix the salt and sugar, rub over belly, coating all sides. Wrap in plastic on a plate and let cure in the fridge (6-24hrs).

Preheat oven to 425. Discard any liquid that's collected in the plate. Roast belly fat side up for about an hour, basting with rendered fat at the half-way point.

After about an hour, when the belly is golden brown, turn the oven down to 250 and continue to roast for an hour and fifteen minutes.

Remove the belly and let it rest on a wire rack until cool. 

The results of my David Chang Momofuku challenge? There's a lot of improvement that can happen here, but it was really good. The stock is the star and although not difficult, takes a long time to cook down in several stages. The ramen were solid: hand rolled, cut. Cashews needed more caramalization/sweet note. And my sausage needed a finer grind and more fat back for a crisper fry up. 

This weekend, i will attempt to recreate David Chang's (of Momofuku) Chilled spicy noodle dish. This surprising simple dish packs a serious flavor whallop, has everything in perfect balance: sweet, spicy, savory, salty, umami. The textures also cover the full spectrum from the soft/chewy noodles, slippery broth, crunchy cashews and chalky spinach. This dish has a lot going on. It's got huge balls.

I've never made ramen from scratch, but i'm confident enough with my italian pasta chops to give it a shot. The thing I'm most worried about is the pork stock. When I chowed down on this masterpiece at Momofuku, i got to the bottom of the bowl, and there was and amazing puddle of pork fat (I'm guessing rendered from the sausage) and a little broth. I'm guessing it's contains at least a little of the broth they serve with the ramen dish, in all it's porky goodness. Researching spicy sichuan sausage now. Meat grinder, you and i have a date.

Who knew world-class gruyere is being cave aged in Wisconsin? The Roth Käse "Grand Cru" is something special - old world craftsmanship with a distinctly brawny American attitude. You could grate and pile a heap on top of an open-faced turkey or ham sandwich, and that would be delicious. This stuff is so good, I recommend enjoying on it's own with some nuts, fresh fruit and honey. To my palette, this stuff's more similar to Parmigiano Reggiano than Gruyere I've had. I love supporting American artisans that are producing at this level. A tear of pride rolls down my cheek, knowing that this product is made in the USA.

Roth Käse